Summer 2015  Eight-Week

Only Cumulative Change Leads to True Transformation

July 6 – August 30

Background

For the past three years, our community has been walking together on a series of Paths of Awakening. The first one was called The Path of Selflessness: Letting Go of Self-centered Living, and the second one was called The Key Points of Practice: Mastering the Fundamentals, developing a deeper understanding of fundamental teachings and practices of our FCM sangha. 

Beginning this past Fall, we entered our third Path of Awakening entitled Cultivating the Awakened Mind. Building on our practice over the past years, we continued to utilize the Buddhist teachings on the Seven Factors of the Awakened Mind as our template for living an awakened life. Rather than always fighting a rear-guard action against our unwholesome mind states and emotional afflictions, we are learning how to consciously put our energy into cultivating those qualities that constitute a healthy mind.

Our Summer, 2015 Intensive

In this upcoming eight-week summer Intensive, we will have the opportunity to personalize and deepen our practice by freeing the mind from habits of body, speech and mind that sabotage our well-being and our capacity to live in harmony with others. The eight weeks will be divided into four two week sections that will deal with different areas of focused change: a personal habit or behavior, a personality trait, an afflictive mind state/ emotional state, and a relationship (family, friend, work colleague). During the week prior to the Intensive’s commencement, participants will confer with their mentor to choose their personal focus of change for each of the four sections.

Participants in this Intensive will be provided with a path of practice that will include a mentor, meditation practices, and daily life assignments. Bi-weekly talks with your mentor  alternating weekly with email updates will provide individual guidance and support. Fred will be giving three Dharma talks to participants by conference call. Bi-weekly small group meetings in person or by phone will also provide meaningful support to our focused practice. For more specific information about the Path of Dharma, please access the Teachings section of our website and also the Dharma Path page that is linked to the Teaching page.

The commitments for all participants in this Intensive are:

• The commitment to practice a minimum of 30 minutes of daily formal mindfulness meditation
  
• The commitment to practice recommended meditational techniques/practices
  
• The commitment to have regular telephone consultations with assigned mentor
  
• The commitment to listen to Fred’s Dharma Talks by phone
  
• The commitment to attend a bi-weekly support/discussion gathering of other sangha members participating in the Intensive, in person or by phone
  
• The commitment to attend all the practice periods of our sangha during the eight weeks, as possible
  

This Intensive is open to all FCM members whether or not you participated in the Winter-Spring Intensive.The suggested donation for this Intensive is $50 (no fee for Supporting and Sustaining FCM members). This is a suggested donation and participants are free to donate more or less, depending on their individual practice of Dana and their financial situation. To register, please click on this link or go to the calendar of events at www.floridamindfulness.org.  Registration will close on Sunday, June 15th.

Please note that participation in this Intensive is open only to members of the Florida Community of Mindfulness (FCM). While participation in our local sanghas and Days of Mindfulness is open to everyone, membership in FCM is for persons wanting to deepen their practice of living an awakened life by being part of a dedicated practice community, having a direct relationship with a Dharma teacher and participating in practice opportunities such as Intensives and longer retreats. For information about membership please access the membership section of our website.