OPTIONAL DAY-LONG or PART-DAY RETREAT
“Cultivating the Beginner’s Mind: Staying Calm — Acting Wisely in a Challenging Time”
Led by guest teacher Rebecca Li, assisted by Shaka Georges
Time: 10:00am to 4:00pm
Venue: City Without Walls | 6 Crawford Street | Newark, NJ
Register at: goo.gl/PVuNAi
In this uncertain time we often wonder, how can we stay calm? How can we resist and take positive action without burning out? A first step is to take breaks from our hectic lives and to be a friend to our minds. This takes a little skill and effort. We’ll learn how to cultivate the “beginner’s mind” and discover how meditation can help us stay calm and make wiser decisions especially during this challenging time. This workshop is under the guidance of NCMC guest teachers, Chan (zen) teacher Rebecca Li and tai chi/qi gong teacher Shaka Georges. They’ll take you through the practice of sitting, walking, moving, and eating meditation. Express yourself and have your questions about the practice answered in group discussion and/or personal interview. Both beginners and experienced practitioners welcome. Venus Banks will serve as announcer for NCMC at this retreat. A bonus, we’ll be meditating within the Sanctiloquence installation, an art sanctuary that turns the ordinary into sublime. Though we ENCOURAGE you to attend the FULL WORKSHOP from 10:00am-4:00pm, you are welcome to attend just the morning session 10:00am-12:00pm or the afternoon session 1:00pm-4:00pm. Those participating part-day are also welcome to join us for our vegetarian lunch in between the two sessions.
4:00-4:30 closing reception and tour of the zen-inspired, contemplative exhibition “Sanctiloquence” that we’ll have been sitting in!
PLEASE REGISTER at: goo.gl/PVuNAi
NO FEE: Suggested donation of $20 for full-day participation. Donations support gifts to teachers and venue provider. We welcome ANY AMOUNT you feel you can afford for this retreat, less or more. You are welcome to donate cash at door or pre-donate with a credit card at https://ncmc_beginners_mind_2017.eventbrite.com/
ABOUT THE TEACHERS:
REBECCA LI, a Dharma heir in the lineage of the Chan Master Sheng Yen, started practicing meditation in 1995. She began her teacher’s training with Master Sheng Yen in 1999 to become a Dharma and meditation instructor. Later on, she trained with Simon Child to lead intensive retreats and received full Dharma transmission in 2016. Currently, she teaches meditation and Dharma classes, gives public lectures and leads retreats at Dharma Drum centers, university meditation groups and Dharma practice groups in the northeast. Her talks and writings can be found at www.rebeccali.org. Rebecca is also a professor of sociology in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at The College of New Jersey.
SHAKA GEORGES began his martial arts practice at the age of 9 years old. He immigrated to the U.S. from Haiti in 1975, and ever since then has studied various forms of martial arts including Wing Chun, White Crane Kung Fu Capoeira, and Tai Chi Long and Short Forms. He is a Tibetan Buddhist practitioner from the Mahamudra Lineage and has been meditating for over 10 years. He has also been a fitness coach and instructor in Newark. Shaka is a certified tai chi and qi gong teacher practicing in Montclair NJ and is a mathematics high high school teacher in West Orange. You can find him online at Discovering The Healer Within.