Consciousness-in-Action: An Introductory Workshop

The Center for Contemplative Mind in Society presents:

Consciousness-in-Action:
Toward an Integral Approach to Liberation & Transformation

An Introductory Workshop
by Raúl Quiñones-Rosado, PhD, author and founder of ilé|c-Integral
Saturday, October 20, 2007, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Location TBA (Amherst, MA area)
cost: $35.00 (plus $1.75 fee if paying by credit card, to cover processing costs)
Co-sponsored by The Center for Contemplative Mind in Society and Community Partnership for Social Change, Hampshire College

In facing society’s serious issues, many people intently work for community empowerment, social and economic justice, and institutional change, while others focus their attention more on personal growth, loving relationships, and spiritual development. Some believe change happens from the inside out; others are convinced we will be happier only when external conditions improve and justice prevails for all. All of us, undoubtedly, aspire to a better life and a better world.

In this 4-hour workshop, Raúl Quiñones-Rosado introduces key concepts and principles of “consciousness-in-action” — an alternative approach to personal and social change. Drawing from psychology, social theory, integral studies, contemplative practice, and years of work in communities-of-struggle, Dr. Quiñones-Rosado offers an overview of: an integral developmental framework; a psychosocial analysis of the impact of identity-based power, and; liberatory-transformative practices for addressing oppression, arguably the greatest hindrance to human well-being and development.

Topics introduced will include:

• An Integral Model of Well-Being and Development
  
• The Forces that Hinder in the Matrix of Domination
  
• Disrupting the Cyclone of Oppression & Reactivity
  
• Integral Liberation & Transformation Praxis

Consciousness-in-Action will be found relevant and useful to community organizers, social and spiritual activists, social justice educators, helping professionals, organizational leaders, as well as students, academics, and others interested in liberation from oppression and the transformation of our society.

Raúl Quiñones-Rosado, PhD, author of Consciousness-in-Action: Toward an Integral Psychology of Liberation & Transformation, works within various communities-of-struggle in Puerto Rico and the United States to support those committed to personal change and social transformation. He is co-founder of ilé, inc. (formerly known as the Institute for Latino Empowerment), an organization committed to anti-oppression community organizing and Latino leadership development. Raúl currently directs c-Integral, a core service of ilé, through which he teaches, counsels and trains others in the principles and practices of consciousness-in-action.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT
Rose Sackey-Milligan
The Center for Contemplative Mind in Society
199 Main Street, Suite 3
Northampton, MA 01060
(413) 582-0071 x. 14
rose@contemplativemind.org

Click here to register.

Links to Peace Practices for the Joy, Beauty and Community of it

Origami Cranes
This is one of Frank Shih's favorite contemplative practices - a peace practice for today Sept 11th and always ... may we make 10,000 cranes for peace

Peace Poles
A Peace Pole acts as a silent prayer and message for peace on Earth.

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Retreat/Practice Centers for Meditation and Yoga


West Coast

• Spirit Rock
  
• New Dharma
  
• Deer Park Monastery
  
• Integral Yoga Institute of San Francisco

East Coast

• Open Center
  
• Blue Cliff Monastery
  
• New York Insight Meditation Center
  
• Insight Meditation Society
  
• Vipassana Meditation Center
  
• Integral Yoga of New York
  
• East West Yoga
  
• Kripalu - Center for Yoga and Health
  
• Pumpkin Hollow
  
• Omega Institute

Southwest

• Southwest Vipassana Meditation Center

Central

• Vipassana Meditation, Michigan, USA

Washington, D.C.

• Washington Mindfulness Community

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Free and Fun Mindful Downloads

• Mindfulness Clock

Free Introductory Class: The Teachings & Practices of Thich Nhat Hanh

Jeanne Anselmo will conduct a free introductory class on Tuesday, October 23 at 6 p.m. Afterward, a weekly course of six sessions is available from October 30 to December 4.

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“Every moment of your daily life is an opportunity for practice. The whole cosmos is a meditation hall.” —Thich Nhat Hanh

The renowned Vietnamese Buddhist monk, poet and peace activist, Thich Nhat Hanh, who had a profound influence on Martin Luther King, Jr. and is deeply beloved by countless thousands throughout the world, is one of the most important spiritual teachers of our time. In this class, we will immerse ourselves in his teachings and explore his meditative practices. Each week we will begin by watching a video of one of his dharma talks on topics such as: dealing with fear, anger, anxiety and other difficult emotions; cultivating joy, peace and compassion; and love and relationships. We will then work together, as a community, and engage in mindfulness practices designed to help us profoundly experience the inner meaning of these teachings and to be able to carry them with us in our everyday lives.

Note: Recommended readings (choose one) by Thich Nhat Hanh: Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life; Taming the Tiger Within: Meditations on Transforming Difficult Emotions; Calming the Fearful Mind: A Zen Response to Terrorism.

A WEEKLY COURSE
(6 sessions)
Tuesdays, October 30–December 4, 6–7:30 p.m.
Members: $145 / Nonmembers: $160

Free introductory class on Tuesday, October 23 at 6 p.m.

Jeanne Anselmo, an ordained lay monastic of Thich Nhat Hanh’s Order of Interbeing and a highly experienced holistic nurse consultant, teaches mindfulness practices and leads retreats for nurses, helping professionals, law students/lawyers and others in a wide variety of settings in the U.S. and Ireland.

Click here to enroll.

Retreat Opportunity - Healing Our Hearts

Healing Our Hearts
A Weekend Retreat with Meditation Teachers
Anh-Huong Nguyen and Thu Nguyen
October 19 - 21, 2007
Claymont Court, Charles Town, West Virginia



The practice of mindfulness helps us to be fully present and to touch the wonders of life within and around us: the sunshine, the autumn leaves, the pebbles, the smile of a child. Looking at the blue sky, we take one deep breath and touch its immensity, solidity and freedom. This is very nourishing. It would be a pity if we did not know how to benefit from the refreshing and healing elements available to us and allowed ourselves to be overwhelmed by feelings of anger, sorrow and despair. In this retreat, through the practice of conscious breathing, we will have an opportunity to stop, rest and get in touch with our inherent capacity for healing and renewal that we usually take for granted in our busy lives.

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Retreat Schedule
From 6 p.m. October 19 until 2 p.m. October 21, 2007

• Friday evening: Dinner, Orientation, Sitting meditation.
  
• Saturday morning: Guided sitting meditation, Breakfast, Outdoor walking meditation, Talk.
  
• Saturday afternoon: Lunch, Tea meditation, Total body relaxation / Mindful movements.
  
• Saturday evening: Dinner, Group discussion, Sitting meditation / Touching the earth.
  
• Sunday morning: Sitting meditation, Breakfast, Outdoor walking meditation, Talk / Questions and answers.
  
• Sunday afternoon: Lunch, Closing circle.
  

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Anh-Huong Nguyen and Thu Nguyen have practiced the art of mindful living with Thich Nhat Hanh for 28 years. They have led mindfulness retreats in the United States since 1988 and in 1992 were among the first students to be ordained as Dharma teachers by Thich Nhat Hanh. Anh-Huong has also worked with Thich Nhat Hanh translating many of his books into English, including The Sun My Heart and The Diamond that Cuts through Illusion. They are principal teachers at the Mindfulness Practice Center of Fairfax (www.mpcf.org).

Claymont Court is located on 369 acres of forest and farmland in the Shenandoah Valley of West Virginia, less than 90 minutes by car from Washington, D.C., or Baltimore.

The cost of the retreat, including meals (Friday dinner through Sunday lunch) and overnight accommodations is $250 per person. Room accommodation is of dormitory style with three or more beds per room. A limited number of rooms with double beds are reserved for couples. We ask that all participants be at least 13 years of age. A fifty percent deposit is required to reserve a place. (All but $35 of the deposit will be refunded if notification of cancellation is received prior to October 12, 2007.) The balance is due upon arrival at the retreat. A confirmation letter with a map and other necessary information will be mailed or e-mailed to each participant.

To register, please complete the coupon below and send with your deposit to Thu Nguyen, 10413 Adel Road, Oakton, VA 22124. For more information, e-mail the retreat registrar at info@mpcf.org or call 703-938-1377.

Click here for more information.

Conference call peace meditation

Dear All,

Tonight we met by conference call from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. ET to offer a peace meditation in celebration and remembrance of both the sixth anniversary of the beginning of CULP at CUNY and Sept 11th.

We were able to record the meditation and it is available to playback and listen to whenever you would like over the next 120 days. It was followed by a lovely sharing with all that participated that was not recorded.

May we all walk together in and for peace in ourselves and peace in the world.
May we plant our breath and our steps in awareness as a healing presence of peace in the world today and everyday.

Hope you enjoy this ... it is an experiment and the first time I/we are doing this... May all be peaceful on this precious little planet... I/we welcome your feedback.

blessings, Jeanne

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Our next free conference call meditation will be Oct 8th at 8 p.m. ET. I will send out a reminder a week before and a few days before with the call-in number. (Note: Long distance charges still apply, but the conference call itself is free.)

Free Conference Play Back
Playback Number: (641) 715-3486
Access Code: 609248#

Play Back Instructions
To listen to the recorded conference, the host must provide attendees with the play back number and access code. Please note, this number is different from the conference dial-in number. When users call into the recording playback number, they will be prompted to enter the access code. Once confirmed, the system will play back the recorded conference. During play back, the user can scroll forward or backwards through the recorded conference. You will find the play back features below.

Playback Feature Keys
*1 = Rewind 30 seconds
*2 = Fast forward 30 seconds
*5 = Pause/resume playback

A Tree Grows in Red Hook (documentary)

Click below to check out this short documentary made by Jackie Linge. Jackie was one of the founding students of CCULP. She has graduated now and works as an advocate in Manhattan.

A Tree Grows in Red Hook

CCULP Slideshow

Click on the link below to check out a slideshow of CCULP photos!

We will probably do more with these photos later, but this seemed a great way to make them available for now. For uber-fans, the slideshow can be downloaded as a screen saver as well.

Apologies to those dislike the music, but the lyrics describe a person trying to keep things together without the help of her community. Because of CCULP's vision of connectedness, it seemed appropriate. Also, there weren't many to pick from!

CCULP slideshow