Beyond the Limits of Reality
In my experience, a true paradox is a catalyst to unimaginable growth. When I say “unimaginable” I mean it in a literal sense. Standing bravely in the existential grip of a paradox, we may grow in ways we can’t imagine.
Being Human Takes Practice
The Consciousness Explorers Club is reinventing the community meditation experience. We explore together every Monday night, share audio of our meditations and our thoughts about practice, and support CEC-inspired local groups around the world.
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Sign up for our monthly newsletter for announcements about our meditations, explorations, retreats, courses and events.
Connect With Us
Upcoming
Meditation Exploration Day Retreat at Bela Farm
Location: Bela Farm, 5750 6th Line Erin, ON N0B 1Z0
Date: Saturday, September 17th, 11am-5pm
Sunset Sits
Location: parks around Toronto!
Date: Wednesdays May 25, June 22, July 20, August 24, September 21
Practicing the Inner Work of Racial Justice with Rhonda Magee
Location: online via zoom, link provided upon registration
Date: Saturday, October 1st, 1-4pmET
“A wise teacher, and a wise centre, needs to offer a whole range of skillful practices, because people come along at different stages of their inner development, with different temperaments, and with different sets of problems.” -Jack Kornfield
Featured Articles
Powering Up
I learned it wasn’t actually possible or desirable to fix another’s life, that it was in fact at odds with true empowerment and liberation. Both theirs and mine. ‘Cause of course they’re connected. So my perspective shifted from trying to fix everyone’s everything to trying to create the conditions for empowerment.
Caregiving in the time of Covid
It’s so easy to lose yourself in the care of another human being. But as I’ve learned, and keep learning, you can’t pour from an empty cup. What fills my cup? My daily practices of meditation, gratitude and movement. Weekly connection in community with like minded individuals. And every now and then an immersive deep dive into my own self care on retreat, even if just for a few days. What can I do more simply? Nourish myself with healthy food and clean water. Rest. Spend time in Nature. Call a friend. Disconnect from devices. Take a deep breath. And another. And another.
Community Practice Activation Kit
We just finished version 2.0 of our CEC Community Practice Activation Kit available for free here. The idea of this kit is to inspire people around the world to start up their own community practice groups, in a way that’s unique to them and uniquely responsive to their local needs and context.
What is "Practice," Anyway?
Suddenly, we exist. Existing is complicated. We turn to practice. As we love to say at the CEC, being human takes practice. But what is a practice? The simplest definition of practice is some action – mental, emotional, physical, social – that you choose and repeat, so that it can become a habit. It is the deliberate cultivation of habits. Contemplative practices are practices that rehearse how you want to exist and relate to yourself and others.
Spiritual Terrains and Challenges
This primer is about the broadest possible classes of meditation and spiritual experience. It’s a work-in-progress. Every time I come back, I find myself cutting more details, for they seem like technique-specific effects, and not the human universals I once imagined. So it goes. In a couple years there may be nothing here at all.
Pluralism as Path
Almost any domain or activity in life can be approached as an intentional practice, and the people who specialize in these domains have learned important things about being human. How can we draw this wisdom out? Introducing the Consciousness Explorers Club's new pluralistic practice paradigm :)