This program will be held online via Zoom. All registrants will receive the link to join the program in their Order Confirmation email. Times are ET.
In mindfulness meditation practice, we are encouraged to meet whatever arises with non-judgmental attention. Whether something is pleasant or unpleasant, the idea is to welcome it calmly, kindly, and with curiosity—as if it were a “welcome guest” at our table. But what happens when the “guest” is physical pain? How non-judgmental, calm, kind, and curious does your mind remain? If the answer is “not very,” you are not alone.
In this group, we will create an especially supportive environment for exploring physical pain. A variety of techniques will be offered for bringing mindfulness, compassion, and ease to the experience of pain. In keeping with the Buddha’s singular concern of helping beings end extraneous mental suffering (rather than improve physical health, prolong life, amass wealth, or anything else), these techniques are designed to heal one’s relationship to pain—i.e., the suffering of heart and mind that each of us adds on top of bodily pain. Addressing this relationship might facilitate a reduction in pain, or help you engage in more activities regardless of pain, but these are not the goals of this group. Rather, the group is designed both to reduce mental suffering and to familiarize you with practices that can facilitate changes in perspective, new ways to relate to your experience, and the development of wholesome qualities like wisdom and compassion.
This group is appropriate for people whose lives are currently affected by their own physical pain, whatever the cause, duration, or intensity. Sessions will consist of guided meditation practice, explanatory talks, Q&A, and small group discussions. Practicing the techniques at home is essential.
Practitioners of all levels of experience are welcome, however, familiarity with the basics of insight meditation is required. Beginners who have attended at least five Tuesday Beginner Drop-ins at CIMC, or who have taken Meditation 101, The Way of Awareness, or another introductory meditation program will have enough experience to benefit from this program.
Full and partial scholarships are available up to 72 hours before the start of the program. This program will not be recorded.
Note: Class will not meet on Wednesday, November 22nd.
Reya Stevens has been practicing meditation since 1984 and teaching occasionally since 1997. She leads CIMC’s Disability & Chronic Illness Sangha which she first convened in 2021. Reya has lived with pain due to illness since she was a teenager.
(Closed Captions (CC) for CIMC Programs are generated through “livestreaming” via Rev.com. CIMC programs are not livestreamed to any other platform for any other use.)