The snow is spectacular, but driving conditions are poor. Therefore, we are cancelling the January 14th gathering, tomorrow evening. May you enjoy a peaceful evening at home!
Warmly,
Janet
on behalf of North Shore Mindfulness
Category: Uncategorized
January 2020 at NSM
Happy 2020 to All!
A great way to start off this new year and new decade is to be aware of all the positive elements in our daily life such as abundant clean drinking water, our doting pet(s), living in such a lush environment with the mountains and the sea…
Along with weekly sitting meditation, walking meditation, and dharma sharing, the additional scheduled activities for January are:
Jan 7 – Deep Relaxation *
Jan 14 – Recitation of the 5 Mindfulness Trainings
Jan 21 – Dharma Reading
Jan 28 – Mindful Tea Meditation
* Mats and cushions are provided. Bring a blanket or whatever you like to be comfortable.
Warmly,
Linda on behalf of
North Shore Mindfulness
Tuesday 7:00 – 8:30 PM
Audio Visual Room @ West Van Seniors’ Activity Centre (SAC)
695 21st Street, West Vancouver
December 2019 at North Shore Mindfulness
Dear Friends:
Our beloved teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh, continues to show us how to live with grace and courage at age 93! When I was fortunate to be in his presence in Hue, Vietnam last April, he turned his gaze towards the group of visitors, as you see in this photo. When he slowly looked from person to person, I felt an immense sense of calm and love sweep over me. Also during the visit, Thay teased the nuns by playfully posing with a frangipani flower. Everyone was smiling and laughing with him. Then Paul Davis, one of the leaders of our Loving Work Foundation travelling group, presented to Thay the photobook he created, A Way of Life: Zen Monastics at Work and at Play, 2017. He and Thay looked through some of the familiar photos together. What a memorable, precious time!!
You might be interested to read a current account of Thay’s health and travels at the link below. He is visiting the Thailand monastery where our Loving Work Foundation group also spent a wonderful week during the spring retreat. https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/blog/2019/12/2/official-health-update-thay-travels-to-bangkok-for-health-check-ups
Now, on to our December schedule. I hope you will come and relax in the support of our Sangha on Tuesday evenings, or enjoy your practice in your warm home or in the quiet forest. Give yourself the gift of taking time to stop and take care of yourself. The Christmas season is for many of us a time of mixed emotions: happiness, distraction, loneliness. How fortunate to know we can always touch that deeper joy available to us by coming back to our true selves. “There is a concentration on your in-breath that will make body and mind come together in just one moment. And suddenly you find yourself fully present, fully alive” (The Pocket Thich Nhat Hanh, 2012).
We have the following three meetings this month. There is a social gathering planned for December 17.
Dec 3 – Deep Relaxation*
Dec 10 – Recitation of the Five Mindfulness Trainings
Dec 17 – Meditation for the first hour, followed by a social time with tea and treats. You are invited to bring a few snacks to share.
* Mats and cushions are provided for deep relaxation. Bring a blanket or whatever you like to be comfortable.
Warmly,
Janet on behalf of
North Shore Mindfulness
Tuesday 7:00 – 8:30 PM
Audio Visual Room @ West Van Seniors’ Activity Centre (SAC)
695 21st Street, West Vancouver
November 2019 at North Shore Mindfulness
Dear Friends:
The weather is a bit nippy now but what glorious sunshine we’ve been having! It has now been two months and we have fully embraced our mindfulness practice at our new location in the West Van Seniors’ Centre. The AV room has allowed us to comfortably practice our sitting meditation, walking meditation, deep relaxation as well as Thich Nhat Hanh’s Mindful Movements, all in one spacious area.
At the start of the evening, please enter the meditation space with enough time to mindfully find a spot and be ready when the bell is invited at 7:00 PM. There are chairs and mats available but bring your own cushion or bench if that is your practice routine. If you are unavoidably late, you are welcome to quietly join the group.
Along with weekly sitting meditation, walking meditation, and dharma sharing, the additional scheduled activities for November are:
Nov 5 – Deep Relaxation *
Nov 12 – Recitation of the 5 Mindfulness Trainings
Nov 19 – Dharma Reading
Nov 26 – Mindful Tea Meditation
* Mats and cushions are provided. Bring a blanket or whatever you like to be comfortable.
Warmly,
Linda and Janet on behalf of
North Shore Mindfulness
Tuesday 7:00 – 8:30 PM
Audio Visual Room @ West Van Seniors’ Activity Centre (SAC)
695 21st Street, West Vancouver
October 2019 at NSM
Dear Friends:
The North Shore Mindfulness community has met in our spacious new room at the West Van Seniors’ Centre for a whole month and we really like it! While having a new space has taken a little getting used to, we are nicely set up and enjoy returning to the warm, familiar support of our dear Sangha. We have met some new meditators and enjoyed reconnecting with long-time members.
Our basic practice and program rotation remain the same. However, before our gathering begins, now we have the opportunity to connect in the café between 6:00 to 6:45 PM. Some people have treated themselves to an inexpensive home-cooked dinner and others settled on a bowl of hot soup. Then, we are welcomed to enter the AV room at 6:50 PM so we can mindfully find a spot and be ready when the bell is invited at 7:00 PM. There are chairs and mats available but please bring your own cushion or bench if that is your practice routine. If you are unavoidably late for the first sitting meditation, please quietly join the group.
Along with weekly sitting meditation, walking meditation and dharma sharing, additional activities for October are:
- Oct 1 – Deep Relaxation (Mats are provided. Bring a blanket to be comfortable)
- Oct 8 – Five Mindfulness Trainings
- Oct 15 – Dharma Reading
- Oct 22 – Tea Meditation
- Oct 29 – Ten Mindful Movements
Why Sangha? Thich Nhat Hanh teaches:
Alone we are vulnerable, but with brothers and sisters to work with, we can support each other. We cannot go to the ocean as a drop of water – we would evaporate before reaching our destination. But if we become a river, if we go as a Sangha, we are sure to arrive at the ocean.
Warmly,
Janet and Linda on behalf of
NORTH SHORE MINDFULNESS
We’re Moving!
After seven good years of meeting at St. Stephen’s church, North Shore Mindfulness is moving just a block away to West Vancouver Community Centre. Our new location is the Audio Visual Room at the Seniors’ Activity Centre (SAC) at 695 21st Street, West Vancouver. Our day and time – 7:00 – 8:30 PM Tuesday night – remain the same. People of all backgrounds and ages are welcome to our practice group.
Our first session at SAC will be Tuesday, September 10, 2019 from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM. Bus service and parking are located nearby. Please enter the fully accessible building through either of two large entranceways. There is no need to stop at a registration desk. Just look for the cafeteria, called Garden Side Café, and find the AV room directly across from the café.
Our evening format remains the same, including sitting and walking meditation, deep relaxation, drinking tea mindfully, reciting the Five Mindfulness Trainings, learning about the dharma, and dharma sharing. Mats and chairs are provided. Please bring your own cushion or bench.
We have a new opportunity to share food and fellowship in the café. From 6:00PM onwards, bring or buy a meal, snack or drink, or just drop by our table for a visit.
From 6:45 PM onwards, please mindfully enter the meditation (AV) room and
- remove your shoes, if comfortable
- sign in
- make a donation, or Dana, as you are able
- find your way to a chair or cushion and sit silently until our practice begins at 7:00
We look forward to sharing our mindfulness practice with you from September 10th onwards at our new home.
New Book Project: Walking with Thay
At North Shore Mindfulness, we recently received the following request for submissions to a book project. Would you like to submit a story about your experiences for Walking with Thay? The editors are asking for a maximum of 1200 words, which is about 2 pages single-spaced, and the submission deadline is August 30th.
Dear friends of Thay,
How excited we are to tell you about a new book project, Walking with Thay, in which students of Thich Nhat Hanh share their journeys of transformation as a result of following Thay’s teachings. The book will be a compilation of first-person short stories of how we were touched, moved, and inspired by Thay.
Walking with Thay is a celebration of Thay’s life and a celebration of our lives with him as our beloved teacher. May this book further the bond of Thay’s students around the world, and may it also inspire potential new students on this path of joy and love.
Best of all, the Walking with Thay book project is also a fundraiser. All proceeds after expenses will be donated to the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation.
We invite you to be part of this exciting project in the following ways:
1) Submit your story for consideration.
2) Spread the word and build momentum! Pass this email on to other students of Thay.
How to decide to submit a story
Reflect on these questions:
• Were you lost or searching and the teachings of Thay were your answer?
• How did Thay’s teachings liberate you? Bring you joy, freedom, peace, or something else that inspired you?
• How did his teachings bring you something beautiful that was previously missing?
• At what point did you know that Thay was your teacher? Describe that experience.
• Was something going on in your life for which Thay’s teachings provided a turning point or offered a different path? Tell that story.
More information about how to submit a story:
• Please send a Word document or Google Doc of no more than 1200 words. This book will be printed in English, so all submissions should be in English. We will select a range of stories that capture various perspectives and experiences to create a poignant volume. If your story is selected, we will send back comments for revision. You will be required to resubmit the story by the resubmission date for inclusion in the book.
• Initial submission deadline: 5 pm (ET) August 30, 2019
• Submit your story to walkingwiththay@gmail.com
About the editors
Mary Hillebrand has studied and practiced in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh since 2001, participating in sanghas
Dear friends of Thay,
How excited we are to tell you about a new book project, Walking with Thay, in which students of Thich Nhat Hanh share their journeys of transformation as a result of following Thay’s teachings. The book will be a compilation of first-person short stories of how we were touched, moved, and inspired by Thay.
Walking with Thay is a celebration of Thay’s life and a celebration of our lives with him as our beloved teacher. May this book further the bond of Thay’s students around the world, and may it also inspire potential new students on this path of joy and love.
Best of all, the Walking with Thay book project is also a fundraiser. All proceeds after expenses will be donated to the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation.
We invite you to be part of this exciting project in the following ways:
1) Submit your story for consideration.
2) Spread the word and build momentum! Pass this email on to other students of Thay.
How to decide to submit a story
Reflect on these questions:
• Were you lost or searching and the teachings of Thay were your answer?
• How did Thay’s teachings liberate you? Bring you joy, freedom, peace, or something else that inspired you?
• How did his teachings bring you something beautiful that was previously missing?
• At what point did you know that Thay was your teacher? Describe that experience.
• Was something going on in your life for which Thay’s teachings provided a turning point or offered a different path? Tell that story.
More information about how to submit a story:
• Please send a Word document or Google Doc of no more than 1200 words. This book will be printed in English, so all submissions should be in English. We will select a range of stories that capture various perspectives and experiences to create a poignant volume. If your story is selected, we will send back comments for revision. You will be required to resubmit the story by the resubmission date for inclusion in the book.
• Initial submission deadline: 5 pm (ET) August 30, 2019
• Submit your story to walkingwiththay@gmail.com
About the editors
Jeanine Cogan, Ph.D., is a long time student of Thich Nhat Hanh who fell in love with the teachings in 1996 and is committed to introducing mindfulness and meditation to others. She is known among her students as warm, lighthearted, and grounded. As a former academic, Jeanine edited two books as well as professional journals and is thrilled to bring this editorial success to the Walking with Thay book project.
Mary Hillebrand has studied and practiced in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh since 2001, participating in sanghas in Washington, D.C., and Madison, Wisconsin. In her current role as a high school teacher, Mary enjoys teaching mindfulness to her students and sharing her practice with other educators. She also brings 10 years of technical experience to the Walking with Thay book project from her first career as a magazine editor and writer.
In gratitude and peace,
Mary and Jeanine
Washington, D.C., and Madison, Wisconsin. In her current role as a high school teacher, Mary enjoys teaching mindfulness to her students and sharing her practice with other educators. She also brings 10 years of technical experience to the Walking with Thay book project from her first career as a magazine editor and writer.
In gratitude and peace,
Mary and Jeanine
