Introduction to Meditation with SIM Community Teacher, Diane Wilde

This 45-minute course is suitable for beginners or anyone who would like a refresher. It is offered on the fourth Thursday of every month before the regular sitting and dharma talk. There is no fee.

DIANE WILDE has studied meditation in various traditions since 1990. In 2001 she was a founding member of Sacramento Insight Meditation. She founded Buddhist Pathways Prison Project (BP3) in 2010. Since 2003, she has been a BP3 prison chaplain and aids in coordination of 75 volunteers who offer Buddhist services at numerous California prisons and jails. She is a graduate of Sati Center’s Buddhist Chaplaincy program and graduated from Spirit Rock Meditation Center’s Community Dharma Leadership Training Program. She is a board member of Sati Center for Buddhist Studies, Sacramento Dharma Center, Buddhist Pathways Prison Project and California Dept. of Corrections Volunteer Advisory Board. In 2015 she was lay-ordained as a Buddhist minister by her teacher Gil Fronsdal.

Sacramento Insight Meditation events are sustained by the generosity of instructors in offering teachings freely and on the generosity of students and members of the meditative community in the form of financial support, service and participation in events. With our practice of dana, we support our Sangha.

At the bottom of this page, you may enter the number of people planning to attend and select the button “Confirm RSVP“.
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45-min Intro to Meditation with SIM Founding Teacher Dennis Warren

This 45-minute course is suitable for beginners or anyone who would like a refresher. It is offered on the fourth Thursday of every month before the regular sitting and dharma talk. There is no fee.

DENNIS WARREN is SIM’s Founding Teacher and has been teaching mindfulness, meditation and contemplative practices since 1998. He recently completed his 11th year as a Volunteer Clinical Professor in Mindfulness in the Division of Pain Medicine at the UC Davis School of Medicine and Medical Center. He is certified as a Mindfulness Teacher, Professional Level (CMT-P), by the International Mindfulness Teachers Association. He is a graduate of the professional trainings in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression. He also is a graduate of the Spirit Rock Medication Center’s Dharma leaders training program. You can learn more about Dennis’ background and activities at https://www.denniswarren.net/ .

Sacramento Insight Meditation events are sustained by the generosity of instructors in offering teachings freely and on the generosity of students and members of the meditative community in the form of financial support, service and participation in events. With our practice of dana, we support our Sangha.

At the bottom of this page, you may enter the number of people planning to attend and select the button “Confirm RSVP“.
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Win a Free Ticket to a Retreat

Consider entering the “Name the Three Rooms with a Theme” Contest and you may be one of three people to win a free ticket to a one-day sangha-sponsored retreat.

Submit your entry by 5 p.m. Friday, December 7. Check the SDC’s Fall Newsletter for further details about this contest and how to enter.     More Info Here …

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Your generosity helps SIM thrive!

Dear SIM Friends,

We hope this letter finds you well. As we approach the end of the year, we want to share an update from the SIM Board, including milestones from this year and our goals for the coming year. We look forward to working with you to strengthen our community through a renewed focus on expanding opportunities for learning, teaching and practice.

In 2018, SIM hosted two 6-week Beginning Meditation courses, a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course, several new teachers on Thursdays and Saturdays, and a successful Fall Residential Retreat with 36 retreatants. We also encouraged opportunities for community building within the Sangha, such as monthly group dinners, hiking outings and book groups. We are so grateful to each of you for being part of our community and the role you play in making all of this possible.

In 2019, we look forward to building on this strong foundation by increasing support for our teachers. Our goal is to fulfill our mission of offering the best support possible to those in Sacramento practicing in the Insight/Vipassana tradition. To this end, we are expanding our budget to include a Teaching and Development Initiative. This will provide:

  • Increased support for our existing faculty, including additional dana for their ongoing commitment and teaching, and resources to support them in their practice; as well as
  • Dedicated funding to host new teachers for Thursday evenings, one-day retreats and new courses.

We need your help to accomplish this goal. Our projected budget for 2019, with the addition of the Teaching and Development Initiative, will be more than $65,000. As you plan your year-end giving, please consider supporting SIM by:

  • Making a one-time, year-end contribution to support our Teaching and Development Initiative (any amount will help and be appreciated); and/or
  • Signing up for a monthly, automatic on-line contribution to SIM. Monthly contributions are key to our long-term financial health, covering basic operating expenses as well as sustaining our Teaching and Development Initiative. If you are already giving through monthly donations, we sincerely thank you!

You can make a donation of any kind at https://sactoinsight.org/what-is-dana/. If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to contact one of our Board members at https://sactoinsight.org/contact-us/.

We look forward to continuing to strengthen our community and our practice together in the coming year.

Warmly,

Sara Denzler
Treasurer, SIM Board of Directors

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11/15/2018 “Talking on the Toll-free Line” with Laura Rosenthal

If you would like to download this talk, please right click and select “save as” here.

Wise speech – refraining from false speech, malicious or divisive speech, harsh speech and idle speech – is one of the “folds” of the eightfold path toward awakening. For may of us, talking on the phone with consumer service folks – an internet provider or bank, a government agency, or a host of others – can challenge our intention to speak kindly and wisely. What is this all about? And how can we use these frequent, ordinary interactions to hone our awareness and our ethical practice? Join Laura Rosenthal for a talk and group conversation on the topic “Talking on the Toll-free Line“.

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New Teaching and Development Initiative

Update from the SIM Board of Directors: New Teaching and Development Initiative

Building on the strong foundation we have established together over the last two years, the SIM Board is adding a Teaching and Development Initiative as part of SIM’s general budget for 2019.
This portion of our budget will provide:

  • Additional dana for our current teachers,
  • Support for bringing new teachers to our community, which will include travel and accommodation expenses as well as dana,
  • Possible training opportunities for our teachers as well as community members who might be interested in teaching, as recommended by our faculty.

Dana given to SIM’s general fund in the form of monthly donations or a year-end donation will now go directly to supporting current and future teachers, as well as paying for the infrastructure needed to support teaching and practice.

We also continue to encourage you to give from your heart in the dana bowl in gratitude for the teachings and are glad to inform you that we’ve increased the percentage of your gifts that go directly to our teachers as dana.

If you’d like additional information about this initiative, please contact Sara Denzler, SIM Treasurer, or another SIM Board Member.

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