Monthly Calendar

This drop-in sitting meditation is offered in the simplicity of silence without instruction. An ending bell will be rung by a practice leader. There is no registration, nor fee.  Donations are always welcome.  Not suggested for new meditators.

Ongoing Covid precautions: In order to attend this workshop, you must be fully vaccinated.  You will have to show proof of vaccination at the door, or you may also email the Director with a copy of your proof of vaccination before the class.  Once you have shown your proof of vaccination, you do not have to show it again.  Masks are optional.  As an added precaution, if you have cold or flu-like symptoms, we ask that you do not attend any offering until you have had a negative quick covid test.  

Registration is closed for this offering.  It has reached the maximum number of registrations.

Our book for the next session is The Wakeful Body, Somatic Mindfulness as a Path to Freedom, by Willa Blythe Baker.  This book shows us how to tap into the wisdom of the body with down-to-earth practices that allow the body to become the source of mindfulness. Willa Blythe Baker introduces meditation practice as the cultivation of a way of being that is self-aware, self-compassionate, and embodied.  By diving deep into the body, readers will find that they already have what they need. Concentration, wisdom, compassion, kindness, and joy are waiting there.

One of the best tools in mindfulness and compassion practice today, as it has been for millennia, is poetry.  Present moment-oriented poetry found in Buddhism and other traditions is a beautiful expression of, and support for, kindness and insight.  One poem will be emailed to you each week to inform your practice at home and will be used as a touchstone for discussion in class.

You must be registered for the entire series (7/6-7/27), there are no drop-ins.

This drop-in sitting meditation is offered in the simplicity of silence without instruction. An ending bell will be rung by a practice leader. There is no registration, nor fee.  Donations are always welcome.  Not suggested for new meditators.

Ongoing Covid precautions: In order to attend this workshop, you must be fully vaccinated.  You will have to show proof of vaccination at the door, or you may also email the Director with a copy of your proof of vaccination before the class.  Once you have shown your proof of vaccination, you do not have to show it again.  Masks are optional.  As an added precaution, if you have cold or flu-like symptoms, we ask that you do not attend any offering until you have had a negative quick covid test.  

Can you remember the last time you asked your child to pay attention? 

This 90-minute program, which is suitable for children aged 4-9 and their families, explores the power of paying attention. We address the question of how paying attention without judgment changes our experience. Together we discover why and how children and their grown ups can learn to pay attention while connecting to the present moment for a more centered and grounded experience. The program includes hands-on activities, guided conversations, and experiments with the senses, hearts and minds.

Sylwia Willcox has been practicing in the Zen, Dzogchen, and Theravada traditions since 1994. Since moving to the United States in 2017 she has been practicing and volunteering at the Insight Meditation Center of Newburyport. She has a certificate of Mindful Educator and Mindfulness Fundamentals from the Mindful Schools. For the past few years, she has been incorporating the mindfulness program into her kindergarten class curriculum. She has taught Aikido - a martial art emphasizing nonviolent conflict resolution - to children and adults in both Poland and the United States. She has a Master's Degree in philosophy with an emphasis on Buddhist studies. 

Ongoing Covid precautions: In order to attend this offering, parents/adults must be fully vaccinated.  You will have to show proof of vaccination at the door, or you may also email the Director with a copy of your proof of vaccination before the class.  Masks are optional. As an added precaution, if you have a cold or flu-like symptoms, we ask that you do not attend the program. 

Pre-registration is required due to space limitations in our building. There is no fee for this program, so to register please send an email to: meditate@IMCNewburyport.org with the names and ages of the children who will attend, as well as names of adults who will attend.

These drop-in sessions will be held once a month.  A 25-35 minute mindfulness meditation will be followed by individual sharing.  Everyone will have a chance to talk about how they are working with being present to the realities of this unique and difficult time.  Together, we have the opportunity here to create a much needed community of support, based on mindfulness and compassion.  New and experienced meditators alike are welcome to attend.  Registration is not required, and donations are always welcome.

Matthew or Effie Stavrulaki will lead a Loving Kindness drop-in session once a month as well.  Together, these mindfulness and loving kindness sessions take place bi-weekly and may support a skillful balance of kind intention and clear seeing for our practice.

If you have Zoom, click on the link below just before class to join.

Join Zoom Meeting - Video Link
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82847776617?pwd=ZldoUE9EOUYxSjhxOXJxUE9sSW9rQT09
Meeting ID: 828 4777 6617
Passcode: 365026
OR join by phone: 
Dial by your location
        +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
        +1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
        +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
With this Meeting ID: 828 4777 6617

This drop-in sitting meditation is offered in the simplicity of silence without instruction. An ending bell will be rung by a practice leader. There is no registration, nor fee.  Donations are always welcome.  Not suggested for new meditators.

Ongoing Covid precautions: In order to attend this workshop, you must be fully vaccinated.  You will have to show proof of vaccination at the door, or you may also email the Director with a copy of your proof of vaccination before the class.  Once you have shown your proof of vaccination, you do not have to show it again.  Masks are optional.  As an added precaution, if you have cold or flu-like symptoms, we ask that you do not attend any offering until you have had a negative quick covid test.  

One of the best tools in mindfulness and compassion practice today, as it has been for millennia, is poetry.  Present moment-oriented poetry found in Buddhism and other traditions is a beautiful expression of, and support for, kindness and insight.  One poem will be emailed to you each week to inform your practice at home and will be used as a touchstone for discussion in class.

You must be registered for the entire series (7/6-7/27), there are no drop-ins.

This drop-in sitting meditation is offered in the simplicity of silence without instruction. An ending bell will be rung by a practice leader. There is no registration, nor fee.  Donations are always welcome.  Not suggested for new meditators.

Ongoing Covid precautions: In order to attend this workshop, you must be fully vaccinated.  You will have to show proof of vaccination at the door, or you may also email the Director with a copy of your proof of vaccination before the class.  Once you have shown your proof of vaccination, you do not have to show it again.  Masks are optional.  As an added precaution, if you have cold or flu-like symptoms, we ask that you do not attend any offering until you have had a negative quick covid test.  

We are sorry, but this offering has been cancelled.

Anapanasati Sutta: The Buddha's road map for using the breath as the foundation for practice. 

As practitioners we are introduced to using the breath early on and many of us have been working with the breath for years. Instructions on working with the breath have been passed down for thousands of years and been greatly influenced by commentaries on the sutta. In this workshop we will look at this sutta with fresh eyes, looking closely at how we might use the actual words of the sutta itself to inform and support our practice as lay practitioners. We will be sitting together and practicing the sixteen basic steps of the instructions outlined in the sutta.

This drop-in sitting meditation is offered in the simplicity of silence without instruction. An ending bell will be rung by a practice leader. There is no registration, nor fee.  Donations are always welcome.  Not suggested for new meditators.

Ongoing Covid precautions: In order to attend this workshop, you must be fully vaccinated.  You will have to show proof of vaccination at the door, or you may also email the Director with a copy of your proof of vaccination before the class.  Once you have shown your proof of vaccination, you do not have to show it again.  Masks are optional.  As an added precaution, if you have cold or flu-like symptoms, we ask that you do not attend any offering until you have had a negative quick covid test.  

Registration is closed for this offering.  It has reached the maximum number of registrations.

Our book for the next session is The Wakeful Body, Somatic Mindfulness as a Path to Freedom, by Willa Blythe Baker.  This book shows us how to tap into the wisdom of the body with down-to-earth practices that allow the body to become the source of mindfulness. Willa Blythe Baker introduces meditation practice as the cultivation of a way of being that is self-aware, self-compassionate, and embodied.  By diving deep into the body, readers will find that they already have what they need. Concentration, wisdom, compassion, kindness, and joy are waiting there.

One of the best tools in mindfulness and compassion practice today, as it has been for millennia, is poetry.  Present moment-oriented poetry found in Buddhism and other traditions is a beautiful expression of, and support for, kindness and insight.  One poem will be emailed to you each week to inform your practice at home and will be used as a touchstone for discussion in class.

You must be registered for the entire series (7/6-7/27), there are no drop-ins.

This drop-in sitting meditation is offered in the simplicity of silence without instruction. An ending bell will be rung by a practice leader. There is no registration, nor fee.  Donations are always welcome.  Not suggested for new meditators.

Ongoing Covid precautions: In order to attend this workshop, you must be fully vaccinated.  You will have to show proof of vaccination at the door, or you may also email the Director with a copy of your proof of vaccination before the class.  Once you have shown your proof of vaccination, you do not have to show it again.  Masks are optional.  As an added precaution, if you have cold or flu-like symptoms, we ask that you do not attend any offering until you have had a negative quick covid test.  

Thursday Half Day Retreats are designed to be flexible to personal schedules while offering the opportunity to deepen practice through periods of silent sitting and walking meditation. You may come for part, or all of this retreat.  While at the center, please adhere closely to the schedule and maintain silence.  Click here for retreat schedule.

Teacher Matthew Daniell leads the retreat and there will be minimal instruction offered as needed.  He will provide time for an optional teacher interview with each participant.  A bell will be rung to signal the rotation between silent sitting and walking meditation.  

These practice periods are not suitable for complete beginners: An introductory meditation class or equivalent experience is strongly recommended before attending. 

We are sorry, but this offering has been cancelled.

In Buddhist teachings we speak of identifying and not identifying with experience. What do these words mean? How is non-identification related to the freedom teachings of not-self? Through guided instructions, a dharma talk and discussion, we will explore in our own experience how releasing identification unbinds the heart and mind.

These drop-in sessions will be held once a month.  A 25-35 minute loving kindness meditation will be followed by individual sharing.  Everyone will have a chance to talk about how they are working with intentions of goodwill (metta or loving kindness), as well as bringing mindfulness to the realities of this unique and difficult time.  Together, we have the opportunity here to create a much needed community of support, based on mindfulness and compassion.  New and experienced meditators alike are welcome to attend.  Registration is not required, and donations are always welcome.

Matthew Daniell will lead a Mindfulness drop-in session once a month as well.  Together, these mindfulness and loving kindness sessions take place bi-weekly and may support a skillful balance of kind intention and clear seeing for our practice.

If you have Zoom, click on the link below just before class to join.

Join Zoom Meeting - Video Link
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82847776617?pwd=ZldoUE9EOUYxSjhxOXJxUE9sSW9rQT09
Meeting ID: 828 4777 6617
Passcode: 365026
OR join by phone:
Dial by your location
        +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown)
        +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
        +1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
        +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
        +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
        +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
With this Meeting ID: 828 4777 6617

This drop-in sitting meditation is offered in the simplicity of silence without instruction. An ending bell will be rung by a practice leader. There is no registration, nor fee.  Donations are always welcome.  Not suggested for new meditators.

Ongoing Covid precautions: In order to attend this workshop, you must be fully vaccinated.  You will have to show proof of vaccination at the door, or you may also email the Director with a copy of your proof of vaccination before the class.  Once you have shown your proof of vaccination, you do not have to show it again.  Masks are optional.  As an added precaution, if you have cold or flu-like symptoms, we ask that you do not attend any offering until you have had a negative quick covid test.  

One of the best tools in mindfulness and compassion practice today, as it has been for millennia, is poetry.  Present moment-oriented poetry found in Buddhism and other traditions is a beautiful expression of, and support for, kindness and insight.  One poem will be emailed to you each week to inform your practice at home and will be used as a touchstone for discussion in class.

You must be registered for the entire series (7/6-7/27), there are no drop-ins.

This drop-in sitting meditation is offered in the simplicity of silence without instruction. An ending bell will be rung by a practice leader. There is no registration, nor fee.  Donations are always welcome.  Not suggested for new meditators.

Ongoing Covid precautions: In order to attend this workshop, you must be fully vaccinated.  You will have to show proof of vaccination at the door, or you may also email the Director with a copy of your proof of vaccination before the class.  Once you have shown your proof of vaccination, you do not have to show it again.  Masks are optional.  As an added precaution, if you have cold or flu-like symptoms, we ask that you do not attend any offering until you have had a negative quick covid test.  

This workshop is full - registration is closed.

The Dalai Lama said that “love is a not a luxury, but a necessity,”  yet in our hearts we often do not feel love for ourselves or others and we bear the painful consequences.  In this workshop, we will explore time tested Buddhist practices which tap the power of intention through offering phrases of loving kindness (metta) to ourselves and others. When cultivated, loving kindness practice helps us to heal our own hearts by loving ourselves more deeply.  It can also help us touch those in our lives and the world with a deeper sense of love and connection.  All are welcome.