July 10 - August 31

When we act unselfishly – solely to bring benefit and well-being to another – and not from a sense of obligation, duty or to receive anything in return, we are engaging from a place of altruistic intention. Altruism seeks nothing in return and does not need to be noticed, praised, or even acknowledged. With this pure intention, we are even willing to endure some unpleasantness, deprivation, or difficulty for ourselves. At the same time, despite any such possible hardship to ourselves, we find that there is a deep satisfaction and happiness that results from our actions when based on selfless intentions.

This desire to be less self-centered in our lives and relationships and to be concerned about the well-being of others is the hallmark of a spiritually maturing individual. The challenge for each of us is how do I transform my habitual knee-jerk self-centric and often narcissistic way of being in the world to one that is genuinely selfless?

This summer’s Intensive will focus on supporting all FCM members (from brand new members practicing Mindful Living to experienced members on the Dharma or Wisdom Path) on our journey along the altruistic continuum. Whether we’re starting from a place of strong self-absorption and self-importance, or consider ourselves fairly selfless and other-centric in our life and relationships, we all have a distance to go to truly purify our hearts and minds of egocentricity.

For this Intensive, we will each reflect on specific relationships and areas in our lives where we can set concrete intentions for more altruistic ways of acting, speaking and thinking. As we begin to live these intentions, we will have an opportunity to observe any self-based preferences, aversions or obstacles that arise within. Bringing these obstacles to light will give each of us the chance to identify and transform underlying self-based mental formations and motivations that sabotage the deeper motivations of our hearts.

As this Intensive is open to all members, it will be a wonderful opportunity for us to practice as community, supporting and nourishing each other to be more altruistic in our lives, in our relationships, and in the world. Participants will have the support of peer groups to share deeply how our practice of altruism is progressing. Fred will be guiding us by offering regular talks and there will also be opportunities to work with Fred in the peer groups on obstacles and challenges that arise.  There will not be assigned texts or readings, but resources will be offered to encourage and inspire us on our altruistic journey.

Commitments for this Intensive

• Spend a minimum of 30 - 60 minutes daily (depending on the individual) in formal meditative practice, study, and/or other practices related to this Intensive.
• Participate in your assigned bi-weekly peer group via Zoom.
• Be present for Intensive Dharma Talks on these Monday evenings via Zoom: July 10 & 24 and August 7, 21 & 28.
• Attend all the practice periods of your Sangha during the Intensive, as possible. This might include morning and/or evening Virtual Meditation, Sunday Sangha Meditation & Dharma talk, Monthly Work Meditations and Days of Mindfulness.

Registration is open until June 26. To ensure you register by this date, please consider registering immediately or mark the registration closing date in your calendar now.

Please note that participation in intensives is open only to members of the Florida Community of Mindfulness. For information about membership, please access our website at www.floridamindfulness.org.

Registration Procedure:  When you register, you will be asked to indicate your preferences for the bi-weekly Zoom Peer Groups. The conversations will last one hour. The following six mentoring groups will be listed, and you will be required to rank each group as one of the following:

• my first choice
• my second choice
• could do but not preferred
• cannot do

If there is more than one group that will work well for you, please mark all these as “my first choice.” This will provide us with added flexibility in making group assignments.

The fee for this Intensive is $75. This is a suggested amount and participants are free to offer more or less depending on their individual financial situation. You may pay on-line when you register, or send your check made out to the Florida Community of Mindfulness (FCM) to Florida Community of Mindfulness, 6501 N. Nebraska Avenue, Tampa, FL 33604.

If you have any questions about this Intensive or whether it is appropriate for you, please contact Fred at Teacher@floridamindfulness.org. If you have questions about logistics, please contact Nancy Natilson at nnatilson@cs.com or Sheila Ludwig at sajludwig@gmail.com

Please register by June 26