A great year ahead
We hope that you’ve had a restful and restorative Christmas/New Year break. The new year is often a time when people reflect on the year past, and look forward to the year ahead, setting intentions or themes for themselves. If you have an intention to meditate more, or to be more present or mindful in 2022, then we’re here for you. Come along to one of our weekly sessions and explore meditation in a supportive, friendly environment.
We’re looking forward to a great year ahead of meditation, retreats, community and discussion. With the easing of restrictions around COVID-19 our sangha (community) will be focusing less on ‘survival’ and instead focus at how we can grow to better meet the needs of our community in 2022. Below are some key ideas which we’ll be exploring over 2022.
Increasing democracy and inclusion
As we grow, we want to get more people involved in both key decision making and in participating actively in the sangha.
More retreats
We plan to return to holding regular day-long meditation retreats.
Growing our community
Meditation and dharma practice is a communal activity - getting more people to come along to our weekly sessions makes meditation a more connected experience and improves the quality of discussion.
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More teachers
In 2022 we’ll look to have more people leading meditation sessions and also look at getting teachers from overseas to contribute their experience and knowledge via Zoom.
Coming up in January
One Mindful breath is a community that explores the role of mindfulness in embracing the difficulties of life, letting go of the dictates of reactivity, experiencing the calm and clarity of spaciousness, and cultivating creative engagement as a way of being in the world.
All events are at the Wellington Friends Centre, 7 Moncreiff Street, Mt Victoria, Wellington. Doors open at 7.15pm and the sessions start at 7.30pm. For more details see our Meetup page.
Wednesday 12 January – Beginners Mind
Maybe you've made a New Years resolution to be more present or mindful in 2022, but don't know how to start? There's no better way to build a foundation in mindfulness than meditating with others. Join us for a relaxing meditation session and discover the benefits of a regular practice of meditation in a beginner-friendly environment.
Our Beginner’s Mind session teaches basic meditation techniques and is a great introduction to meditating. The session is suitable for those who are new to meditation, while more experienced mediators will also find it beneficial. You can ask questions and the session is broken into shorter meditations to ease you into the practice.
Wednesday 19 January – Building the habit
Following on from the beginners mind session, we’ll be meditating as a group and we’ll also be discussing how to develop a habit of meditation that lets us experience that profound peace of mind that comes from letting go of our instinctive reactivity. We'll also be exploring Buddhist ideas around meditation that can help us deepen our practice.
Wednesday 26 January – Practicing open awareness
On Wednesday night we'll be exploring 'open awareness' meditation - a technique that may deepen your enjoyment of meditation and reduce stress and reactivity. Unlike other meditation techniques it focuses on sustaining a sense of awareness on *everything* - not just your breath or numbers counted in your head. You'll also have the opportunity to reflect on your practice.
Register now for SBN’s online course: Exploring a secular dharma
Registrations are now open for the Spring 2022 class of of the Secular Buddhist Network’s online course on secular Buddhism. Course participants will explore key ideas and practices, including the fourfold task, a secular approach to meditation, and creating of 'culture of awakening' as an integral part of the path. Every two weeks during the course, participants will meet with the course instructors.
If you’re interested in learning more about Buddhism we’d strongly recommend this course!
Reminder - bring your vaccine pass
A reminder that to support the well-being of our community we require a vaccine passes for all our in-person sessions.
You will only have to have your vaccine pass checked once. Your name will be recorded and you won’t need to provide your pass again for future sessions you attend.