MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE
MINDFULNESS PRACTICE GROUP

      The Mindfulness Practice Group meets in person in real time & space, in the sanctuary on Thursday evenings and in the Piscataway Room (look for the shoes!) on the lower level on Sunday mornings. Thursdays begin with 40 minutes of silent meditation, followed by various topics, check-in, and discussion. Sundays feature 20 minutes of meditation guided by gathas, check-in, and discussion. Masks are optional (if the Church's policy changes, masks will be provided).

     We'll read this tiny book (80 pp) over 4 sessions from Mon. May 26 to Mon. June 16 with 2 section options per week: 1 at noon & the other at 6:30 PM. It offers chi, "records" of places which framed & shaped the practices of Chinese Ch'an & its heir Japanese Zen. We'll start right out on the introductory material & the first "hut" on May 26, so you'll want to have that little bit read.
     We will send you 2 Zoom links, for both the noon & evening sessions the week of Fri. May 23. If you are already on our email list from any previous sessions, you will receive both links automatically in an e-mail to the list. Message us providing your e-mail, if you are seeking to join for the 1st time. You need not specify which link you intend to use. In fact, if you have an appointment opposite your usual time, you may use the other link. The links will not appear in any public listing including sangha e-mail.
     The evocation of beloved places so suited to their contemplative residents is in poetic prose & accompanied by poetry in some cases, & they invite the reader to give up struggle for a place, maybe even for comfort, & to immerse the self in nature. (Comparisons to Walden Pond in order?) The genre does evolve over the centuries & in a different culture in Japan. Is comfort a distraction from the contemplative life or is it needed to enable contemplation? What is the optimal relationship to one's government for a contemplative? What is the place of spiritual arts in that life? What relationship can there be between the contemplative devoted to simplicity & the hierarchical society? The hallmarks of Ch'an / Zen are present from the beginning, but the weight of impermanence gathers momentum. Does turmoil in the world mean inevitable turmoil in the mind?

      ☸ Sunday, May 25: Guided meditation on the Five Remembrances of Death & Loss to enable us to face impermanence. This always leads to discussion & makes an excellent pairing with the Death Cafe.
      ☸ Sunday, May 25: Death Cafe XXXX in Middle Hour (10:10-11:05).
The International Death Cafe movement, of which the Mindfulness Practice Group is an authorized host, offers moderated conversation about death. Our spiritual practice in every Death Cafe is Deep Listening to what each person brings, puzzlement, fear, anger, stuckness in rumination, longing, sorrow. We moderate so that everyone is heard. No one may try to convert another to a particular religious or philosophical position. What is said in Death Cafe stays in Death Cafe. In addition to these rules from International Death Cafe HQ in London, we "Speak [only] of death & eat cake."

Information on the MPG for New Sangha-friends: click here

Directions: click here

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The Mindfulness Practice Group is a spirituality program of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Annapolis. Visit the UUCA Home Page HERE.