Monday 30 November 2015

This week @ sangha....we need you!



Hi all.

This week @ Beaches Sangha we have our yearly session where we talk about...sangha. It's very important to us SOGgies (Sangha Organising Group) to have you at this meeting so we can discuss how you're finding it, what you've found helpful or less so, ideas for next year etc..

Even if it's the case that you like things just the way they are, it's important for us to hear that, so please come along and let us know. It's looking like Thursday will be a warm one, so hopefully we'll be able to meditate on the deck again.

See you there!
LL

Monday 23 November 2015

This week @ Beaches - debut of a guest speaker


Hi all.

This week
This week we have our last guest speaker for the year with Christopher Ash (nee McLean) coming to Beaches Sangha for the first time. He's going to give a talk called 'Experiencing First Hand' which might actually dovetail nicely with Jason Siff's talk last week, where he spoke about trying to be mindful of our experience as it is, while interfering with it as little as possible through our descriptions of it.

Christopher is a very experienced dharma teacher and psychotherapist, with experience in both Zen and Insight meditation. He has been teaching around the Sydney sanghas for many years and now lives in the Blue Mountains. I hope you'll join us.

Sangha party
Also, our last meeting for 2015 will be on Thursday 10th December when we'll be having our end of year party. All sangha members are welcome, past and present, regular and irregular. The tradition is a short meditation followed by a picnic on the lawn outside if its warm, or we'll bring the tables inside if it's not. Everyone brings something to share. Could you please let us know either this week or by posting a comment here on the web site (below this post), whether you'll be coming and if so, whether you'd like to bring a sweet or savoury dish to share.

Thanks.

LL



Hi Lenore. Jampa and I will come and bring a savoury dish. Betsy

Tuesday 17 November 2015

This week @ Beaches - someone somewhat famous


This is Jason Siff. Seriously, it's the least daggy photo of him I can find. He even looks a bit handsome. He teaches a bloody awesome approach to meditation called recollective awareness. But I warn you, he's a complete dag - has been known to wear socks and sandals! 

On a more serious note, many of us at Beaches Sangha practice this approach at least in part and the Spring Retreat is run according to the recollective awareness format. The quote that sums it up for me is:

"Whatever happens in your meditation, is your meditation.'

Jason is an American dharma teacher and ex-monk (so Jampa's going to have to fight for the limelight this week ha ha!) and author of several books. The one within eyesight at the moment is called "Unlearning Meditation: What To Do When Instructions Get In The Way", but there are others that I can't see as well.

I hope you can join us, and this dharma-somebody, on Thursday night.
LL

Tuesday 10 November 2015

Don't miss the next 2 weeks @ Beaches Sangha!!


What is forgiveness? Is forgiving a sign of weakness or courage? Does it mean that we have to let those who harm others get away with it? Can we really forgive others if we are unable to forgive ourselves first?


This week at Sangha we have Sylvie running a session on forgiveness. She will present a short video clip of Jack Kornfield, one of the leading Buddhist teachers in America, and author of several books on compassion and mindfulness, teaching how we can lift the burdens of the past from our hearts. 

After Jack’s video clip, Sylvie will facilitate a group discussion on your thoughts and experiences on the subject.


Next week at Sangha we have a very special guest visiting - someone you've heard us mention many times - Jason Siff. Jason is the person who created the 'recollective awareness' approach to meditation which has influenced many of us. He's the author of many books including 'Unlearning Meditation: What To Do When The Instructions Get In The Way". He visits Australia once a year (from the US) and runs retreats and workshops here.

Monday 2 November 2015

This week @ Beaches + a workshop this weekend



Hi all.

This week at Beaches Sangha I'm going to run a session that was inspired by a question Mick asked a few months ago: 'what is practice?'. I'm going to suggest some fenceposts that might outline the boundaries of dharma practice and then we can explore together what that means in reality. What is dharma practice specifically, and what might constitute practice of some other kind?

Also, this weekend, Winton is running a workshop called 'Secular Insight Practice and Everyday Awakening' in North Sydney. Details are here on the SIM web site - you'll need to register soon if you'd like to go.