The subject line of this email ... "You reading this, be ready" is the title of a William Stafford poem (see below). It came into my heart as I prepared this email. it seems to resonate for me with the paradox of summer. On the one hand, many of us want a sense of spaciousness during these months. On the other hand, we can have the propensity to fill our days with ... with what? Often a continuation of planning and doing and getting.
Perhaps it's time to stop and pause. Perhaps the course I'll be offering the end of August can serve as a reminder that what is here, now, right here, is enough. Here's the poem:
Starting here, what do you want to remember?
How sunlight creeps along a shining floor?
What scent of old wood hovers, what softened
sound from outside fills the air?
Will you ever bring a better gift for the world
than the breathing respect that you carry
wherever you go right now?
Are you waiting for time to show you some better thoughts?
When you turn around, starting here, lift this
new glimpse that you found; carry into evening
all that you want from this day. This interval you spent
reading or hearing this, keep it for life—
What can anyone give you greater than now,
starting here, right in this room, when you turn around?
▪ William Stafford
Summer in the City: A Non-Residential Intensive in Mindfulness
Planning a Staycation in NYC? Want to try something different and potentially life transforming?
Are you curious about all the mindfulness hype and want to get a more nuanced understanding of meditation and mindfulness?
Are you a teacher, student, psychotherapist - or anyone who doesn't have time for an 8-week course in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, but is more flexible in August?
Enrich your summer and take the time to learn formal and informal mindfulness practices and engage in the cultivation of kind, curious, and patient responses to the stresses of daily life. This special immersion is an introduction to mindfulness practice, with an emphasis on learning how to use mindfulness to meet the challenges in our lives.
To enhance the experience, your registration includes a pass to the JCC gym so that you can add movement to your daily practice.
Class Schedule:
Sun, Aug 16, 6:30-8:30 pm
Mon-Thu, Aug 17–20, 9:30 am–5 pm
Fri, Aug 21, 9:30am–1 pm
at the JCC in Manhattan, 334 Amsterdam Avenue at West 76th Street
Space is limited! Register here
