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Mindfulness and Recovery: The Buddhist Path of Inner Freedom (hybrid: in-person)

Program Type:
Teacher:
Time:1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Date:Saturday - January 25, 2025
Sessions:1
$65
$55
$45

This program will be hosted both in-person and online (hybrid). This is the registration page to join Chris Willard in person at our Center in Cambridge. (Register here if you prefer to attend online.)

Join us for an afternoon exploring the role of mindfulness in addiction recovery. Whether you are looking to manage the stress of addiction in yourself or others, seeking new tools for recovery, or you are wishing to deepen your spiritual practice, our time together will support you.

This workshop is an opportunity to learn how the values, insights, and practices of Buddhism provide a clear and accessible path that can lead to inner freedom. We will explore this path together and reflect on ways we can use the core teachings of Buddhism to enhance our own personal journey of recovery. As we cultivate more mindfulness, wisdom and compassion, we reduce pain and suffering, here and now. Exploring this path sincerely, willing to see where we still need work, we can begin to experience increased levels of happiness, well-being, and inner freedom.

Anyone struggling with addictive or compulsive behaviors and substances is welcome, including those who love and care for them. We will come together in community to deepen our practice and healing. Our afternoon will include guided meditations, reflection exercises, and plenty of time for questions and sharing at your comfort level.

Full and partial scholarships are available. Please submit your requests to office@cambridgeinsight.org at least 72 hours prior to the start of the program.

On Sunday, March 16th, Chris Willard will offer a second afternoon workshop to support your recovery: The Heart of Recovery. We invite you to join us at CIMC or online for either or both of these programs.

Dr. Christopher Willard, (Psy. D.) is a clinical psychologist, author and consultant based in Cambridge. He has been practicing meditation for over two decades, and in recovery since his first retreat with Thich Nhat Hanh in the late 1990s. He has spoken in over thirty-five countries and is the author of twenty books. He teaches at Harvard Medical School.

There are no prerequisites for this program. Anyone struggling with addictive or compulsive behaviors and substances, including those who love and care for them, is warmly welcome.

Workshop

Attending an In-Person Workshop at CIMC (see below for attending online workshops)

  • Please arrive at least 15 minutes early to check-in and to find a comfortable place in the meditation hall.
  • While at the Center all phones, pagers, beeping watches and other electronic devices must remain completely turned off at all times.
  • Parking at CIMC is limited; we suggest taking public transportation to the Center whenever possible.
  • Lunch will not be provided. Participants are invited to bring their own vegetarian meal to the Center or may buy lunch in the neighborhood. A list of local restaurants and food stores will be available.
  • Food and beverages, including water, are not allowed in the meditation halls.
  • We strongly recommend you dress in layers since the temperature in the meditation hall will vary throughout the day. The hall thermostat is set to a comfortable temperature range; however, please give yourself a range of clothing options, as individual preferences for warmth or coolness differ widely and cannot be accommodated.
  • Please leave shoes on the shoe shelves on the first floor and keep your valuables with you at all times.
  • CIMC provides zafus (round cushions), zabutons (large mats), meditation benches, blankets, and chairs for your use. At the end of the program, we request that participants brush off their zabuton and plump up their zafu. All other items should be returned neatly to where they were found.
  • CIMC is a refuge. Out of compassion for those who may have chemical sensitivities, please avoid using scented products—lotions, deodorant, after-shave, hair products, perfume, clothes laundered with scented detergent, or dryer sheets—before you come to the Center.

Attending an Online Workshop

  • We will be using Zoom for this workshop. Before your workshop begins, be sure to download Zoom and familiarize yourself with using the program, including the chat feature. Specifics about how we will be using Zoom during your workshop will be covered at the beginning of the workshop; however, we are not able to provide technical support during the workshop.
  • We ask that you treat our virtual meditation hall as if we were together in person, in the same room. The teachers and other yogis benefit greatly from your full presence and careful attention.
  • Join each session of the workshop a few minutes early. This will support the teachers and your fellow participants.
  • Ideally, power off phones and smartwatches for the entire time scheduled for the workshop on each day. Please don’t check your devices during breaks. We suggest that you put an “away” message on your email and voicemail and leave your devices in another room during your workshop hours.
  • Please keep your video on during our time together as much as you can. This supports a sense of connectedness and sangha.
  • Closed Captions for CIMC Programs are generated through “live streaming” via Rev.com. CIMC programs are not live-streamed to any other platform for any other use.
  • You will receive a welcome email from CIMC a day or two before your program that will include the zoom link and further information.