Beginning Meditation Course Starts October 2022

Our popular six-week Beginning Meditation Course begins Wednesday, October 19th. Rich Howard and Sara Denzler will be instructing. For more information, click on the flyer image or visit the registration page at https://sactoinsight.org/event/beginning-meditation-oct2022/.

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08/11/2022 “The Divine Abidings” with Jeff Hardin

To download this talk, right-click and select ‘save audio as’ or select the 3-dot menu to the right of the speaker icon.

This talk title changed from “The 7 L’s of Spiritual Practice” to “The Divine Abidings: Radiation and embodiment of the four brahmaviharas in meditation practice“.

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08/04/2022 “Coping With Loneliness” with Diane Wilde

To download this talk, right-click and select ‘save audio as’ or select the 3-dot menu to the right of the speaker icon.

There is no denying it… loneliness is an epidemic in our world today. Ironically, the more diversions that come our way, i.e. access to entertainment, social media, easy access to shopping — apparently the lonelier we are becoming. Out of loneliness, we create stories about ourselves which are often distorted, which lead to further suffering. How can we address the issue of loneliness effectively? Can loneliness be eliminated in our lives? Should it? What can loneliness teach us about truly connecting with ourselves and as well as establishing meaningful connections with others? A lot to consider!

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07/28/2022 “Sangha: Refuge in or Refuge from?” with Rich Howard

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The historical Buddha famously told his attendant Ananda that Sangha, the community of practitioners, “is actually the whole of the holy life.” In the Upaddha Sutta (SN 45.2), he explains that this is because “admirable friendship” helps one to follow the Noble
Eightfold Path. In this time of multiple overlapping crises, we may be tempted to come to Sangha for refuge from the sometimes overwhelming worldly winds swirling around us. Is this consistent with following the Eightfold Path? As lay practitioners, when do we step away from the conflicts around us and when do we use the practice to engage with the world? Bring a spirit of inquiry to this evening; there will be plenty of time for discussion of this challenging and rewarding topic.

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07/21/2022 “Images of the Mind’s Potential: Glasses, Water, Flagpoles and Leave” with Heather Sundberg

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Using teachings from Ajahn Chah and the Thai forest tradition elders, we will explore how the mind gets caught and how to develop clarity, equanimity and freedom.

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07/14/2022 “The Three Refuges as subjects for inquiry rather than as subjects for devotion” with Tony Bernhard

To download this talk, right-click and select ‘save audio as’ or select the 3-dot menu to the right of the speaker icon.

What does it mean to ‘take refuge’ in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, and how might they serve as a refuge for us today?

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Community, Board Newsletter #2

Today 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…]

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07/07/2022 “I’m Bored… What to Do!” with Diane Wilde

To download this talk, right-click and select ‘save audio as’ or select the 3-dot menu to the right of the speaker icon.

Do 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.

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06/30/2022 “Revisiting Fundamentals: Thinking” with Dennis Warren

To download this talk, right-click and select ‘save audio as’ or select the 3-dot menu to the right of the speaker icon.

“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.

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An Invitation – Being Together

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/

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