In our modern age, creating and maintaining harmonious, caring, emotionally mature, and loving relationships seems to be a chronic challenge for many. Whether these relationships are of the intimate variety or familial or societal, establishing rewarding and meaningful relationships seems to be a challenge that demands never ending ‘work’. For many persons following a spiritual path, their relationships with family members, co-workers, and others are often viewed as an obstacle or diversion from the "real spiritual work” they are undertaking.
This four hour workshop will present an opposing view. Rather than an obstacle to spiritual growth, relationships will be shown to be a remarkably relevant path to developing all the positive emotions and mind states that spiritual and meditative practice promise. Actually, relationships are perhaps one of the most direct and experiential means to developing a truly wholesome and selfless life.
The objectives for this workshop are for participants to have the opportunity to:
- Explore a pathway for developing relationships that are nurturing and meaningful, and have the capacity to heal, transform and enliven us
- Recognize how everyday conflicts that arise within relationships are opportunities for spiritual growth and practice
- Identify the emotional wounds that cause us to enter close relationships with mistrust and insecurity, and how these unhealed wounds trigger emotional reactivity towards others, even those we love
- Identify the values and aspirations needed to create the type of life and relationships we yearn for
- Learn mindfulness practices that cultivate our natural capacity for love and connection that can help us take down the historical barriers that separate us from others.
The workshop leaders will use their training in Buddhism, mindfulness, meditation, counseling, plus their own personal journeys with relationships to create an environment for workshop participants to learn practical and easily applicable means to facilitate the workshop’s goals. Presentations, mindfulness practice, and guided experiential meditations will all be utilized during the workshop.
This workshop will be offered both in-person and on Zoom (In-person participation is encouraged where possible). Registration will close August 31.
The suggested fee for this workshop is $40.
Workshop Leaders
Our Teacher Fred Eppsteiner will be using his training as a family therapist, plus his experience as a meditation and Dharma teacher, to create a challenging and opening environment for workshop participants to learn practical and easily applicable means to facilitate the workshop’s goals. Theoretical and psychological presentations, mindfulness practice, and guided experiential meditations will all be utilized during the workshop.
Fred has been a student of the psychology of Buddhist meditation for over 40 years, and was a psychotherapist for more than 30 years. He has trained extensively in the Buddhist meditative traditions the U.S. and Asia. He received permission to teach from Thich Nhat Hanh in 1994 and is the editor of two books: The Path of Compassion and Interbeing.
Angie Parrish has been a student of Buddhism and mindfulness for over 20 years. After a 1999 retreat with Thich Nhat Hanh, she became a student of Fred Eppsteiner's and a member of the Florida Community of Mindfulness. Angie brought the fruits of her experience in mindfulness and meditation into her professional career as an employee benefits consultant for a wide variety of organizations, including many employee training programs.
Angie is a Dharma Leader with FCM, having been given permission by FCM’s teacher Fred Eppsteiner to share the Buddha’s teachings with the sangha. She is also a Qualified Teacher of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and is a frequent teacher of classes and retreats at FCM.
