Continue to Practice with us in 2013 ! Dates for Mindfulness Meditation Programs, Retreats, and on- going meditation groups. See Below my monthly message for many offerings!
2013 Seasonal Mindful-Way Events:
November 23rd: A Day Of Mindfulness- Cultivating Compassionate Presence, A Gift for all Seasons Orange County Fundraiser! Through the Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine at UC Irvine. Saturday-9:30-3:30
In these busy times it is easy to lose sight of what is most meaningful in our lives sometimes taking for granted so much of this precious life. The practice of Mindfulness Meditation, mindful Yoga, mindful walking and mindful eating, in a mostly silent day long format, with the support of community and experienced teachers, allows us to cultivate our true and natural compassionate presence. This presence then becomes a gift to all whose lives we touch. You are invited to join us for a day of practice, to clear our minds and open our hearts. With Beth Mulligan and friends.
December 7th A Day of Mindfulness Rancho Mirage, CA -fundraiser! 9:30-3:30 Through Eisenhower Medical Center – Theme is also Cultivating Compassionate Presence, Giving the gift of your true attentive self, through the practice of meditation, mindful awareness, yoga and community.. Learn More and register here
Sunday Sitting meditation group and talk at Insight Community of the Desert 4:30-6:00 Beth will be speaking on Nov 10th and December 8th, we meet weekly, every Sunday led by the other wonderful teachers from Insight Community of the Desert. by donation only.
For other day long and weekly events, see below my monthly message!
“ When we live in Awareness it is easy to miracles everywhere.” Thich Nhat Hanh
A pre-Holiday Message from Mindful-Way founder Beth Mulligan
Often I am asked to present Mindfulness as a way to reduce stress and increase joy, to a variety of audiences in a very short space of time. I begin with the “Coming into the Present Moment Meditation”, Hugh and I also call “Look, Listen, Feel, Breathe (you may read more and try this technique on my blog post “How to Find the Present Moment”. I lead this before I even introduce myself or give an overview of the presentation. It ensures that I am more present and enhances the possibility that the students are more present also. People are frequently surprised at how much this five minute practice changes the way they feel-for the better! It also shows people in a very simple way that they can shift their attention at will. I then build upon this skill- moving the attention purposefully- with a practice I call; “You Never Have to Wait in Line Again Yoga”. We begin in a standing posture, and I pose the question, “When might you feel stressed standing up?”
“Waiting in line!” people inevitably reply. “What do you feel in your body?” “Tense, stomach in a knot, heart racing, shallow breathing…” “What kinds of thoughts are going through your mind?” “This is taking so long! I always pick the wrong line. Why don’t they open another lane? Why did she just pull her checkbook out now? I need to get going!” “How do you feel emotionally?” “Irritated, frustrated, angry, depressed.” Then I get them to fess up that they might also be having unkind thoughts about other people in the store, bank, post office….
“Do your thoughts or feelings change the line at all? In other words does it make it go any faster?” “No!” Some folks say it even goes slower. “So who is suffering?” “Me!”
OK so we’re going to do something different, we’re going to change one thing in a situation where we have little control –(we can always walk out but we’re going to have to face it sometime…) , we’re going to change where we place our attention. Begin by feeling your feet on the ground…really feel all the parts of your feet making contact with the earth…take a deep breath…” We go from there to adjusting our posture to feel more engaged and open, and then add in a few gentle stretches. After a few minutes I ask, “How’s the line now?” “What line?” is the most common answer. “Now let’s add the cherry on the Sundae, let’s greet one person in the line, and maybe ask how they are? And then silently start sending good wishes to the other people in the line. “May you have enough to eat, may your children be well, may you be healthy, and may you be happy.”
“Now how do you feel?” “Peaceful. Empowered. Connected to my fellow human beings. Grateful…” “So what changed this unpleasant stressful situation in to a pleasant one? First noticing we were getting stressed, knowing we had a choice and knowing what to do- changing where we placed our attention. This exercise motivates people to want to learn more about this skill of placing one’s attention on something that reduces stress and even creates compassion and good will (Mindfulness). I encourage you to try this as we move into the holiday season. Look away from that little screen, open up to the world and connect, and most of all take care of your self. Because it’s a busy time of year, it may be difficult to take an on-going class which is why this issue is dedicated to day long offerings throughout Southern California as well as ongoing “drop –in Sitting Groups.” I am also reading a fascinating book about fostering a good life in the Digital Age, called Hamlet’s BlackBerry, featured below as my book of the month. He poses the idea that with all our connection if we don’t include pauses, the meaning and depth of those connections is lost. Mindfulness meditation allows us to pause and connect. May you be peaceful, may you be happy, may you be well, may you be at ease, May all beings be well.
Day Long Events
Nov 16th Tenzin Robert Thuman Comes to Insight LA in Santa Monica, CA! Learn more and register here
Nov 17th, Day long Retreat with Beth Sternlieb Insight LA, Santa Monica on Loving Kindness and Compassion Learn More and register here
November 23rd Day Long retreat with Cheryl Slean through Insight Community of the Desert- Palm Desert, Ca on Compassion, Kindness, and Radical Allowance register here
December 7th in the AM: Taking Refuge in Your Life: half day retreat for people of color with Larry Yang in the PM half day retreat Coming out to Freedom for the LGBTIQ community
Both at Insight LA Santa Monica!
Weekly meditation groups:
In the Palm Springs area: Insight Community of the Desert where you can sit with guidance of excellent teachers including Larry Yang and Beth Mulligan every Sunday from 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.
UCLA has weekly sitting groups also through the Mindful Awarenss Research center known as M.A.R.C.
Yokoji Zen Mountain Center is open to support your practice. Join the Sunday program every and any week. They have literally weathered the storm and practice there is as strong and steady as the mountain. Thank you Yokoji teachers and residents!!
In San Diego Area visit 2nd Street Sangha with multiple offerings and classes led by the wonderful Diana Shimkus!
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: Hamlet’s Blackberry
A brilliant and thoughtful handbook for the Internet age.” —Bob Woodward
“Incisive … Refreshing … Compelling.” —Publishers Weekly
A crisp, passionately argued answer to the question that everyone who’s grown dependent on digital devices is asking: Where’s the rest of my life? Hamlet’s BlackBerry challenges the widely held assumption that the more we connect through technology, the better. It’s time to strike a new balance, William Powers argues, and discover why it’s also important to disconnect. Part memoir, part intellectual journey, the book draws on the technological past and great thinkers such as Shakespeare and Thoreau. “Connectedness” has been considered from an organizational and economic standpoint—from Here Comes Everybody to Wikinomics—but Powers examines it on a deep interpersonal, psychological, and emotional level. Readers of Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point and Outliers will relish Hamlet’s BlackBerry.
Listen to a great interview With Author William Powers on NPR here
Did you know that there is new magazine called Mindful? 