The day will consist of a short talk on the critical importance of men incorporating Self-Healing protocols into their daily lives, Meditation, Qi Gong exercises, Sexual Health and Fitness, Wilderness Therapy, Medicine Drum Circle, and a talk about Healing Generational Trauma. Vegetarian lunch included.
Presenters: Damani Saunderson, Khalil Maasi, J. Javier Cruz, Ihsaan R. Muhammad, Leslie Arthur, Ib’nallah S. Kazi (Presenter bio-notes available on the registration site.)
Suggested donation: • Men Full-Day: $20 (10:00am-4:00pm) • Men Half-Day: $15 (10:00am-1:30pm or 12:30pm-4:00pm) • Young Men: FREE for ages 14 -17 accompanied by adult (limited tix) • Male Students: $15 for ages 18 and over w/ID $15 (limited tix) • Pre-Approved Volunteers: $10 (limited tix)
“Somebody told me it’s the end of the world and that’s just for some,
peace to the dead,
strength to the chosen…
Quicksand millennium,
quicksand millennium…”
Like The Roots, I rose From the Ground Up;
my branches spreading wide and bark growing thick.
My leaves grow healthy and the chlorophyll in them
becomes a rich dark green.
I think I will remain a sturdy foundation for the rest of my days.
Slowly I begin to absorb the elements around me, Read More
NCMC wishes you a day of abundance or simplicity — and thanksgiving — for clear water, good food, and Mother Earth to sit on!
WITH ONE MIND
Greetings to the Natural World!
The Earth Mother
We are all thankful to our Mother, the Earth, for she gives us all that we need for life. She supports our feet as we walk about upon her. It gives us joy that she continues to care for us as she has from the beginning of time. To our mother, we send greetings and thanks. Now our minds are one.
The Waters
We give thanks to all the waters of the world for quenching our thirst and providing us with strength. Water is life. We know its power in many forms — waterfalls and rain, mists and streams, rivers and oceans. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to the spirit of Water. Now our minds are one.
The Food Plants
With one mind, we turn to honor and thank all the Food Plants we harvest from the garden. Since the beginning of time, the grains, vegetables, beans and berries have helped the people survive. Many other living things draw strength from them too. We gather all the Plant Foods together as one and send them a greeting of thanks. Now our minds are one.
(Excerpted from a Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address)
INTERDEPENDENCE
The Three Sisters of Corn, Beans, and Squash
For many Indigenous People in the Americas, the triad of corn, beans, and squash is called the Three Sisters. Traditionally grown together, this crop trio are all interdependent on one another. Beans grow up the corn stalks and add the nutrients (nitrogen) to the soil that the others need to grow. Squash is planted in between them to keep the weeds out. These three staples remain the heart of most Indigenous diets and are often eaten in companion with each other.
The act of saying grace over a meal and of blessing the dinner table are sacred rituals practiced for millennia across the globe.
From Ghana to Burma and all the way to the Netherlands, human beings incorporate the daily act of eating into their personal and collective spiritual lives.
The blessing of the meal is a time for giving thanks.
Prayers may be directed to a supreme being, to ancestors, the earth or whatever spiritual agency is believed to be of assistance in securing sustenance. Sometimes family members, employees and employers are thanked for the part they play in sustaining an individual or household.
Still a concern for many to this day is the healthiness of a meal they’re about to eat. Invasion of the body by food-born pathogens is a threat that challenges human beings daily. Therefore, some cultures may include request that the meal be allowed to provide strength and vitality — or at least be rendered free of harm.
Not to be overlooked is the impact upon the psyche of that moment of silence when one’s head is bowed and gaze lowered in recognition of our mutual dependence upon all we consider powerful, holy and beneficent.
The few seconds taken to reconnect to the part of us that remains in constant connection with the Unseen Real opens a “spiritual moment.” And in that moment, we invoke the soul elixir that releases the strengthening, healing, beautifying properties of the meal.
We can use the tradition of saying grace as a “conscious opportunity” to create more of those spiritual moments in our day. We don’t have to limit our spiritual practice to being locked away in a specially outfitted room with dimmed lighting, lots of plump pillows and scented candles.
Let’s bring our practice into our “common spaces” — with their sounds and scents of life at its core. First we take back the kitchen, then the toilet, then the garden.
It all adds up.
Ib’nallah S. Kazi is the Spiritual Director of Newark Center for Meditative Culture and a Spiritual Health & Wellness Coach at The Spirit Centered Life.
The purpose of this course is to help you move beyond settling for the explanation of meditation, into the experience of meditation and a consistent practice. Meditation is something that you have to practice and make a part of your life. You will come to understand what Meditation Medicine means and why meditation is medicine. (See blog post Course 1.0: Introduction to Meditation Medicine—Course Description that gives the entire overview.)
Step 1:Watch Intro to Meditation Medicine Talk 1.4
Short talk about developing a sacred approach to your practice, space, and time in order to focus internally on yourself for power, wellness, and wisdom. (9 min)
Step 2:Listen and practice Guided Meditation 1.4: Self-Healing Meditation Medicine
Short talk on meditation as a self-healing modality within a specialized society and the ensueing fragmention of ourselves that we can heal through meditation. Includes brief body scan and breath meditation and a new practice of Inner Smile meditation. (24 min)
Step 3:Practice what you’ve learned in these videos for a week. Then continue on with your own practice.
We also would love for you to join us if you haven’t already on the Meditation Medicine Study Group on Facebook where we can support each other’s practice through online discussions, sharing relevant posts, and asking questions to the teacher.
Additional Resource:Infographic 1.4: A Consistent Sacred Meditation Practice.
Feel free to print this out and use it as a reference.
Consultation: Optional twenty-minute consultation with Kazi concerning your meditation experiences, insights, challenges, etc. via email, phone, or skype. Contact us at info@newarkmeditation.org to request.
Ongoing online group discussions and teachings with Kazi:You can join the Meditation Medicine Study Group on Facebook to engage with a group of kindred spirits to share your meditation medicine journey with.
The purpose of this course is to help you move beyond settling for the explanation of meditation, into the experience of meditation and a consistent practice. Meditation is something that you have to practice and make a part of your life. You will come to understand what Meditation Medicine means and why meditation is medicine. (See blog post Course 1.0: Introduction to Meditation Medicine—Course Description that gives the entire overview.)
Step 1:Watch Intro to Meditation Medicine Talk 1.3
Short talk your mindset, erasing doubts, letting go, and our abillity to truly relax in order to activate our parasympathetic nervous system. (10 min)
Step 2:Listen and practice Guided Meditation 1.3: Curative Meditation Medicine
Short talk on meditation as a curative measure, relating to tension, pain, and chronic pain. Includes additional guidance on contract-relax body scan and breath meditation, followed by a new practice of mindfulness of pain. (28 min)
Step 3:Practice what you’ve learned in these videos for a week. Then go to Lesson 1.4: Self-Healing Meditation Medicine.
Additional Resource:Infographic 1.3: Basic Meditation Practices Prescribed.
Feel free to print this out and use it as a reference.
Consultation: Optional twenty-minute consultation with Kazi concerning your meditation experiences, insights, challenges, etc. via email, phone, or skype. Contact us at info@newarkmeditation.org to request.
Ongoing online group discussions and teachings with Kazi:You can join the Meditation Medicine Study Group on Facebook to engage with a group of kindred spirits to share your meditation medicine journey with.
The purpose of this course is to help you move beyond settling for the explanation of meditation, into the experience of meditation and a consistent practice. Meditation is something that you have to practice and make a part of your life. You will come to understand what Meditation Medicine means and why meditation is medicine. (See blog post Course 1.0: Introduction to Meditation Medicine—Course Description that gives the entire overview.)
Step 1:Watch Intro to Meditation Medicine Talk 1.2
Short talk on how to create a space conducive to meditation practice. (11 min)
Step 2:Listen and practice Guided Meditation 1.2: Preventive Meditation Medicine
Short talk on meditation as a preventive measure, its positive effect on the immune system and well-being, and the qualities of mindfulness. Includes three guided meditation exercises: body scan, breath meditation, and mindfulness meditation. (31 min)
Step 3:Practice what you’ve learned in these videos for a week. Then go to Lesson 1.3: Curative Meditation Medicine.
Additional Resource:Infographic 1.2: Creating Good Meditation Associations.
Feel free to print this out and use it as a reference.
Consultation: Optional twenty-minute consultation with Kazi concerning your meditation experiences, insights, challenges, etc. via email, phone, or skype. Contact us at info@newarkmeditation.org to request.
Ongoing online group discussions and teachings with Kazi:You can join the Meditation Medicine Study Group on Facebook to engage with a group of kindred spirits to share your meditation medicine journey with.
The purpose of this course is to help you move beyond settling for the explanation of meditation, into the experience of meditation and a consistent practice. Meditation is something that you have to practice and make a part of your life. You will come to understand what Meditation Medicine means and why meditation is medicine. (See blog post Course 1.0: Introduction to Meditation Medicine—Course Description that gives the entire overview.)
Step 1:Watch Intro to Meditation Medicine Talk 1.1
An introduction to the series, its purpose, and goal. (11 min)
Step 2:Listen and practice Guided Meditation 1.1: Meditation is Medicine
Short talk on the medicinal potential of meditation and its main functions including the concept of bringing ourselves back to center, to equilibrium. Includes two basic guided meditation exercises: contract-relax body scan and breath meditation. (33 min)
Additional Resource:Infographic 1.1: Bringing Ourselves Back to Center. Feel free to print this out and use it as a reference.
Consultation: Optional twenty-minute consultation with Kazi concerning your meditation experiences, insights, challenges, etc. via email, phone, or skype. Contact us at info@newarkmeditation.org to request.
Ongoing online group discussions and teachings with Kazi: You can join the Meditation Medicine Study Group on Facebook to engage with a group of kindred spirits to share your meditation medicine journey with.
“The experience proceeds and is more important than the explanation.” — Old African Proverb
A Message from the Teacher
If you have started to read this it might suggest that you believe there is personal, social and perhaps universal value in the practice of meditation. As the practice of meditation becomes more mainstream with each day, the opportunity to begin a meditation practice often remains stymied by a lack of time, energy or just a lack of knowledge on how and where to begin. We are currently offering a four-part lesson on Meditation Medicine for free. It is our wish that this series of teachings contributes to removing these obstacles to your meditation practice.
Peace.Kazi
Course Description
OVERVIEW: The purpose of this course is to help you move beyond settling for the explanation of meditation, into the experience of meditation and a consistent practice. Meditation is something that you have to practice and make a part of your life. You will come to understand what Meditation Medicine means and why meditation is medicine.
COURSE INCLUDES: Prerecorded Web Talks and Guided Meditations; Optional Discussion and Consultation; Infographics.
VIDEO TALK 1.1: Intro to Meditation Medicine — An introduction to the series, its purpose, and goal. (11 min)
PRE-RECORDED GUIDED MEDITATION 1.1: Meditation is Medicine — Short talk on the medicinal potential of meditation and its main functions including the concept of bringing ourselves back to center, to equilibrium. Includes two basic guided meditation exercises: contract-relax body scan and breath meditation. (33 min)
VIDEO TALK 1.2: Creating a Meditation Space — Short talk on how to create a space conducive to meditation practice. (11 min)
PRE-RECORDED GUIDED MEDITATION 1.2: Preventive Meditation Medicine — Short talk on meditation as a preventive measure, its positive effect on the immune system and well-being, and the qualities of mindfulness. Includes three guided meditation exercises: body scan, breath meditation, and mindfulness meditation. (31 min)
INFOGRAPHIC: Creating Good Meditation Associations
VIDEO TALK 1.3: Meditation as a Posture of The Mind — Short talk your mindset, erasing doubts, letting go, and our abillity to truly relax in order to activate our parasympathetic nervous system. (10 min)
PRE-RECORDED GUIDED MEDITATION 1.3: Curative Meditation Medicine — Short talk on meditation as a curative measure, relating to tension, pain, and chronic pain. Includes additional guidance on contract-relax body scan and breath meditation, followed by a new practice of mindfulness of pain. (28 min)
VIDEO TALK 1.4: A Sacred Attitude in Meditation Practice — Short talk about developing a sacred approach to your practice, space, and time in order to focus internally on yourself for power, wellness, and wisdom. (9 min)
PRE-RECORDED GUIDED MEDITATION 1.4: Self-Healing Meditation Medicine — Short talk on meditation as a self-healing modality within a specialized society and the ensueing fragmention of ourselves that we can heal through meditation. Includes brief body scan and breath meditation and a new practice of Inner Smile meditation. (24 min)
INFOGRAPHIC: Developing a Sacred Consistent Practice
Go to Course 1.0: Introduction to Meditation Medicine: Course Description
Ongoing online group discussions and teachings with Kazi:You can join the Meditation Medicine Study Group on Facebook to engage with a group of kindred spirits to share your meditation medicine journey with.
FACEBOOK STUDY GROUP: Meditation Medicine 4-Part Lesson with Kazi — Free Introductory Series Tuesday Evenings Beginning April 3, 10, 17, 24* 7:00pm EST | 4:00pm PST *Access to recorded sessions if you can’t join us live.
This 4-part lesson is exclusive to Meditation Medicine Study Group Members and will be held on Tuesday evenings, April 3rd, April 10th, April 17th, and April 24th. The lessons include live web talks, pre-recorded guided meditations, discussion, consultation, and some home assignments. For more details, you can go to the Meditation Medicine Study Group on Facebook with Master Teacher Kazi of The Spirit-Centered Life.
The act of saying grace over a meal and of blessing the dinner table are sacred rituals practiced for millennia across the globe.
