A message from our founding teacher, Dennis Warren.
Good afternoon and hope everything is good with you. I want to extend an invitation to you.
In person attendance at SIM on Thursday evenings is still much lower than pre-pandemic numbers. This is a loss for each of us individually as well as the organization. There is an added dimension to our practice and experience when we are in each other’s presence and practice together. Not that we need to do it all the time, but experiencing the truly unique human element of companionship in spiritual practice from time to time is something special.
I’m inviting you to consider attending SIM this Thursday, the 30th – in person. It would be great to be able to be together and practice in person for an evening.
My presentation that evening will be on Seeing Clearly and Thinking Clearly. Thinking as an object of meditation and focus of practice isn’t something that is discussed very much. This is surprising given how thinking tends to play such a significant role in our lives. A description follows below.
Hope you can make it. Take care.
Dennis
https://sactoinsight.org/06-30-2022-revisiting-fundamentals-thinking-with-dennis-warren/
Community, Board Newsletter #2
NewsToday SIM’s Board of Directors is sending out a Newsletter #2 communication “GETTING TO KNOW US…Up Close and Personal with SIM Board.” This month, they are featuring Margaret Buss and the SIM Set-up Crew. —– Excerpt follows —–
Next time you walk into the dharma hall, take a minute and look around. You may notice that the chairs are all in order, cushions laid out, colorful flowers in vases on the altar and around the room; that there is a sense of welcome, calm, and peace. Margaret has been the head of the SIM set-up crew since SIM moved to the Sacramento Dharma Center several years ago. Asked why she chose to volunteer for this position, she says [More details here…]
07/07/2022 “I’m Bored… What to Do!” with Diane Wilde
Audio DharmaDo you find yourself easily bored? Or do you sometimes feel like a boring person?
In daily life, when we’re bored or feel that we are no longer interesting, we’re uncomfortable with our basic state of being. It’s an unsettled feeling, often bringing up thoughts such as “What is my purpose?” or “Why aren’t I doing something important?” Boredom can easily morph into loneliness and the suffering that comes from feeling disconnected from others. We also associate this emotion with restlessness/anxiety and when taken to an extreme, boredom is often blamed for addictive behavior and even violence.
We often find ourselves “bored”while we meditate. Boredom is often internally translated as “I’m not doing this right”, which leads us to compare ourselves to others creating more suffering. It’s an uncomfortable mental state that we rarely investigate. We just want it to go away and get back to enjoying a “good” meditation.
The good news is that boredom can be our gateway into truly understanding ourselves, both in daily life and on the cushion. It can even lead to enhanced creativity! We will discuss how we can transform boredom from restlessness and anxiety, to insight and happiness.
06/30/2022 “Revisiting Fundamentals: Thinking” with Dennis Warren
Audio Dharma“Thinking is a good servant but a poor master.”
This short, well-known statement sums up the conflicting potentials inherent in thought. But what does it mean, specifically, in terms of our how we conduct our spiritual practices and live our lives?
Buddhist practice is designed to develop a fundamentally different, more helpful relationship with thinking. This evening will look at the possibilities available to us as practitioner.
We’ll work with a number of familiar situations to explore these themes. In particular, we’ll look at how thinking can turn a simple, straight-forward situation into one that is complex, confusing and problematic…and how work with it.
An Invitation – Being Together
NewsA message from our founding teacher, Dennis Warren.
Good afternoon and hope everything is good with you. I want to extend an invitation to you.
In person attendance at SIM on Thursday evenings is still much lower than pre-pandemic numbers. This is a loss for each of us individually as well as the organization. There is an added dimension to our practice and experience when we are in each other’s presence and practice together. Not that we need to do it all the time, but experiencing the truly unique human element of companionship in spiritual practice from time to time is something special.
I’m inviting you to consider attending SIM this Thursday, the 30th – in person. It would be great to be able to be together and practice in person for an evening.
My presentation that evening will be on Seeing Clearly and Thinking Clearly. Thinking as an object of meditation and focus of practice isn’t something that is discussed very much. This is surprising given how thinking tends to play such a significant role in our lives. A description follows below.
Hope you can make it. Take care.
Dennis
https://sactoinsight.org/06-30-2022-revisiting-fundamentals-thinking-with-dennis-warren/
06/23/2022 “TBA: Navigating Uncertainty with Awareness” with Rich Howard
Audio DharmaWe sometimes resort to strategies of planning and controlling as a refuge in times of uncertainty, but changing conditions often render this strategy ineffective at best, or frustrating and disappointing or perhaps even depressing. Our practice teaches us the value of continuous mindfulness, so why not adopt a more reliable strategy: TBA – To Be Aware!! Allowing awareness to connect with the changing nature of present moment experience keeps us from speculating about future outcomes that may never happen and saves us from punishing judgements about what has already happened. We will explore how TBA can help us reduce our dissatisfaction and discontentment and be more present to our life.
06/16/2022 “Happiness and the Path of Practice” with Diana Clark
Audio DharmaBuddhist practice is sometimes considered to be primarily about working with “suffering.” However, happiness, joy and well-being are also integral parts of the path of practice. How might we cultivate and integrate happiness and well-being so that they rightfully take a seat at the practice table?
To download this recording, right-click and select ‘save audio as’ or select the 3-dot menu to the right of the speaker icon.
To download this recording, right-click and select ‘save audio as’ or select the 3-dot menu to the right of the speaker icon.
Up Close and Personal with our Board of Directors
NewsToday SIM’s Board of Directors emailed a “Newsletter” to our current subscribers. Click on the image below to view the entire message. Below the image we’ve also included an excerpt of the Newsletter.
GETTING TO KNOW US…Up Close and Personal with SIM Board
This is the first of what we hope will become a monthly offering to the SIM community, featuring a profile of one of the sangha’s leaders or volunteers each time. In this age of virtual (or hybrid) gatherings, it is easy for us to feel disconnected from one another. More than ever, we need to share our stories and appreciate the diversity of people and their life experiences that make up this thriving sangha. More…
06/09/2022 “Deep Listening” with Seth Castleman
Audio Dharma06/02/2022 “The Joy of Seclusion” with Walt Opie
Audio DharmaSIM 2022 Residential Retreat
Annual Retreat, NewsJoin us for our Residential Retreat at the beautiful Mercy Center in Auburn, CA from Sunday, August 28 through Sunday, September 4, 2022. We are fortunate to have Senior Teacher Greg Scharf (who is a Guiding Teacher at the Insight Meditation Society) and local Teacher Neesha Patel leading our retreat this year. The theme will be Awareness, Wisdom & Love. For more information about the retreat and the teachers, and to secure your spot, visit the registration page (link shown below) …