Upcoming Naples events

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• Naples Half Day Retreat with Bill MacMillen

  • When
    24 Aug 2019
  •  
    9:00 AM - 12:30 PM
  • Location
    Inner Light Center, 4810 Hickory Wood Dr., Naples, FL 34119
  • Spaces left
    26

  Register

  Please join us for a Half Day Retreat on Saturday, August 24 from 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., in Naples, Florida at the Inner Light Center, 4810 Hickory Wood Dr., Naples, FL 34119.

  
  

  This half day of silence will include a Dharma talk by an FCM Senior Student, Bill MacMillen, and periods of sitting and walking meditation.  Please bring your own cushion if you have one. Extra cushions, as well as chairs, will also be available.

  
  

  While this event is free and open to all practitioners, it is necessary to register in advance to help with our planning and set-up.  Because many people have expressed a desire to make donations online rather than bringing cash or a check to the Half Day Retreat, we offer several registration options that permit an online donation. However, please understand that you do not need to make an online donation to register and that we welcome any support you may wish to offer at the Half Day Retreat itself. Your generosity in providing a donation or "Dana" for the support of our teacher and Practice Center is greatly appreciated.

  
  

  PLEASE NOTE: We have space limitations and have generally had a waiting list for our Naples Half Day Retreats. Out of consideration for others who would like to attend, please notify us at least 24 hours before the Half Day Retreat if you will be unable to attend so that we can fill the space. Instructions for canceling will be in the confirmation email you will receive when you register.

  
  

  Contact name and email for more information - Tony Pollitt,  fanthonypollitt@gmail.com

  
  

  Safety Information and Release
  
  

  We care deeply about your well being and want to ensure you are able to fully participate in this Event and maximize this opportunity to enrich your practice. We want to ensure you are aware and understand that this Event may include activities that may impose a risk to you, which include, but are not limited, to the following:

  • Physical activities such as yoga or other movement activities
    
  • Outdoor walking or other activities
    
  • Experiencing emotional states that may be uncomfortable or unfamiliar.
    

  Please reflect on whether you understand this and are really able to participate in this Event.
  
  Please understand that by registering for this Event, you are participating with the full knowledge and acceptance of the potential risks involved from participating in these activities. You also release FCM and its representatives from all actions, claims or demands that you, your assignees, heirs and legal representatives now have or may hereafter have for injury or damages resulting from your participation in this Event.
  

  
  Please be aware that we may record or broadcast, or take pictures during this Event. By registering, you grant FCM permission to use your likeness in any and all of its publications if such photographs and/or videos are taken, including website entries and social media platforms and that these materials are the property of FCM.

  
  

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• Monthly Orientation for Sangha Newcomers (Naples)

  • When
    25 Aug 2019
  •  
    5:00 PM - 6:00 PM
  • Location
    House of Yoga, Peacock Court, 6200 Trail Blvd., at US 41 and Pine Ridge Road, Naples, Florida 34108

  Monthly Orientation

  
  

  A one-hour orientation for newcomers is offered the last Sunday of each month at 5:00p.m. Please contact naples-meditation@floridamindfulness.org , if you plan to attend.

  
  

  House of Yoga Studio is located at Peacock Court, 6200 Trail Blvd., Naples, Florida 34108. Peacock Court is across U.S. 41 from Barnes & Noble. Wheelchair access is available.

  
  

  
  

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• Sunday Evening Meditation (Naples)

  • When
    25 Aug 2019
  •  
    6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
  • Location
    House of Yoga, Peacock Court, 6200 Trail Blvd., at US 41 and Pine Ridge Road, Naples, Florida 34108

  Weekly mindfulness meditation and teachings.  Please visit Naples Sangha for more information.

  
  

  House of Yoga Studio is located at Peacock Court, 6200 Trail Blvd., Naples, Florida 34108. Peacock Court is across U.S. 41 from Barnes & Noble. Wheelchair access is available.

  
  

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• Sunday Evening Meditation (Naples)

  • When
    01 Sep 2019
  •  
    6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
  • Location
    House of Yoga, Peacock Court, 6200 Trail Blvd., at US 41 and Pine Ridge Road, Naples, Florida 34108

  Weekly mindfulness meditation and teachings.  Please visit Naples Sangha for more information.

  
  

  House of Yoga Studio is located at Peacock Court, 6200 Trail Blvd., Naples, Florida 34108. Peacock Court is across U.S. 41 from Barnes & Noble. Wheelchair access is available.

  
  

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• Sunday Evening Meditation (Naples)

  • When
    08 Sep 2019
  •  
    6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
  • Location
    House of Yoga, Peacock Court, 6200 Trail Blvd., at US 41 and Pine Ridge Road, Naples, Florida 34108

  Weekly mindfulness meditation and teachings.  Please visit Naples Sangha for more information.

  
  

  House of Yoga Studio is located at Peacock Court, 6200 Trail Blvd., Naples, Florida 34108. Peacock Court is across U.S. 41 from Barnes & Noble. Wheelchair access is available.

  
  

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• Sunday Evening Meditation (Naples)

  • When
    15 Sep 2019
  •  
    6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
  • Location
    House of Yoga, Peacock Court, 6200 Trail Blvd., at US 41 and Pine Ridge Road, Naples, Florida 34108

  Weekly mindfulness meditation and teachings.  Please visit Naples Sangha for more information.

  
  

  House of Yoga Studio is located at Peacock Court, 6200 Trail Blvd., Naples, Florida 34108. Peacock Court is across U.S. 41 from Barnes & Noble. Wheelchair access is available.

  
  

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• Death Café for FCM Members via Zoom

  • When
    16 Sep 2019
  •  
    12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
  • Location
    FCM, 6501 N. Nebraska Ave., Tampa, FL 33604 (Fellowship Hall)

  Awareness of death and its inevitability is a key part of our Buddhist practice and yet the awareness often fades into the background with our busy lives. Death Cafes for FCM members via Zoom are monthly drop-in opportunities to talk with other FCM members about death and dying. They will be held on the third Monday of each month from 12:00-1:30 pm Eastern time via Zoom teleconference. The link for the Zoom line is located on our website on our members’  “Connecting" page which is located under Community>Member Resources>Connecting or through this link. Remember you must be logged-in in order to view this page.

  
  

  Participating in Death Cafes will help members deepen their personal awareness of death, normalize conversations about death within our community, and make it easier to talk with our families and friends about this “elephant in the living room” fact of life. Through deep sharing and listening and open ended discussion, we will be able to reflect on the subjects of impermanence and death, and talk about whatever is on our minds, including our concerns, fears, questions and insights surrounding the topic of end of life.

  
  

  Death Cafes have become a widespread phenomena in Europe, America and Australia. Based on the work of  Bernard Crettaz, a Swiss sociologist and anthropologist, and championed by Jon Underwood in England, the basic idea of Death Cafes is that it is extremely valuable to simply talk about death.

  
  

  You can drop-in to a Death Café for a one time experience or plan to come each month to talk about the important topic of death and dying. Please note that the group gatherings are intended as discussion groups rather than as grief support or counseling sessions. Please join us!

  
  

  If you have any questions, please contact the facilitator, Carol Meyer at revcarol1@earthlink.net.
  

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• Solitary Retreats at Empty Cloud Cottage

  • When
    19 Sep 2019
  • Location
    Empty Cloud

  Register

  Availability from September through December 2019

  (Registration closes on August 26th  at 7:00pm)

  
  

  In the Florida Community of Mindfulness, solitary retreat practice is an invaluable opportunity for each of us to spend some time away from our regular schedules and responsibilities in order to focus single-mindedly on an aspect of our practice.  Empty Cloud Cottage, located in Tampa, FL near our Practice Center, is a place where members of the Florida Community of Mindfulness can have solitary retreats from 3-5 nights while receiving the guidance of our teacher, Fred Eppsteiner.  Many in our community have found that practicing at Empty Cloud Cottage, with Fred's guidance, helps immensely in deepening one's practice of Dharma and one's connection with the teacher. 

  
  

  The schedule for solitary retreats at Empty Cloud Cottage for September through December has now been posted.  Registration will remain open until Monday, August 26th at 7:00pm.  Please read the registration instructions below carefully before registering. For those who have not done a solitary retreat before, please also see Fred's write up on this practice opportunity below.

  
  

  
  

  Registration Instructions:

  
  

  All Empty Cloud retreats start in the afternoon of your first day, with departure the morning after your last night. A three-night retreat is the minimum, while the maximum is five.  This means when you sign-up, it should be for a minimum of 4 slots or a maximum of 6 slots. The daily cost is $35 (payable directly to Fred), which covers the cost of lodging. As has been the tradition since the time of the Buddha, priceless Dharma teachings are given freely. Any dana you may wish to offer for the teachings may be given at the conclusion of your retreat.
  

  
  

  If you are interested in staying at Empty Cloud, please click this link to go to our Solitary Retreat page and click on "Schedule a Retreat" - you'll need to be logged in so that the website knows you are a member and thus permits access to the schedule. Once on the schedule page, you will see the schedule but will NOT be able to fill in your name.  

  
  

  Please identify your 1st, 2nd, and 3rd preferences for dates for your stay and then come back to this page to register and indicate your preferences. If your request does not fill up the entire time period offered, please do your best to not choose dates in the middle of the period so that we can maximize the number of retreatants in a given time slot. 

  
  

  Once receiving all the requests, they will be sorted through in an attempt to help more people have access to this practice opportunity.  Once decisions are made, you will be notified as to which of the dates will work for your stay.  Please understand that, as the interest in solitary retreats among our members has grown and spaces are limited, it may not be possible to accommodate everyone.  

  
  

  If you have any questions, please reach out to Bryan at bbhindert@gmail.com.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Letter From Fred:

  
  

  In response to newer members' questions about the practice of solitary retreat at Empty Cloud Cottage, let me share a paragraph from an email sent to members when it was first opened several years ago.

  
  

  While the Zen and Vipassana meditative traditions, as practiced in the States, regularly practice in a group setting and have group retreats, practitioners in both these traditions have also engaged in solo practice. On the other hand, the Tibetan meditative tradition has always emphasized solitary retreats for those who seek deeper levels of understanding and awareness. Having practiced in both group and solitary meditative settings, I have had the opportunity to experience both the positives, as well as the differences, of these two methods. As most of you have been involved in our group meditations and retreats, you know the power of group sitting. The constant support of fellow meditators, encouragement from the teacher, and the structure of a mandatory daily schedule, certainly creates an environment conducive to a deepening of practice. As well, it allows for “economy of scale”, i.e. many persons can access the retreat environment, receive teachings and instructions at the same time.

  
  

  A private personal retreat is somewhat different. Here, we set our own meditation schedule and choose the focus or subject matter of our meditative practice. Since we have to rely more on our own inspiration and self-discipline to support ourselves in our practice, there is opportunity for touching deeper reservoirs within ourselves, strengths and abilities we might have doubted lay within us. Also in solitary retreat we are alone, so we have a unique experience in modern America...an opportunity to spend time away from the myriad distractions of daily life that we conspire with to keep from looking deeply within. In solitary retreat, we can learn how to dwell alone in happiness and well-being. There is also the opportunity to meet daily with the teacher, receive personal guidance and support, choose meditation practices tailored to your personal experience, and receive the relentless energy of the teacher to prod you out of the familiar and comfortable, to help you wake up.

  
  

  In the Dharma,
  Fred

  
  

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• Sunday Evening Meditation (Naples)

  • When
    22 Sep 2019
  •  
    6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
  • Location
    House of Yoga, Peacock Court, 6200 Trail Blvd., at US 41 and Pine Ridge Road, Naples, Florida 34108

  Weekly mindfulness meditation and teachings.  Please visit Naples Sangha for more information.

  
  

  House of Yoga Studio is located at Peacock Court, 6200 Trail Blvd., Naples, Florida 34108. Peacock Court is across U.S. 41 from Barnes & Noble. Wheelchair access is available.

  
  

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• Monthly Orientation for Sangha Newcomers (Naples)

  • When
    29 Sep 2019
  •  
    5:00 PM - 6:00 PM
  • Location
    House of Yoga, Peacock Court, 6200 Trail Blvd., at US 41 and Pine Ridge Road, Naples, Florida 34108

  Monthly Orientation

  
  

  A one-hour orientation for newcomers is offered the last Sunday of each month at 5:00p.m. Please contact naples-meditation@floridamindfulness.org , if you plan to attend.

  
  

  House of Yoga Studio is located at Peacock Court, 6200 Trail Blvd., Naples, Florida 34108. Peacock Court is across U.S. 41 from Barnes & Noble. Wheelchair access is available.

  
  

  
  

  Show details
• Sunday Evening Meditation (Naples)

  • When
    29 Sep 2019
  •  
    6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
  • Location
    House of Yoga, Peacock Court, 6200 Trail Blvd., at US 41 and Pine Ridge Road, Naples, Florida 34108

  Weekly mindfulness meditation and teachings.  Please visit Naples Sangha for more information.

  
  

  House of Yoga Studio is located at Peacock Court, 6200 Trail Blvd., Naples, Florida 34108. Peacock Court is across U.S. 41 from Barnes & Noble. Wheelchair access is available.

  
  

  Show details