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Learning To Listen: Insight Meditation GroupMar 5 2010 - 8:00pm Mar 5 2010 - 9:00pm
‘Learning To Listen: Insight Meditation Group’
8:00pm – 9:00pm, Fridays @ James Howell Studio $5-$10, Sliding Scale Donation
It is with great pleasure that we welcome you to this sitting group. The group is composed of new and old students to meditation – each wishing to practice and embody the twin principles of wisdom and compassion in their life. Whatever the reason for your curiosity, again, welcome.
The intention of this group is three-fold: it is an introduction to the practice of insight (vipassana) meditation in the Buddhist tradition; it is a place for experienced meditators to sit regularly in community - ongoing friends and friendships will surely grow around this group's regularity; and lastly, these meditations are an opportunity to pause, reflect, and to notice the passing of our previous week’s duties, and to recharge for the days and week to come.
Our time together will be guided primarily by Buddhism's Four Foundations of Mindfulness – body, sensations, thoughts/emotions, and dharmas. At times our meditations will also be informed by Buddhism's Brahma Viharas (Heavenly Abodes) - loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity. You need not be a Buddhist to attend, as these practices appear in one form or another in all great wisdom traditions.
The evening begins with some instruction in the practice of seated meditation – this helps to inform our 40-minute sit. Following the meditation there is an open forum for reflection, sharing, and questions. Also, if you find it difficult to sit on the floor, please bring what you think you may need: meditation cushion (zafu), meditation bench, or chair.
Let us sit for a bit. --
For more information, please visit: www.learningtolisten.info --
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About the StudioJames Howell Studio in the Castro -- a block from Church and market MUNI -- offers a variety of movement and dance classes, in a traditional studio format as well as by donation. Teachers include Steve Savage, Kristie Dahlia Home, Sabine Kuehner, Tony Eason, and Jamie Lindsay, and there is space available for rent to new teachers. The studio itself is bright and airy, with skylights and beautiful brick walls fitted with ballet bars, and is fully equipped with Iyengar yoga props. For information on space rental and becoming a teacher in this community, contact Carlos at cventuro@hotmail.comAbout James Howell
James Howell was an early member of the Joffrey Ballet and choreographic assistant to Gerald Arpino. Howell entered the Joffrey Ballet studios in 1960 with little ballet training, but his intelligence and ability to interpret music quickly caught the attention of Joffrey choreographer Gerald Arpino, who asked Howell to assist him in the studio. Howell continued to work closely with Arpino on choreographic projects until leaving the company to move west in 1973. In San Francisco, Howell studied physical therapy and taught class in his own studio on Sanchez Street in the Castro District. Shortly before he died from AIDS complications in 1982, Howell created the 45-minute ballet Ritual: The Journey of the Soul, which has been described by performance theorist David Román as possibly the first performance piece about AIDS. Howell left instructions in his will that video documentation of the piece be shown at his memorial service. This prompted the Bay Area Reporter to note: "Howell's gesture opens a new chapter on gays developing a style on how to die." |
