Still Water Events Calendar

EVENT TYPE DATES
Coming Home to Ourselves: A Morning of Practice Day of Practice Saturday, August 28, 2010
Introduction to Mindfulness: A No Fee Workshop
Workshop Monday, September 13, 2010
Smiling like a Buddha: A Ten-Session Mindfulness Meditation Class Class Mondays, September 20 - November 22, 2010
Deepening Our Practice: Support Groups for Experienced Practitioners Practice, Sharing, and Study Groups September to December, 2010
Settling into Silence: Still Water Practice Retreat Weekend Retreat Friday, October 1 - Sunday, October 3, 2010
Still Water Community Retreat * Weekend Retreat Friday, November 12 - Sunday, November 14 , 2010
     

* Please hold the date. We'll have more information as the event approaches.

 

 

 

Coming Home to Ourselves: A Morning of Practice
 

Held at Blueberry Gardens, Ashton, MD

Saturday, August 28, 2010, 8:45 am to 12:30 pm

Register now


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kingdom

Our practice is to take refuge in the present moment because the present moment is always available. The present moment is full of life, full of wonders. We don’t have to run towards the future to get it. You are already a wonder and surrounding you are wonders you can experience, if you know how to stop and to become fully present. – Thich Nhat Hanh

Many of us, take little time in our daily lives to come back to ourselves. We are focused on schedules and tasks, and on meeting other people's needs. A day of practice allows us to refresh ourselves and to more deeply experience the flow of life around and through us.

You are invited to join us on Saturday, August 28th.

Our Morning of Practice will take place in the Octagon at Blueberry Gardens in Ashton, Maryland. Our program is below. The suggested donation is $25—$50. Please feel free to contribute less or more according to your circumstances.

Blueberry Gardens is about 13 miles from Crossings in Silver Spring and also 13 miles from the Columbia Yoga Center in Columbia. We will faciiltate the formation of car pools to make the drive more enjoyable and to reduce gas consumption.

To register, please go to our online registration site. If you have questions, please email info@StillWaterMPC.org or call 301 270 8353. For directions, go to the Blueberry Gardens web site.

We hope you can join us. Please pass this notice on to friends or groups you think might be interested in joining with us.

Coming Home to Ourselves ScheduleWalking

8:45
9:00
9:40
10:00
10:20
10:50
11:15
11:40
12:10
12:30

Registration and settling in
Welcoming, and deep relaxation of the body
Sitting meditation
Walking meditation
Dharma talk: Coming Home to Ourselves
Break and outdoor walking meditation
Sitting meditation
Touching the Earth
Sharing
Closing Bell

 

 


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Introduction to Mindfulness: A No Fee Workshop

Held at Crossings, Monday, September 13, 2010, 7:30 - 9:00 pm

Register now

pdf_icon<downloadable flyer>

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Mindfulness is our capacity to be fully present in our own lives, to be aware of what we are doing as we are doing it. As we develop our awareness, an inner stillness naturally grows. We are better able to embrace the world, better able to respond wisely and lovingly. If we are not mindful, we are split -- disconnected from the life energy that is in us and in the world.

During this 90-minute workshop we will explore mindfulness as a daily practice ,and become familiar with conscious breathing, sitting meditation, and walking meditation.

There is no fee for this workshop. If you plan to attend, please register so that we can hold a place for you.

This workshop is co-sponsored by Crossings, and will be taught by Mitchell Ratner.

Mitchell has been a lay member of the Tiep Hien Buddhist order since 1993, and in 2001 received the Dharmacariya (meditation teacher) transmission from Vietnamese Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. A founder of the Still Water Mindfulness Practice Center, since 1994 he has taught classes and workshops focused on practicable methods of integrating mindfulness meditation with work, meaningful relationships, and the challenges of everyday life.

Register now

 


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Smiling like a Buddha: A Ten-Session Mindfulness Meditation Class

 

Held at Crossings, Mondays 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
September 20 – November 22

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Cambodian head

When we practice mindfulness, we develop, over time, a relaxed state of awareness that allows for the moment-by-moment direct observation of sensations, feelings, and mind-states. When mindfulness is firmly established, joy, compassion, equanimity and loving-kindness arise.

Intended for both new and experienced practitioners, the class will explore conscious breathing, developing/deepening a sitting practice, walking meditation, mindfulness in everyday life, recognizing and accepting feelings and emotions, transforming anger, nurturing love, developing compassion, and hugging meditation. 

Participants will be able to share experiences, progress, and challenges within a supportive workshop environment.

Cost The fee is $250 for the entire ten-session course. (A reduced fee schedule is available for those for whom the course fee would be a hardship.) For more information, email mitchell@StillWaterMPC.org or call (301) 270-8353. Space is limited. 

Register now

About Mitchell Ratner, Ph.D.:  Mitchell has been a lay member of the Tiep Hien Buddhist order since 1993, and in 2001 received the Dharmacariya (meditation teacher) transmission from Vietnamese Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. An applied anthropologist and a founder of the Still Water Mindfulness Practice Center, since 1994 he has taught classes and workshops focused on practicable methods of integrating mindfulness meditation with work, meaningful relationships, and the challenges of everyday life.

 


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Settling into Silence: Still Water Practice Retreat

Held at Charter Hall Retreat Center
Oct 1-3, 2010

Register now

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Tree

Twenty-five hundred years ago Lao-Tzu asked in the Tao-te-Ching:

Do you have the patience to wait
till your mud settles and the water is clear?
Can you remain unmoving
till the right action arises by itself?

These days, most of us don't have much time to settle our mud. Even when we are not physically racing around from place to place for appointments, projects, or recreation, usually our minds are still moving, involved in entertainment or conversation, or quietly planning, worrying, or obsessing.

The Still Water "Settling into Silence Retreat" offers us the possibility of calming our minds and looking inward at the energies flowing through us.  We will give ourselves time for spiritual work: the integration of our minds, bodies, and spirits. The nurturing environment will include a supportive community of fellow practitioners, and the calming waters of Charter Hall Point, at the confluence of the Susquehanna River and the Chesapeake Bay..

Retreat Schedule We will gather on Friday evening for a silent pot-luck dinner and a sitting.

Saturday morning, after morning meditation, we will break the silence for introductions and a short dharma talk on silent practices for developing our mindfulness, concentration, and insight.

The rest of Saturday, and early Sunday, will be periods of guided and self-guided formal sitting meditation, group walking meditation, eating meditation, and time for mindful walks, naps, or exercise.

sw-graphicLate morning on Sunday we will come out of our silence and share together our experiences, challenges, and insights. The retreat will end after lunch on Sunday, about 1:00 p.m.

Location and Leadership The retreat will be held at the Charter Hall Retreat Center near Perryville, Maryland (about 75 miles from downtown Silver Spring, one and a half to two hours from Washington). The retreat will be led by Mitchell Ratner, the Senior Teacher of the Still Water Mindfulness Practice Center, and by other experienced members of the community.

The community will share responsibilities for the three meals on Saturday and the two meals on Sunday. Each participant will be assigned to a meal team and will contribute to the purchasing and silent preparation of one meal.

Payment The Still Water MPC has established a sliding scale for our retreats so that all may attend:

The suggested donation is $140 per person. The benefactor donation is $210 per person The limited income donation is $100 per person. (If you wish to tent, rather than stay in the lodge, the rates are $110, $180, and $70, respectively.)

You are welcome to contribute any amount between the limited-income contribution and the benefactor contribution (or more if you wish), in accord with the urgings of your heart and your means and circumstances. If contributing at even the limited-income level would be a hardship, please let us know and we will endeavor to make other arrangements with you.

 

NOTE: The facility cost is $70 per person for those staying in the lodge and $40 per person for those staying in tents. All contributions above these amounts are considered to be voluntary, tax-deductible contributions.

Register now

Questions? Please contact Mitchell Ratner (Mitchell@StillWaterMPC.org, 301 270-8353).

To download a handsome one-page pdf announcement of this event, click here.

 


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Deepening Our Practice–Bringing more joy, understanding, love, and compassion into our lives
– a Fall program for experienced practitioners

Held in Takoma Park and Online
September to December, 2010

Register now

 

dont hurryMindfulness practice is both surprisingly simple and exasperatingly elusive. The core instruction – to bring our attention to what is actually happening in us and around us – is liberating. It is a relief to realize we can let go of the regrets, fears, and stories we tell ourselves.

The exasperation comes when after months or years of practice we realize that consistently bringing our attention to the present moment is still not easy. Our old habits, resistances, misunderstandings, and ambivalences undermine our intentions. Mindfulness practice has entered our lives and many changes have occurred. However, some of the old moods and responses keep coming back, seemingly as strong as before.

How do we as experienced practitioners bring more mindfulness, joy, understanding, love, and compassion into our lives?

This Fall the Still Water Mindfulness Practice Center will look into this question through a special practice, sharing, and study program. We will identify where we are stuck, share our challenges and successes, and explore together advanced practices and readings.

Three group formats are offered:

  • An in-person group will meet two Tuesdays each month, 7:30 to 9:00 pm, in Takoma Park, MD.

  • An in-person group will meet two Saturdays each month, 9:30 to 11:00 am, in Takoma Park, MD.

  • An on-line group will meet two Wednesdays each month, 7:30 to 9:00 pm, through telephone and internet audio-visual connections. 

Each group will meet 7 times, between September and December. (Tuesdays on 9/14, 9/28, 10/12, 10/26, 11/9, 11/23, and 12/14; Wednesdays on 9/15, 9/29, 10/13, 10/27, 11/10, 12/1, and 12/15; Saturdays on 9/18, 10/9, 10/23, 11/06, 11/20, 12/4, and 12/18.)

Spaces in each group are limited. If a group is over-enrolled (or underenrolled), participants will be encouraged to join a different group.

trioIn addition to the twice monthly group sessions, participants will be offered the opportunity to join sub-groups of 3-4 people coming together, in person or virtually, once or twice a month, in which they can more deeply share their own practices and challenges.

An on-line forum and individual consultations with Mitchell will also be available for program participants.

Participants are also strongly encouraged to attend the Still Water Practice Retreat, October 1st to 3rd, at the Charter Hall Retreat Center in Perryville, MD., as well as to participate in the weekly Still Water sittings and programs.

A solid foundation in mindfulness practice and a commitment to daily practice are pre-requisites for participation in the Deepening Our Practice groups.  Ideally, participants will have built their foundation through:

  • regular attendance for one year or more in a mindfulness practice group, such as the Thursday or Sunday evening Still Water groups, 

  • participation in 10 days or more of residential attendance at retreats with Thich Nhat Hanh or other mindfulness teachers, and,

  • participation in practice-focused classes, such as Mitchell’s Smiling Like a Buddha class. 

The suggested meditation practice commitment is 20 minutes of sitting meditation and 20 minutes of outdoor walking meditation per day, 5-7 days per week, along with other practices that nourish mindful attention throughout the day.

If you have questions about whether your preparation is appropriate, or other questions about the program, please contact Mitchell (Mitchell@StillWaterMPC.org or 301 270 8353). To register, please go to our online registration site.

The program is offered in accord with the spirit of Dana. Participants are encouraged to make a donation to the Still Water MPC that accords with the promptings of their heart and their personal circumstances. The tax-deductible contributions are used to support the community and provide a modest salary to Mitchell. All donations are appreciated. The suggested donation range for the seven sessions is $120 to $240.

 

 

 


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