Continue to Practice with us in 2013 ! Dates for Mindfulness Meditation Programs, MBSR, Retreats,
October 2nd Day and Evening MBSR Orange County Hugh O’Neill will be teaching MBSR at The Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine – www.sscim.uci.edu There are still some spaces available: Register now!
October 8th MBSR Santa Monica with Beth Mulligan, PA-C and Christiane Wolf, M.D. PhD click here to learn more and register. The well researched program will be co-taught by two dear friends and certified MBSR teachers.
Listen to Beth give an introduction here.
Listen to Dr. Christiane Wolf define Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction here.
October 24- November 12th Introduction to Meditation Class with Beth Mulligan Palm Springs , 4 Thursday evenings 6:30-8:30 offered through Insight Community of the Desert by donation. Learn more here:
Following in the Buddah’s Footsteps
This four session introduction to meditation class, will be taught in the context of the Buddha’s personal story of sitting under the Bohdi Tree and his awakening. We use his story, not to study something that happened to a particular spiritual figure from long ago,
but from the perspective of how the man, known as Siddhartha Gautama, came to sit, what motivated him, and what he found, so that we can see our own story within it. What brought him to sit? A deep and persistent question that he could not find an answer to any other way; “How may I live peacefully and joyfully with the fundamental fact that to have a human life, will inevitably include suffering?” In week one, we will explore our own motivations, connecting with our own deep questions, and then learn the practice together. It is taught that when the Buddha “awakened “ he realized that not only he was enlightened but that all beings and even the great earth was enlightened –however, he said, “We don’t see it because of our upside down views.” In week two we’ll explore our “upside down views” and how the practice of Vipassana (Insight) meditation can help us see and hold them in a new way that allows us to see reality more clearly. While he sat, he was visited by Mara, “the lord of darkness” who tried desperately to shake him from his seat, to stop his deep inquiry. The Buddha said, “I see you Mara” and remained unshakeable. In class three we’ll ask; What is my personal version of Mara, and how may I maintain my commitment to practice under all conditions? As the Buddha became a teacher he discovered that to have a Sangha (a group of spiritual friends), was the most important aspect of sustaining a spiritual practice and life. In week four as we continue to sit together we’ll explore the importance of community as teacher and refuge.
This class will include meditation instructions and practice periods, and is appropriate for: beginners, seasoned practitioners who find it challenging to maintain a consistent practice, and experienced Meditators who want to revitalize their practice.
Weekly meditation groups: In the Desert go to Insight Community of the Desert where you can sit with guidance of excellent teachers including Larry Yang and Beth Mulligan every Sunday form 4:30–6:00 PM by donation only. In Los Angeles there are many opportunities at Insight LA it really helps to strengthen one’s practice to sit with a group.
Yokoji Zen Mountain Center is open to support your practice. Join the Sunday program every and any week, or look for the many retreat opportunities they offer this fall on their site. They have literally weathered the storm and practice there is as strong and steady as the mountain. Thank you Yokoji teachers and residents!!
UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center has classes, workshops and Retreats throughout the year-including on line training. Check out this page for the calendar!Book of the month: Hardwiring Happiness by Rick Hanson, PhD 
Editorial Reviews “The cultivation of happiness is one of the most important skills anyone can ever learn. Luckily, it’s not hard when we know the way to water and nourish these wholesome seeds, which are already there in our consciousness. This book offers simple, accessible, practical steps for touching the peace and joy that are every person’s birthright.”
–Thich Nhat Hanh, author of Being Peace and Understanding Our Mind
“Hardwiring Happiness teaches us the life-affirming skills of inverting our evolutionary bias to hold on to the negative in our lives and instead soak in and savor the positive. What better gift can we give our selves or our loved ones than an effective strategy to increase joy through brain-based steps that are both accessible and pleasurable? Bravo”
–Daniel J. Siegel, M.D., Clinical Professor, UCLA School of Medicine, author of Mindsight, The Mindful Brain, and Brainstorm
“Seamlessly weaving together insights from modern neuroscience, positive psychology, evolutionary biology, and years of clinical practice, Dr. Hanson provides a wealth of practical tools anyone can use to feel less anxious, frustrated, and distressed in everyday life. With humor, warmth, and humility, this book combines new research and ancient wisdom to give us easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions to live richer, happier, and more loving lives.”
–Ronald D. Siegel, Psy.D., Assistant Clinical Professor, Harvard Medical School, and author, The Mindfulness Solution
Listen to Rick Hanson talk about Neuroplasticity here. 
Did you know that there is new magazine called Mindful?
