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Archive for the ‘Meditation’ Category

What is the Spiritual Life? A Brief Meditation – Patheos (blog)

Posted: March 4, 2017 at 9:42 am


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I look at myself and at others and I see some common realities. I believe we have divided hearts. That is we are pulled in multiple directions at the same time. And the consequences of this pulling and our many forced choices, most of which made from this sense of division leads to hurt for ourselves and for those whom we love.

I believe the call of the spiritual life is a call to something hard, and to something necessary. It is about the healing of these wounds, it is about the reconciliation of our lives and the life of this planet, it is in fact about the reconciliation of heaven and earth. It is, at least for me, the most important thing.

And so, when I think of the spiritual life, I think about that word hero in ways it hasnt been used much of late. According to the online version of Merriam-Webster, a hero is, in its first definition, a person who is admired for great or brave acts or fine qualities. The dictionary throws in as secondary definitions someone who is greatly admired and the chief male character in a play or story. The historic part references the older use of divine or semi divine figures in Greek and Roman mythology.

Running through all the usages over time is a focus on personal traits, those fine or noble qualities. And it is that which captures my imagination. Particularly, as I consider how the word athlete was used by early Christian ascetics to describe practitioners of their spiritual discipline. Ive always liked that usage, coming as it does somehow slightly from left field.

And then theres the way of the spiritual life. It turns on various disciplines of presence, both to our environment and within our beings. I have come to summarize these practices as sitting down, shutting up, and paying attention. This is not an easy thing to do. I believe anyone who tries this turning the light inward as one sage put it, for any sustained time knows that sustaining it can be extremely difficult.

Also, we find many obstacles along the way, we encounter such things as the noontime devil, and we may tumble into a dark night of the soul. There are traps and snares for the unwary every step of the way, and even keeping on our toes, the path can be hard, and it lasts a lifetime.

Heres where heroic comes in. An authentic spiritual life takes discipline and perseverance. It is definitely counter-cultural. In fact the spiritual life is about as counter-cultural as can be. It demands a constant presence, to finding the deepest currents of our lives within a culture that is pretty much all about distraction.

A genuine spiritual life is heroic in the sense of those qualities of nobility and perseverance that move us out of the ordinary. And yet, at the very same time, the spiritual life is something accessible to all of us. Sort of an ordinary heroism. Finding the extraordinary within the ordinary. This is our call as people on the way of heart and authenticity.

The spiritual life, as I understand it, is concerned with the salvation of the ordinary, of the saving grace of presence, of the transformative power of the here and now. Nothing less.

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What is the Spiritual Life? A Brief Meditation - Patheos (blog)

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March 4th, 2017 at 9:42 am

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Headspace, the meditation app, is putting its old CEO in charge of the company again – Recode

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Headspace, the company behind a popular meditation app, has a new chief executive who is also its old chief executive.

Headspace co-founder Rich Pierson took over the top slot at the startup last week, replacing Sean Brecker, who had the job for the last two years. Brecker is staying on at Headspace as its chief financial officer.

Both Pierson and Brecker say they made the move in consultation with Andy Puddicombe, the companys other co-founder, as well their board and investors.

Were constantly looking at the org and trying to optimize, Brecker said.

Headspace offers free meditation classes through its app, and tries to sell its users a premium subscription service. Pierson said the company, which has 170 employees, got 13.5 million people to try the service at least once in the last year.

Pierson said when Headspace started out as a 15-person operation in 2010, no one had any titles, but he ended up becoming its formal CEO within a year.

After bringing in Brecker to run the company in 2014, Pierson focused on product and marketing; he says it now makes sense to have him overseeing everything.

Headspace has raised more than $30 million, most of which came from a 2015 round led by The Chernin Group.

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Headspace, the meditation app, is putting its old CEO in charge of the company again - Recode

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March 4th, 2017 at 9:42 am

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Lenten meditation music programs set – Bristol Herald Courier (press release) (blog)

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BRISTOL, Va. Lenten Organ Meditations at Noon will be held at Central Presbyterian Church, Euclid Avenue, Bristol, Virginia.

The Wednesday programs begin at 12:05 p.m. and continue for five weeks beginning March 8. Performing first is Joy A. Smith-Briggs, organist of Central Presbyterian.

The schedule continues:

March 15: Dana Fleming, organist at Colonial Heights United Methodist Church in Kingsport.

March 22: Bryan Underwood, music director, State Street United Methodist Church, Bristol, Virginia.

March 29: Robert J. Greene Jr., organist/composer/instructor in the Tri-Cities area.

April 5: Craig Campbell, organist, Wesley United Methodist Church, Johnson City.

The music programs are offered to provide time for reflection and meditation on the meaning of Lent and how it affects the lives of Christians.

Each program is open to the community and free to attend. However, donations are accepted for the music ministry.

For more information, contact Smith-Briggs at 423-878-2919 or email gvbjoyb@btes.tv.

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Lenten meditation music programs set - Bristol Herald Courier (press release) (blog)

Written by simmons

March 4th, 2017 at 9:42 am

Posted in Meditation

Join a mass meditation (with over a thousand people) on top of this skyscraper – Time Out New York (blog)

Posted: March 3, 2017 at 2:42 am


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A mass meditation class above the clouds? Sounds like a dream! We can assure you that this is no fantasy, as The Big Quiet in collaboration with Kit and Ace are hosting another spellbinding, relaxation event at the top of One World Observatory. Oh, were just swooning thinking about those gorgeous views!

Over 1,000 people will attend the event held on Sunday, March 19 at 9pm. The evening features an intergroup prologue, string musicians, mellifluous vocalists and DJs. A ticket ($40) grants you access to the class and a meditation cushion (which you get to keep!) and a dinner salad from Sweetgreen.

Cop your ticket here and take a load off!

Jennifer is the Things to Do editor at Time Out New York. She is the proud owner of a kangaroo onesie and can recite every line from the film Spice World. Follow her on Twitter at @jenpicht.

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Join a mass meditation (with over a thousand people) on top of this skyscraper - Time Out New York (blog)

Written by simmons

March 3rd, 2017 at 2:42 am

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Ellen Schwindt to offer Music as Meditation March 5 – Conway Daily Sun

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CONWAY Ellen Schwindt will offer a Music as Meditation event on Sunday, March 5, at 5 p.m. at Christ Episcopal Church on the corner of Pine and Main Streets in North Conway.

Enjoy music presented with its connection to human hearts in mind and with time for contemplation interspersed between musical offerings.

This month, Doris Henney joinsSchwindt to present music by Baltimore composer Harriet Katz.Schwindt andHenney are collaborating on presenting a concert of new music later this month in Baltimore. You will hear improvisations from musicSchwindt is composing inspired by the paintings of Stephen Kull, Cynthia Pfender and Susan Forsman.Schwindt also includes her latest installment in Edward McDowell's First Modern Suite.

Schwindt began Music as Meditation as a way for her to share her newest music with listeners and to share a meditative spirit with attenders. The series has blossomed into an opportunity for community musicians to share music with each other. Music as Meditation takes place on first Sundays of each month.

Admission is free. Call (603) 447-2898 or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.

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Ellen Schwindt to offer Music as Meditation March 5 - Conway Daily Sun

Written by simmons

March 3rd, 2017 at 2:42 am

Posted in Meditation

Need to quiet ‘the party in your head’? Try meditation – The Detroit News

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Rebecca Rosen says her work as a medium has helped her learn ways to better manage the stress of everyday life.

A long strand of beads wraps its way around Rebecca Rosens delicate wrist, which she touches throughout a conversation.

The beads, mostly black with some white, are called malas and in Buddhism, the 108 stones are used during meditation, with the practitioner repeating a specific mantra quietly with each bead.

Rosen knows something about meditation and mantras, though it goes far deeper than the average yoga class. Rosen is a medium. She believes she can communicate with those whove died.

Rosen got her start as a medium doing readings at a coffee shop in West Bloomfield before opening an office in Royal Oak, which she had for three years before moving to Los Angeles.

But beyond her medium work, shes also a busy mom of six yes, six struggling like the rest of us to balance work, children, to-do lists, co-parenting and everything in between. She just happens to have some spiritual guides helping her along her journey.

Rosen, who now lives in Denver but recently visited Metro Detroit to promote her new book, What the Dead Have Taught Me About Living (Rodale, $24.99), that came out Feb. 14, says whether you believe in spiritual guides or not, she says her work as a medium has helped her learn ways to better manage the stress of everyday life.

I always say Im not immune to lifes challenges, says Rosen. Im human, too. It was the guidance and direction I got from the other side that got me through some challenging times.

And one of her best coping mechanisms? Meditation. Rosen says meditation can be as quick and easy as taking several deep breaths at a stoplight, or getting out in nature and taking a walk.

Make time to be quiet, says Rosen, who also had a TV show on Lifetime called The Last Goodbye. Its becoming aware of your breath. When you start breathing, you get present, and when you get present, you start to calm down from the mind chatter. I call it the party in the head.

Rosen says she used to be an avid list-maker and shed feel tremendous guilt if she didnt complete them. After her first son Jakob was born, she remembers crying and later meditating on it. It was then that she got guidance to let go.

I dont put as much judgment on myself anymore, says Rosen. It took the pressure off.

But does she still get caught up at time on lifes gerbil wheel? Yes. When that happens, she touches her beads as a reminder to come back to the present.

Id never met a medium before, let alone had a reading from one. I was skeptical.

But listening to her she immediately asked about my father who died five years ago and other dear loved ones she knew things about my father, my children, even the unhooked car seat in my husbands car that you couldnt Google or find on Facebook.

Still, Rosen acknowledges there will be skeptics. And shes OK with that. During a group reading she did last week at the Jewish Community Center connecting loved ones with others by name, dates, even spouses I saw her work speak for itself.

She connected with a local mother whose 4-year-old girl had died in October. She knew the date her daughter had died, plans for a tattoo on her back and much more.

I cant know this stuff, Rosen says.

She says as skeptical as some may be, she suggests those people open themselves to guidance.

We are not alone, Rosen says. And if we choose to open up and suspend our disbelief long enough to invite spirit in, life becomes a whole lot more magical and interesting and flowy. I call it flow-tastic. Just put it to the test even if you dont believe. Just try it.

mfeighan@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @mfeighan

Read or Share this story: http://detne.ws/2mygLWL

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Need to quiet 'the party in your head'? Try meditation - The Detroit News

Written by simmons

March 3rd, 2017 at 2:42 am

Posted in Meditation

Yoga, meditation prove successful in Medford classroom – KOBI-TV NBC5 / KOTI-TV NBC2

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Medford, Ore. Students at Oak Grove Elementary School in west Medford come from diverse backgrounds. Some are in fostercare, others are homeless.But despite thechallenges some of them may face at home, teachers and staff have found a unique way to improve the health and mental well-being of all their students while in the classroom.

On any given Thursday, before the bell has even rung, Oak Grove Elementary Schoolstudents take a few minutes to be mindful.

Life can be stressful, Oak Grove Elementary School Principal, Liz Landonsays,so how do we teach our students and ourselves [to] just release that, and be more present?

The answer, Oak Grove found was in yoga, for both the body and the brain.

To some, it was a dramatically different approach, that was met with a little skepticism.

I thought it was kind of a little bit weird, 4th grader, Eden Rux says.

But after some practice, that approach was soon producing some dramatically different kids.

It feels relaxing, 4th grader Ericka Farissays.

Calm, 5th grader Jacob Santossays, very calm.

It actually does help, Ruxadds.

Our attendance rate is the bestits ever been, Landson says, our kids are coming, and theyre ready and eager to be here.

In many classrooms, the mindful games take just a minute. But after a few squats, or some deep breathes, students and teachers, are finding a minute of mindfulness, sets them up for a day of success.

You can do math, and you can read, Ruxsays, Its just good to have something that you can actually rely on to be relaxed.

I know I wont be so frustrated when I do all my work, Faris adds.

They are able to come to school and be focused, Landon says, you are doing something that is powerful and noteworthy, and I would encourage anyone to try it, why not?

Since the start of mindful moments, referrals for disciplinary action have decreased at the school significantly. The principal says students are sharing the practice with their families, and the faculty have even incorporated it into their staff meetings.

Kristin Hosfelt anchors NBC5 News at 6 with NBC5 News Director Craig Smullin. Kristin is originally from the BayArea. Sheearned her Bachelor of Science degree in Broadcast Journalism from San Jose State University.

She comes to KOBI-TV/NBC5 from Bangor, Maine where she was the evening news anchor. Kristin has won multiple journalism awards including Best Feature Reporting in the State of Maine.

When Kristin is not sharing the newssheshunting down the best burrito, hiking a local trail or buried in a Jodi Picoult novel. Shes also a Green Bay Packers shareholder! If you see her out and about shed be happy to tell you how a California girl became a Cheesehead.

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Yoga, meditation prove successful in Medford classroom - KOBI-TV NBC5 / KOTI-TV NBC2

Written by simmons

March 3rd, 2017 at 2:42 am

Posted in Meditation

Selections from Alice Coltrane’s blissful late-period meditation music … – Los Angeles Times

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The meditation music that the late jazz composer Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda created during her later yearsis getting the much-deserved reissue treatment.

On Thursday, the lauded label Luaka Bop announced the arrival of World Spirituality Classics:The Ecstatic Music of Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda, a collection that gathers work from four cassettes she issued between 1982-95.

Turiyasangitananda was married to jazz saxophonistJohn Coltrane (and isthe mother of acclaimed saxophonist Ravi Coltrane and the great aunt of the Los Angeles beat producer Flying Lotus), and created mystical free jazz for the Impulse label during its late 1960s and early 70s prime.

Long a devotee of transcendental meditation, Alice changed her last name in the 1970s, opened a 48-acreashram outside of Malibuin the early 1980sand started composing works for her classes.

The recordings mark the first time any have been released on vinyl or compact discand show the breadth of her skills. They also mark the earliest recordings on whichTuriyasangitananda sings.

A multi-instrumentalist who replaced McCoy Tyner in John Coltranes legendary band, for a long time Turiyasangitanandas work waseclipsed by her late husbands explorations. Since her passing in 2007, though, her influence has expanded, and the new collection reveals why. The versatile player works with instruments including synthesizer, harp,percussion, strings, organs and a 24-person choir on the recordings, and the free-floating results are ethereal without being spineless.

World Spirituality Classics:The Ecstatic Music of Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda will also be put out on cassette. The LP version will feature two extra tracks, including one, Rama Katha, that has never before been released.

The volume, which arrives on the heels of a fantasticaudio documentary by Dublabs Mark Frosty McNeill,is the first in Luaka Bops new World Spirituality Classics series, one that mirrorssimilarly inspired Luaka Bop seriesincluding World Classics, Brazil Classics and Cuba Classics.

For tips, records, snapshotsand storieson Los Angeles music culture, follow Randall Roberts on Twitter and Instagram: @liledit. Email:randall.roberts@latimes.com.

UPDATES:

10:36 a.m.This article was updated to include an embed of Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitanandas piece Om Shanti.

This article was originally published at 5 a.m.

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Selections from Alice Coltrane's blissful late-period meditation music ... - Los Angeles Times

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March 3rd, 2017 at 2:42 am

Posted in Meditation

How a Monk and an Ad Executive Are Turning Meditation Into a Fast-Growth Business – Inc.com

Posted: March 1, 2017 at 10:44 pm


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Startups are known for missions that are lofty, audacious, and sometimes even a bit wacky-sounding. But when it comes to ambition, perhaps none are a match for Headspace. "We want to improve the health and happiness of the world," explains Rich Pierson, the company's co-founder.

That's a tall order for any company, never mind one that makes a seemingly simple meditation app. But the Los Angeles-based startup claims 12 million active users, and says that 80 percent of its growth comes from word of mouth. Headspace, which guides users through hundreds of meditation sessions of various lengths, has a five-star rating in the Apple app store, and more than four stars pretty much everywhere else.

While Pierson jokes that we've hit "peak mindfulness," he believes that there's still lots of opportunity to get more people to meditate. By making the practice both approachable and simple---not too clinical, and not delving into "super-weird, hippie granola crystal healing madness," says Pierson--Headspace aims to make it appealing to those who might not have considered it before.

There's also a burgeoning market in large companies that are becoming more aware of the role that mental health could and should play in their corporate wellness programs. That opens up opportunities for companies such as Headspace and meQuilibrium, which offers online stress management. "I think companies are growing in the way they view wellness," says Rob Goetzel, a senior scientist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. "I think these types of activities--meditation is one technique--ought to be part of the tool kit employers use to support workers."

Most of the time, that has meant a company would hire a trainer and set up a time for employees to learn meditation or other strategies to build their resilience and deal with stress. "Some people like to be in a room with other people," says Goetzel. "But it's very hard to get people in a room for an hour." Delivering meditation via an app allows employees to practice whenever they choose. That may increase adoption, and, Goetzel suspects, could be cheaper than the in-person option.

It's not like Headspace is the only meditation app out there. Dozens of entrepreneurs, it seems, see little irony in using the most distracting device we own--the smartphone--and trying to turn it into a tool for improved awareness. Headspace, at $7.99 to $12.95 a month (depending on the length of your subscription), also is not the cheapest.

What is does have is an unusual co-founder duo: Andy Puddicombe, a Buddhist monk who does the narration for all of Headspace's sessions, and Pierson, who'd formerly been marketing Axe deodorant for BBH, a large agency. Each of them came to meditation through a personal crisis: Puddicombe somehow endured a year during which two of his friends were killed by a drunk driver, his stepsister was killed cycling, and his ex-girlfriend died during heart surgery. His response, after some initial boozing, was to leave his native England for 10 years, study Buddhism, and be ordained as a monk.

Pierson's catalyst was perhaps less dramatic, but it affected him deeply. "I had a bit of a breakdown," says Pierson. "I couldn't go out on public transport, I couldn't speak in front of people. And my job up till then had been in a very public role." A friend introduced him to Puddicombe, who was teaching meditation at a clinic while also running intensive one-day meditation events for a few hundred people at a time. "We did a skills swap," says Pierson. "He would teach me meditation, and I would help him get more people to his events."

Even with Pierson's help, there were still plenty of people who wanted to attend Puddicombe's events but couldn't. They asked if they could buy the handouts that attendees received, so Pierson and Puddicombe started selling that content on their website. In 2011, after an event in New York City, they met someone who asked if they had considered selling the content as a subscription. "We were like, no, we definitely hadn't thought of that," says Pierson, still sounding a bit amused by the oversight. "The events business is a terrible business model, so we went with the subscription idea."

The following year, they developed some exclusive content for The Guardian. "That was the turning point," says Pierson. In a month, the paper took in 32,000 in subscription sales--more than it made the entire year before. Pierson and Puddicombe also built an app, but, says Pierson, "we didn't have any money. We had different developers working on it all over the world. It was kind of built on quicksand."

By 2013, the founders realized they were building a content company, and moved to Los Angeles (yes, they're both surfers). They relaunched the app in July 2014, coming up with something similar to its current product. Meditations are bundled into packs designed to help with relationships, health, and other topics.

In September 2015, the company raised $34 million, a round led by the Chernin group that included Los Angeles luminaries Jessica Alba and Jared Leto. Among other things, the money will help Headspace expand internationally and increase the number of animations on its app. Headspace also will be paying more attention to the corporate market this year. Its clients include Uber, LinkedIn, and Google, says Pierson. These companies get discounts for their employees, and HR managers can tell, in aggregate, how much time employees spend with the app (no personally identifiable metrics are available). The 165-person company offers its content as part of the in-flight entertainment network on seven airlines as well.

Headspace also runs about 40 different studies on the uses and effects of its app. Some address chronic pain, fatigue, and sleep patterns. Another is examining compassion fatigue in nurses. "To me, it's really interesting if Headspace can work with medical professionals," says Pierson.

That would no doubt lend the app some credibility among doubters. While Headspace's user reviews are full of nifty quotes like "This changed my life," Headspace can't promise that subscribers will see any particular gains as a result of the practice. "We are taught that if we do X, we will get Y," says Pierson. "Meditation is the complete opposite of that. If someone is just starting out, my biggest advice is to expect nothing."

If Pierson thinks it's odd that he and Puddicombe are attempting to build a billion-dollar business based on the practices of a religion that argues strenuously against all forms of materialism, well, he's not letting on. He points out that he and Puddicombe still own a large share of the company, having bootstrapped it for five years, and, he says, "making money before we did the A round. It's a proper business." (The company declined to give financial figures.) In the end, Pierson says, "we're mission-first. We want to make sure we can build the project we envision building. If you've got a big enough vision, you need help and financing to get there."

Related:Why Meditation and Mindfulness Training Is One of the Best Industries for Starting a Business in 2017

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How a Monk and an Ad Executive Are Turning Meditation Into a Fast-Growth Business - Inc.com

Written by grays

March 1st, 2017 at 10:44 pm

Posted in Meditation

MBA Wellness Center sponsors Meditation for Action workshop – Richland Source

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MANSFIELD -- With violent protests and hate speech a daily part of everyones newsfeeds, a Mansfield, Ohio pair are offering powerful tools for positive action.

A Meditation in Action program will be held Sunday, March 5, 2017 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the historic Butterfly House at 20 N. Mulberry St. in downtown Mansfield. This program will explore contemplative practices that will help individuals stay calm and will provide positive, effective ways to serve as engaged citizens.

The event will be co-hosted by Annamarie Fernyak, founder of Mind Body Align, LLC and noted author and yoga instructor, Claudia Cummins and is free to the public.

Meditation can be a powerful tool that promotes not just inner peace, but also peace in the world around us, shared Cummins. In this afternoon session and community gathering, we'll explore contemplative practices that help us stay calm and balanced in our ever-changing world. We'll also consider ways to serve as engaged citizens who promote wellbeing for all with a spirit of goodwill and unity.

When asked, both Cummins and Fernyak felt there were common themes driving the protests and hateful speech clogging our daily lives. Some of these include How do we live in ease, even in these unsettled times? How does peace in the outer world relate to peace in our own hearts? How do we speak up from a place of love, rather than hate? How do we seek out common ground with those who disagree with us?

Cummins shared what she views as one of the most important thoughts, How can we use difficult emotions like fear and anger to promote healing, rather than discord?

At the Meditation for Action workshop, the group will be led in positive methods for considering these questions and more. The afternoon will include seated meditation, discussion, and an opportunity to learn more about local groups seeking positive change.

This session is offered in a spirit of peace rather than conflict, love rather than hate, and unity rather than polarization, stated Cummins.

Everyone is welcome, regardless of race, age, gender, religion or political belief. No prior meditation experience is necessary. The event is listed on MBAs calendar of events, and can be found by clicking here. View and share your interest on the Facebook invite here.

Mind Body Align, LLC provides opportunity and empowers everyone to live their best lives. It is a multi-faceted business incubator and provides a home for wellness services and career opportunities in the form of available meeting, working and space which is soothing, inspiring and state of the art.

Their cafe offer healthy lunch daily, a gift shop, monthly coffee talks, wine socials, and wellness opportunities. Follow the events scheduled at the Butterfly House on Instagram or at http://www.MindBodyAlign.com and grow inspired to live with intention your best life.

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MBA Wellness Center sponsors Meditation for Action workshop - Richland Source

Written by simmons

March 1st, 2017 at 10:44 pm

Posted in Meditation


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