Equanimity with Arising and Passing

TEACHER: Kevin Lacroix
THEME: Equanimity with Arising and Passing
MEDITATION: Welcome
INTERACTIVE: What goes on backstage

Kevin: The idea of a train station has often been used as a metaphor for mind; thoughts being trains that arrive and leave the station, often with our having boarded them without even knowing until we’re somewhere well down the line. Can we allow – even welcome – all thoughts, all experiences to come and go from the station without ever needing to board them? In the interactive workshop, we will try to pull back the curtain on what might be running behind the scenes as we anticipate experiences in our daily lives, creating push or pull without our being aware, potentially finding unforeseen micro-opportunities to welcome/surrender in the process.

Wisdom In Letting Go

TEACHER: Erin Oke
THEME: Wisdom in letting go
MEDITATION: Unfixing
INTERACTIVE: Spontaneous wisdom in silly hats

Erin: We’ll work in the sit to gently unhook from the sticky thoughts and feels that are gumming us up, letting go and finding space where we can. For the interactive practice we’ll tap into our spontaneous selves and drop some intuitive knowledge whilst wearing ridiculous headgear.

The Strength To Surrender

TEACHER: Caitlin Colson
THEME: The Strength To Surrender
MEDITATION: Building up and letting go
INTERACTIVE: What does trust feel like?

Caitlin: Letting go is not passive. Surrendering is an active decision to give up on the need to steer, plan and control. It’s a paradox, as everything that’s true is, but it takes a lot of strength to truly get to the place of surrender where zero strength is required. In this meditation we’ll explore the dynamic between the release into surrender and the strength it takes to get us there. For part two, we’ll explore what trust feels like (without making you fall into each other’s arms from great heights!).

Sweet Surrender

TEACHER: Erin Oke
THEME: 
Sweet Surrender
MEDITATION:
You’re already there
INTERACTIVE: 
Three legged stool

Erin: We’ll meditate in open awareness, surrendering to the experience of being exactly who we are, where we are at that moment in time. Then we’ll explore the interplay between faith, doubt and courage, the three legged stool on which practice can perch.

Compulsions & Blind-spots

TEACHER: Kevin Lacroix
THEME: 
Compulsions & Blind-spots
MEDITATION: 
Do Nothing
INTERACTIVE: 
Who shows up when you do?

Kevin: Concluding a month of ‘mindfulness-as-path’, we consider how this path might wind its way through our daily habits and reflexive behaviours, exploring where we might find richer experiences in activities that otherwise get lost in the haze of unmindful multitasking and / or compulsive distraction. In the second half, we’ll pull back the curtain on our inner puppet masters to see who’s really running the show when we hang out awkwardly with other humans.

“Zen does not confuse spirituality with thinking about God while one is peeling potatoes. Zen spirituality is just to peel the potatoes.” ― Alan W. Watts