Everyday Mindfulness for Everyday Living
For this event, Mindful Moments is partnering with 7400 Woodlawn Chapel in Seattle, WA. I feel deep gratitude to them for inviting me to share their beautiful space.
Dates:
Wed. 10/20​
Wed. 10/27
Wed. 11/3
Wed. 11/10
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Hybrid In-Person
for Vaccinated
Participants
and Zoom
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Time: 6:30 - 8PM
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Cost: $20-$100 (Sliding scale; pay what you can afford.)
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Location:
7400 Woodlawn Chapel
7400 Woodlawn Ave. NE, Seattle, 98115
What others are saying...
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"As a military Veteran, I was never formally introduced to meditation as a method of self care. Since taking Mr. Rongcal's Mindfulness course, I was able to pause, reflect, and be mindful of some of the behaviors contributing to my everyday stressors and burdens. I have learned to love myself and be forgiving, and I've been more productive and positive--I've learned so much from the 5-week practices and they have been truly life changing! I'm grateful for the opportunity with RJ and I'll always remember to live in the present!" - R.N.
COURSE OVERVIEW​
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​This 4-week course is an introduction to mindfulness, both conceptually and experientially. R.J. Rongcal will guide participants via interactive Zoom sessions, each one including a short talk, mindfulness meditation instructions, guided meditation, and group discussion.
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The course will begin with an introduction to mindfulness practice: What it is…How to do it...(and) Why it’s important. And week-by-week, the course will gradually open up into more heart-centered practices such as kindness and compassion.
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Between sessions, participants are invited to continue practicing mindfulness on their own with the support of guided meditation recordings, follow-up emails, and practice handouts.
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More about the concepts and the content of the course...
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The everyday struggles of stress, anxiety, frustration, restlessness, and so on are exacerbated by our own mental reactivity. The key shift that must happen in order to notice this (and change it) is an internal shift of one’s own mind and heart. We then learn that it is our own relationship with the present moment - not the present moment itself - that is the cause of so much stress and suffering.
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Objectives/understandings:
- I am not my thoughts, nor my body; I am not the stories I tell myself
- Stress is exacerbated by our own mental reactivity
- Attention is a “muscle” that can be strengthened
- Mindfulness is a kindness practice.
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Every practitioner arrives at these understandings through three domains, which are all offered in this class: instruction and content knowledge, individual meditation practice, and group discussion to inspire and foster the first two. These are not understandings someone alone can THINK themself into. The teachings and the words themselves are helpful and can be motivating, but they must be investigated and experienced first hand via meditation practice.
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Click here to learn more about R.J., the course creator and instructor.
COURSE OUTLINE
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Week 1 - What mindfulness is (and isn't)
Keys:
- Mindfulness can be practiced in numerous ways
- It can support us in all aspects of life
Practice: Awareness of breath and body
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Week 2 - Being Here Now
Keys:
- Noticing past/future thinking returns us to the present moment.
- Right now is the only moment we have.
Practice: Awareness of body sensations
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Week 3 - Kind Awareness
Keys:
- Mindfulness is friendliness to ourselves
- Noticing unhelpful beliefs we have about ourselves can free us from them.
Practice: Labeling thoughts, feelings, & sensations
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Week 4 - Willingness to be with Things as they are
Keys:
- Every moment of our day is a chance to wake up
- Pain x Resistance = Suffering
Practice: Open awareness meditation
PARTICIPANT EXPECTATIONS
- Try best to attend at least 3 of the 4 sessions
- Try best to maintain (near daily) meditation practice of 5+ minutes.
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WEEKLY CLASS FORMAT
- Short lecture/talk on week's topic
- Guided meditation
- Group discussion
- Q & A
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RESOURCES
Audio recordings of guided meditations, supplemental reading, online video links, and "How- to" handouts