Year of Going Deeper

Just Being, Just Sitting (July 1–28)

Bodhipaksa
on practice
4 Comments

yogd2015-jjustsittingJust Sitting is a form of meditation in which we simply allow the mind to settle itself. It is a practice of non-doing. As we sit, we allow thoughts to pass through the mind unobstructedly — and without getting caught up in their storylines. In time the mind stills, and a state of pure, effortless awareness emerges.

In this 28 day event you’ll learn to:

  • Sit without judgement
  • Allow thoughts and feelings to arise and pass without obstruction
  • Rest in an open and expansive state of awareness
  • Enter an effortless state of meditation
  • Recognize that it is not “you” who meditates, and allow your meditation to unfold spontaneously, from within

This event is suitable for people of all levels of experience, including complete beginners.

Join us in Just Being! Register today!

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Join us for our second Year of Going Deeper

Bodhipaksa
news
3 Comments

yogd2015Join us for a series of thirteen meditation events throughout 2015. We’re calling this our Year of Going Deeper.

There is no fixed charge for these events; they’re all by donation.

  • Practice reminders delivered by email. (Three to seven per week).
  • Meditation guidance and links to guided meditations.
  • Optional meditation events: watch live on video, or catch the archive later.
  • Online community: share your experience, receive support and encouragement.

There is no fixed charge for these events. Participation is by donation.

Our Year of Going Deeper includes events for all levels of practice, whether you’re a beginner interested in learning basic techniques or a more experienced meditator interested in cultivating deep meditative states and insight.

Please share this news with your friends. We have 1,200 on each of our events last year, and we’d like this Year of Going Deeper to be a year of going bigger!

Click here for more information »

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Join us on January 1st for our 28 Day Meditation Challenge, “Sit : Breathe : Love”

Bodhipaksa
on practice
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sit : breathe : loveFrom January 1 to January 28, as part of our Year of Going Deeper, we’re running a meditation challenge.

This 28 Day Meditation Challenge, called Sit : Breathe : Love, has the aim of helping you to set up the habit of meditating daily.

The benefits of regular meditation have been demonstrated again and again in multiple studies. Meditating makes you happier, is good for your health, protects your brain from aging, boosts your intelligence, and helps reduce pain, stress, and depression.

But it’s not easy to set up a regular meditation practice.

So we’re here to help you!

The Aim

The aims in the 28 Day Challenge are:

  1. To work toward building up a daily habit of meditation
  2. If possible, to sit every day for 28 days

How the Challenge Works

We set the bar for success low; although we hope you’ll meditate for 20 to 40 minutes a day, a “successful” day is one in which you’ve done some form of sitting meditation for at least five minutes — because there are Days Like That, aren’t there?

In the 28 Day Challenge we’ll teach you how to find a comfortable meditation posture (“Sit”); we’ll teach you how to calm your mind and settle agitated emotions by practicing the mindfulness of breathing (“Breathe”); and we’ll teach you how to appreciate yourself and others more through the practice of lovingkindness (“Love”). Hence, Sit : Breathe : Love”. We’ll also teach you walking meditation.

You’ll receive an email every day containing meditation instructions. We’ll also send you links to guided meditations.

There is also an online community where you can share your experiences and receive support and encouragement from other participants in the challenge. If you already have a Google account, then joining the Community is easy. Even if you don’t have a Google account, it’s simple to set one up. We’ll send you a link to the community once you register.

Donate!

The challenge is free, although we do appreciate donations. In fact, we need donations to cover our running costs. Please make a donation right now using the Paypal button below.





Register!

To participate, sign up for the challenge (and any other of the Year of Going Deeper events that take your fancy) using the form below.

Register for any or all Year of Going Deeper events and (optionally) our regular newsletter.

* indicates required



Wildmind


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Join us for a Year of Going Deeper

Bodhipaksa
on practice
No Comments

A year of going deeperJoin us for a series of free meditation events throughout 2014. We’re calling this our Year of Going Deeper.

The Year of Going Deeper includes events suitable for you whatever your level of practice, whether you’re a beginner interested in learning basic techniques or a more experienced meditator interested in cultivating deep meditative states and insight. You’re free to pick and choose which events you participate in.

  • Registration for these events is free, although donations are encouraged.
  • When you register for an event, you’re signing up for a daily practice reminder that will be delivered by email.
  • The newsletter will contain practice suggestions and links to guided meditations.
  • There will also be some “live” events that you can watch on video, or watch recordings of later.
  • For each event there will be an online community where you can share your experience and receive support and encouragement.

Click on the title of any event in order to learn more or to register.

DatesEventDetails
Jan 1 – 28Sit : Breathe : Love
(#1)*		A 28 Day Meditation Challenge
Jan 31 – May 10100 Days of Lovingkindness*An exploration of the four “immeasurable” states of kindness, compassion, appreciation, and “loving with insight”
May 13 – Jun 9Sit : Breathe : Love
(#2)*		A 28 Day Meditation Challenge
Jun 6 – Aug 1060 Days to JhanaExploring how to bring about deeper states of calmness, energy, joy, and concentration that characterize the “flow” state known as jhana or dhyana
Aug 13 – Sep 9Sit : Breathe : Love
(#3)*		A 28 Day Meditation Challenge
Sep 12 – Oct 2342 Days: 6 ElementsAn exploration of the Six Element Practice, which is an insight practice on impermanence, interconnectedness, and non-self
Oct 27 – Nov 23Sit : Breathe : Love
(#4)*		A 28 Day Meditation Challenge
Nov 28 – Dec 254 Weeks of InsightDissolving the false sense of having a separate and permanent self, so that we can embrace change and let go of suffering

* Suitable for complete beginners. Other events require prior meditation experience. Click on event titles for further details or to register.

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A Year of Going Deeper

Bodhipaksa
on practice
No Comments

A Year of Going Deeper

I just wanted to share with you the graphic that we’re using for our Year of Going Deeper, which is a year-long program of meditation events here on Wildmind.

The Year of Going Deeper will offer opportunities to learn basic meditation techniques as well as to refine how you work in meditation so that you can cultivate deeper states of tranquillity and insight.

All the events will be free, although donations are welcome.

We’ll be announcing more details about the program. Stay tuned!

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A year of going deeper

Bodhipaksa
news
5 Comments

A year of going deeperWe have exciting plans for next year. We kicked off 2013 with a 100 Day Meditation Challenge, and then continued with 100 Days of Lovingkindness. Lots of work went into these, and for the second event I managed, somehow (mainly by sleeping very little) to produce a blog post for every one of the 100 days.

I loved the focus that this gave to the blog and to our practice. Many, many people participated in these challenges and experienced big breakthroughs with their practice.

I also loved the fact that over the course of 100 days I managed to write 90,000 words on lovingkindness practice. That material is going to evolve into a book, for which I already have a publisher lined up. And that book, once it’s published, is going to end up reaching even more people. I love synergy!

Inspired by the good that came from these two events, I want to run even more special events in 2014. We’re calling this our Year of Going Deeper. So we’re running even more events, and this will give a wonderful focus to our practice. It will also lead to me developing a large body of blog posts and guided meditations that will be freely available as a gift to the world. And we’ll also end up with more books, CDs, etc.

Soon we’ll be announcing how these events will work, and how you can sign up for them (they’ll all be free, although donations are encouraged), but I want to give you a sneak peek at what’s coming up. Here’s the program we’ve put together:

  • Jan 1 – 28 Sit : Breathe : Love (A 28 Day Meditation Challenge)
  • Jan 31 – May 10 100 Days of Lovingkindness
  • May 13 – Jun 9 Sit : Breathe : Love (A 28 Day Meditation Challenge)
  • Jun 6 – Aug 10 60 Days to Jhana
  • Aug 13 – Sep 9 Sit : Breathe : Love (A 28 Day Meditation Challenge)
  • Sep 12 – Oct 23 42 Days: 6 Elements (An exploration of the 6 Element Practice)
  • Oct 27 – Nov 23 Sit : Breathe : Love (A 28 Day Meditation Challenge)
  • Nov 28 – Dec 25 4 Weeks of Insight

We decided that although a 100 day meditation challenge at the start of the year was a wonderful thing for those who participated, it was also daunting for many people, which meant that they didn’t even try. So we decided to start with a 28 day challenge in 2014 instead. The aim is to help people develop a habit of daily sitting.

And so that people don’t feel that they’ve “missed the boat” if they can’t get on board for the first challenge, we’re repeating the challenge throughout the year. The 28 day challenges will focus on mindfulness practice.

The program follows the traditional approach of exploring samatha approaches to meditation, which help us develop calm, concentration, and emotional positivity, before exploring vipassana (insight) approaches to meditating.

In the end what we’ll have is a whole program that gives you everything you need, meditatively speaking, to reach awakening.

I hope you find this program as exciting as I do.

But here’s the thing: I have way too much on my plate as it is. This program can only happen if I’m freed up from some of my administrative responsibilities so that I can concentrate on writing and teaching.

And that’s why we’ve set up the Free Bodhi project, where we’re raising seed money so that I can employ a business manager. We’re trying to raise enough to employ a business manager for six months. What about after that? Well, having a business manager (actually he has a name — Mark), will help Wildmind become more financially stable. Our publicity will be better, so that more people will attend the events I’ve been telling you about. And with more people, we’ll receive more donations. I’ll also be freer to develop books and CDs, which we’ll sell through our store and through Amazon. So within six months we project that we’ll bring in enough extra revenue to support Mark indefinitely.

There’s more I could say. I’ve been thinking much more long-term about Wildmind, and what we’re doing. But I’ll save that for another blog post.

In the meantime, I invite you to contribute to our Free Bodhi project so that the program above can become a reality.

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