Daylongs and Evening Programs and Workshops
Event
Join us as we come together as a community to hold our experiences around current national and world events with compassion and to support one another during this moment of extraordinary change and uncertainty. This time of refuge together includes practices, teachings and discussions that nurture our internal life in support of external service.
RESCHEDULED: We are in the process of identifying a new date. If you’d like to receive an update about this event, you can join the waitlist here: https://insightla.org/event/changes/2020-11-06-19-00/
The one constant in our lives is change and yet we often find ourselves ill-equipped to manage it skillfully. How well you navigate change has a direct impact on the degree of well-being, purpose, and satisfaction you experience on a day-to-day basis. If you are considering a big change, or are in one now, or are still feeling the effects of a past change, this workshop offers you the personal understanding and tools to set a well-considered course for the next phase of your life.
During this weekend workshop, we will share principles about the nature of change in human lives and time-tested mindfulness practices that can help you move through times of change with more balance. Throughout the workshop, you will complete a series of self-assessments that are designed to give you clarity about your current situation and a sense of next steps.
Change naturally brings up concerns, fears, and questions that can lead to confusion, lack of motivation, or poor decisions. In this workshop, we teach skills and strategies to effectively respond to the challenges of change such as:
• Discover which areas of your life need attention, gain insights about your strengths and challenges in dealing with change, and begin to strategize about next steps.
• Recognize habits of mind that undermine you and learn practices to disengage from their influence.
• Identify your values and intentions so you have a basis for making wise decisions.
Expect a weekend full of dynamic inquiry and the opportunity to learn essential life skills for meeting your changes and transitions with authenticity, confidence, and clarity.
Based on meditation practices Phillip Moffitt learned twenty years ago from Himalayan yoga master Sri Swami Balyogi Premvarni, this beautifully illustrated book is a guide to exploring the nature of mind and gaining a better understanding of experiences that arise during meditation. Awakening Through the Nine Bodies teachings map out a journey that starts with consciousness that arises in the physical body and is directly observable, and then travels through ever more subtle levels of consciousness to that which is not manifest and is only potential, and therefore has to be inferred. The book includes a series of mysterious illustrations that Balyogi created during his time of intense Samadhi explorations. Each illustration is a rich composition of symbols that express aspects of inner experiences that are almost impossible to express with language. Moffitt provides detailed interpretations of all the illustrations along with precise meditation instructions.
We live in a time of great uncertainty and rapid change. Without noticing it, our mind and our nervous system can become caught in the flux of the change, such that our experience starts to have a chaotic feeling. We become susceptible to unskillful mental and emotional reactions even in everyday life situations. This process can be exhausting and disorienting. In this presentation, we will explore three Buddhist psychological teachings for well-being:
1. How to use mindfulness for reframing and reorienting the brain’s perception and interpretation of any experience.
2. How to train the mind to move from reactive mind states to responsive mind states.
3. How to distinguish for ourselves the crucial difference between being under great pressure versus having the mind state of stress.
There will be a brief meditation that helps you explore all three of these teachings.
In his new book Awakening through the Nine Bodies, Phillip Moffitt presents his understanding of a set of teachings about the nature of consciousness that were transmitted to him by the Himalayan yoga master Sri Swami Balyogi Premvarni over a period of fifteen years starting in 1999. The book constitutes Moffitt’s insights regarding consciousness that have arisen from many years of exploring and practicing these teachings. In his talk at Cambridge Insight Meditation Center, he will describe how it is possible to move beyond ordinary mind states into a new direct awareness of the nature of consciousness itself.
The Nine Bodies teachings explore how to utilize the many dimensions and manifestations of consciousness in meditation. The teachings map out a journey that starts with the kind of consciousness that arises in your physical body and is directly observable, and then takes you through ever more subtle levels of consciousness to that which is not manifest and is only potential. If you practice mindfulness meditation, the Nine Bodies teachings offer a new means for tracking and classifying your meditative experiences, which can help you stay present with whatever arises. These explorations may also increase the clarity and specificity of your mindfulness and enable the arising of insight. However, in no way are these teachings a substitute for your lineage practice. Rather, they may help you be more effective in your lineage practice. In addition to talking about how he came to write this book, Moffitt will lead a meditation from one of the Nine Bodies teachings. In the book, these teachings are accompanied by beautiful and mysterious illustrations that Balyogi Premvarni created many years ago during a time of intense Samadhi explorations. Each illustration is a rich composition of symbols that express aspects of inner experiences that are almost impossible to express with language. In the book, Moffitt provides detailed interpretations of all the illustrations along with precise meditation instructions.
Please join us for this unique meditation and learning experience. You can find more information about the book Awakening through the Nine Bodies at www.ninebodies.com.
Forgiveness is both an art and a practice. As an art, it begins with connecting to the subtle nuances of the heart and as a practice, it involves learning vital skills such as metta, mindful acknowledgement, and compassion. Repeatedly practicing these skills enables you to free yourself from painful identification with past events.
This is a day to bring your remorse or grief about past actions and move beyond any guilt and shame so that you arrive at genuine regret. Likewise, if you are caught in anger or vengeance toward someone who has wronged, you will be guided toward holding them in accountability and responsibility. And, finally, for the ways you have let yourself down, caused injury to yourself, or failed to show up for yourself, applying this forgiveness practice will move you toward acceptance, clarity, and resolution.
One effect of practicing forgiveness is that you move from a heavy heart filled with remorse and a mind that tends toward reactivity to a heart that’s light but still feels regret and a mind that is calm and clear.
This daylong will be held in silence and will consist of sitting and walking meditation with instruction in the art and practice of forgiveness. The day will include a forgiveness ceremony. You are encouraged to bring a friend so that you can stand in witness of each other as you unburden your hearts.
Author and Spirit Rock meditation teacher Phillip Moffitt will speak about his new book "Awakening through the Nine Bodies" on Thursday, November 2, 2107 at 7:30 pm in the Sanctuary at First Church Berkeley.
Phillip has been studying with Sri Swami Balyogi Premvarni, a yogi in the ancient Himalayan forest tradition, since 1999. Balyogi teaches about the Nine Bodies; a system of wisdom about the wholeness of a human being—mind, consciousness, body, spirit, and more. This system is based in ancient yoga traditions combined with Balyogi's own understandings. From these understandings, Balyogi created a number of beautiful and mysterious illustrations that depict various states of human consciousness.
After many years of practicing these teachings, Phillip developed specific meditations based on Balyogi’s illustrations. The meditations guide practitioners to a direct experience of each of the Nine Bodies. In his new book, "Awakening through the Nine Bodies," Phillip pairs the illustrations with meditation instructions and insights about each one. The book serves as a gateway for a deep exploration of the nature of mind.
Copies of his book will be available that evening. Admission will be $10 but no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Doors will open at 7 pm and the event will start at 7:30 pm.
For much more information about the book, please visit www.NineBodies.com.
Cost: $10 but no one turned away for lack of funds
Address: 2345 Channing Way, Berkeley CA
Led by Phillip Moffitt and Alison Teal
This is a tumultuous time full of change as we navigate the pandemic, the need for social justice, along with political, environmental, and economic challenges. As a result of these challenges, you may have experienced a change that’s beyond your control or perhaps you’re recognizing the need for personal change. Change brings up anxiety and uncertainty and it can also be exciting to connect with bigger visions for ourselves and our world.
Research shows that meeting change with mindfulness and being empowered to navigate uncertainty allows us to experience a deep sense of well-being even when life is difficult.
Some of the tools we offer in this workshop are:
• Reflecting on your life and assessing what’s out of balance.
• Using our “Journey through Change Map” to orient yourself in your change.
• Recognizing habits of mind that undermine you and learning to disengage from them.
• Creating a plan for skillfully navigating your change.
Expect a weekend of dynamic inquiry and learn to meet change with confidence and clarity.
Please join us in coming together in community to celebrate Phillip Moffitt’s impactful years of leadership and guidance as he bows out from his incredible work as Co-Guiding Teacher.
Phillip has been one of Spirit Rock’s two Co-Guiding Teachers since 2010, and has served in numerous behind-the-scenes board, governance, and leadership capacities to help guide change at Spirit Rock over the past two decades. All of this generous service has been in addition to continuing to offer his brilliant dharmic wisdom through teaching retreats, daylongs, and writing books! This special evening event will bring teachers, staff, and community together with Phillip to honor him as we share in reflections and practice as a deeply grateful sangha. The evening will be hosted by Co-Guiding Teacher Sally Armstrong and Executive Director Michelle Latvala with contributions throughout the evening by Jack Kornfield, Dana DePalma, and other Spirit Rock teachers.
Proceeds from the evening will go to support the Spirit Rock Scholarship Fund—a fund very near and dear to Phillip’s heart.
Change is a fact of life and yet when we are faced with it, we often find ourselves ill-equipped to manage it skillfully. Change naturally brings up concerns, fears, and questions that can lead to confusion, lack of motivation, or poor decisions. In this workshop, you will learn skills to effectively respond to the challenges of change.
Identify areas of your life that need attention; gain insights about your strengths and challenges in dealing with change.
Recognize habits of mind that undermine you and learn practices to disengage from their influence.
Identify your values so you have a basis for making wise decisions.
Expect a weekend full of dynamic inquiry and learning skills for meeting your changes and transitions with authenticity, confidence, and clarity.
