Newark Center for Meditative Culture (NCMC) is a diverse urban meditation community serving the Greater Newark Area in New Jersey and beyond. We served as a community initiative starting in 2012 until we then formed a non-profit organization in 2017. Our programs are based on secular and spiritual teachings from multiple wisdom traditions, and include meditation & mindfulness classes, daylong retreats, book study, sitting groups, training & wellness courses, and workshops. NCMC is a volunteer-run organization with a strong commitment to openness and inclusion. We do this in two ways:
1. Diversity/Expansiveness | We offer both general programs for All and programs for specific affinity groups including Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and Spanish-speaking communities, women, youth and families. The BIPOC retreats especially are intended to provide an affinity group for individuals who daily confront the effects of oppression and racism, and who therefore may choose to avoid mixed programs. We do this in two ways:
2. Inclusiveness | Our programs are usually offered as donation-based or free to the participant. We invite all participants to make voluntary gifts, usually with suggested donation amounts. At times we hold fee-based programs, though we make all attempts to accommodate those without a budget when possible.
Our Mission
To provide a safe space where like-minded people can gather to learn and practice the arts of meditation, mindfulness, self-care, and healing and to become intentionally engaged together as changemakers within our multicultural and diverse population.
Our Vision
To be an inclusive community center that provides connection, empowerment, and resources for all people who seek a purposeful, conscientious lifestyle within a spiritual context.
Our Practice
We are a meditation community rooted in the spiritual and secular principles and practices of eastern and indigenous psychology and philosophy. Applications are both traditional and contemporary and include practices from Buddhist, Ancestral, Yogic, Daoist, Sufi, and other wisdom teachings and disciplines.
Our Goal
To develop a center with a dedicated meditation community committed to practicing together and supporting each other and to maintain the culture of this center so that all can feel welcome. We intend for it to take shape both through leader guidance and organic means according to the wants, needs, and conditions of the community.