Loving-Kindness Meditation Course

This course is for anyone who’s ever felt frustrated by not knowing what to do when challenging emotions surface – either on the meditation cushion, or in the midst of daily life. In this 7-week course we’ll delve into a number of juicy meditation practices that cultivate loving states of consciousness, and then we’ll use them to facilitate inner transformation.

In the Therevada Buddhist meditation tradition, there are a set of practices known as the Brahma Viharas through which we can train our brains to generate various flavours of loving awareness such as metta (friendliness), karuna (compassion), and mudita (rejoicing). In this course, we will learn and practice these meditations, with an emphasis on the development of loving oneself first as a foundation for effectively loving others.

Through mindfulness practice we learn that there is not any single unified thing called the self. What we discover is that our inner world is multi-faceted, made of many strands, many voices. Interestingly, something similar has been discovered in forms of Western emotional healing work. The Western inner work practices of Focusing and Inner Parts Dialogue begin from mindfulness of a felt sense, and then move into a caring inner dialogue that facilitates emotional transformation and integration. The Brahma Viharas and these Western techniques make natural companions, yet, they are rarely taught in an integrated way.

NOTE: Meditation can complement but is not a substitute for professional psychological and medical health care. There are risks in any psychological or spiritual method. Those risks increase for people who are experiencing significant distress or dysfunction. Please be aware of these risks and ask about them if you are unsure. Please know that, should you need it, it is your responsibility to seek appropriate support for your mental health from a licenced mental health professional.

Location & Dates

Next class Fall 2017, exact dates TBA. Email info@avicraimer.com if you’d like to be updated on course info.

Instructors

Director, Teacher, and Website Development

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

Avi

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 particular the devotional aspects of practice. 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


I have been enjoying the many benefits of practicing Loving-Kindness. The most valuable one is a substantial increase in my ability to listen – to myself and others and act accordingly. Loving-kindness enables me to get in touch with my ego in an honest and non-confrontational way;  it empowers me to address my emotions in a positive and constructive manner.

Fernando Aloise


 

Fees & Registration

Cost: $360

Space is limited, to register please use our Eventbrite page.

Please email questions to Avi at info@avicraimer.com

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