In meditation the skill of concentration is both the engine and steering wheel of practice. Very simply, concentration is the skill of intentionally controlling attention. Putting your mind where you want it to go rather than letting it be swept wherever the winds of unconscious mental habits would carry it.
We are often told that meditation is all about letting go, but this is only one part of it. The vast majority of meditation traditions also emphasize the importance concentration skills – not only does it greatly enhance every kind of meditation practice, it also enhances life. Concentration skills give you a greater ability to shape your awareness as the needs of your situation demand. The concentrated mind can also open doorways to all kinds of fun and interesting states of consciousness.
Some people have trouble learning concentration because they find it boring or frustrating. In this 7-week course, you’ll be guided step by step to understand and experientially master the fundamental underlying principles of concentrated attention. You’ll receive fun outside-the-box daily practices that will keep you engaged, making step-by-step progress in your skill level. We’ll even be using an online app to help you monitor your progress and stay on track with daily practice until it becomes an established habit.
The Consciousness Explorer’s Club’s Avi Craimer has developed and taught this course for beginner meditators looking to establish a practice, and for experienced meditators looking for some Jedi mind training. The class asks a commitment of 30 minutes of meditation practice per day for the length of the course. Also please note, if you have mental health challenges or if concentration practices have caused any problems for you in the past, please speak to the instructor before registering.
Location & Dates
Next class likely to run Fall 2017, exact dates TBA. Email info@avicraimer.com if you’d like to be updated on course info.
Avi is a meditation teacher, spiritual guide, and founding CEC director. After graduate study in philosophy at the University of British Columbia and Georgetown University, Avi experienced a profound shift in consciousness led to him toward hard-core contemplative practice and training as a spiritual director (a spiritual director is a professional who accompanies and supports … Continued
Testimonials
I’m constantly amazed by Avi’s forensic ability to identify opportunities and correct imbalances in people’s meditation practices. It’s also heartening and a bit magical to see someone with training as an analytic philosopher use their skills to honour and articulate the full continuum of contemplative experience. In this sense he is an unusual mix of intelligence, rigour and heart. He does all of this with great patience and compassion and professionalism.
– Jeff Warren
This course has been immensely helpful in providing new perspectives and approaches for deepening, clarifying, and softening the internal conversation. Avi is very skilled at a balanced blending of “Eastern” and “Western” models, with pragmatism and imagination. He does an excellent job of creating a safe container for opening the heart. – Hannah Kaufman, Intern Psychotherapist
