Please us in FCM's virtual meditation hall for Morning Meditation, offered Monday through Friday from 7:00 to 8:00 am. All meditation includes some guidance by our teacher Fred or one of his senior students. Links to join Morning Meditation, plus any announcements of cancellations due to retreats or other events, are found on our home page at floridamindfulness.org.

Our schedule for Morning Meditation is as follows.

6:45 - 7:00 am Opening Zoom and settling into seat
7:00 - 7:25 am Sitting meditation (25 minutes)
7:25 - 7:35 am Walking meditation (10 minutes)
7:35 - 7:55 am Sitting meditation (20 minutes)
7:55 - 8:00 am Setting intentions for the day

Please us in FCM's virtual meditation hall on Monday through Thursday evenings each week from 7:30 to 8:45. Our evening schedule includes some guidance by our teacher Fred or one of his senior students, followed by a special practice each evening, as follows:

• Mondays: Recitation of the Five or Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings from the Plum Village tradition. 
• Tuesdays: Loving Kindness & Compassion Practices
• Wednesdays: Deep Relaxation
• Thursdays: Concentration Practices

Links to join Evening Meditation, plus any announcements of cancellations due to retreats or other events, are found on our home page at floridamindfulness.org.

Our schedule for Evening Meditation is as follows.

7:15 - 7:30  Zoom line opens, with invitation to settle into your seat
7:30 - 8:05 Sitting meditation (35 minutes)
8:05 - 8:15 Walking meditation (10 minutes)
8:15 - 8:45 Special Practices (30 minutes)

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 in "Resources>Member Resources and Directory>Death Café." Click here to access this page. 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.

This weekly meditation group will be held Tuesdays on Zoom and is open to everyone in recovery: AA, NA, Alanon, and other programs. It is also for those trying to spend less time on the internet, Facebook, TV, shopping, etc. Please join us to learn more about the 11th Step (Prayer and Meditation) and how to make it part of your daily life. Meditation is easy to learn and will help you cultivate a rich and rewarding spiritual practice, one that will support you in realizing the promises.

People who practice meditation report reduced stress, greater peace, more clarity and happiness in their lives. They sleep better and have an increased ability to concentrate. These are some of the benefits of adding meditation to your recovery program.

Everybody is welcome, whether you are just starting out or have been meditating for a while. The evenings will be led by teachers with a foundation in both meditation and recovery.

ZOOM: Please join us online five minutes before the start at 6:30 pm.

Video Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86074740220

or

Dial-In #: 1-646-558-8656

Meeting ID #: 860 747 40220

If you have any questions please contact Eleanor at ececil1@verizon.net 

This weekly meditation group will be held Tuesdays on Zoom and is open to everyone in recovery: AA, NA, Alanon, and other programs. It is also for those trying to spend less time on the internet, Facebook, TV, shopping, etc. Please join us to learn more about the 11th Step (Prayer and Meditation) and how to make it part of your daily life. Meditation is easy to learn and will help you cultivate a rich and rewarding spiritual practice, one that will support you in realizing the promises.

People who practice meditation report reduced stress, greater peace, more clarity and happiness in their lives. They sleep better and have an increased ability to concentrate. These are some of the benefits of adding meditation to your recovery program.

Everybody is welcome, whether you are just starting out or have been meditating for a while. The evenings will be led by teachers with a foundation in both meditation and recovery.

ZOOM: Please join us online five minutes before the start at 6:30 pm.

Video Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86074740220

or

Dial-In #: 1-646-558-8656

Meeting ID #: 860 747 40220

If you have any questions please contact Eleanor at ececil1@verizon.net 

A Three-Day Online Retreat for FCM Members & Non-Members
Friday, August 28, 7:00 PM through Sunday, August 30, 4:00 PM

The Buddha’s teachings tell us that our belief in self as a permanent, solid entity inhabiting a world with other solid selves is a mistaken view of the nature of self. Moreover, our identification with this fictional entity and our concern with protecting and satisfying it is the major source of our dissatisfaction, confusion and affliction. By removing self from the equation, we can cease experiencing our life through the distorting filter of self-absorption and live with greater ease, openness and happiness.

In this retreat, led by Diane Powell and Bryan Hindert, we will use experiential exercises, reflections and guided meditations to explore and understand how our mind makes everything about “me,” how this contributes to our dissatisfaction and emotional reactivity, and the transformative power of depersonalizing our experience.

This retreat is appropriate for practitioners at all levels, including both those new to Buddhist practice and longer-term practitioners who wish to re-visit the Buddha’s teachings on the role of self. It is open to both members and non-members of FCM.

We will begin on Friday, August 28 at 7:00 pm and continue through Sunday, August 30 at 4:00 pm. For those that register, we will be sending a retreat schedule to follow and practice guidelines to help you create conditions in your home to support your retreat. The retreat will include 3-4 Practice Sessions for meditation daily, Dharma talks and instruction, and group sharing, along with "off line" time for meals & rest, outdoor walking, personal practice, and time to take care of essential household tasks and responsibilities. We will also be sending your Zoom instructions prior to the retreat.

The retreat registration fee is $50. A number of Retreat Scholarships are available. Please click here to see FCM’s Retreat Scholarship Policy and for an Application, which needs to be submitted prior to the registration deadline for this retreat.

Please note that your registration does not guarantee acceptance into the retreat. Once registration has closed, all who registered will be considered for acceptance into the retreat. You will be notified if you have been accepted into the retreat within a few days of the closing of registration.

The retreat registrar will be sending additional information to accepted registrants before the retreat including daily schedules, Zoom instructions and suggestions to help prepare you for a meaningful retreat experience from your home.  For more information, contact Diane at diane.powell2010@gmail.com.

Registration will close on August 7

Diane Powell became a student and practitioner of the Dharma after attending a Thich Nhat Hanh retreat in Key West in 1997. As a long-time member of the Florida Community of Mindfulness, she leads intensives, workshops and classes on a variety of mindfulness topics, serves as a mentor to new members, and presents regularly at FCM sanghas. Before retiring, Diane was a faculty member in Child and Family Studies at the University of South Florida, where her work focused on research, training, program development and policy analysis in early childhood development and family support.

Bryan Hindert has been following the Buddhist path since 2008, when a strong desire to make changes in his life and to develop a better relationship with his mind drew him to the Florida Community of Mindfulness. This path has helped Bryan to transform his life in profound ways and continues to be a source of guidance, support, and joy in all of his endeavors. In addition to helping to develop and lead Wake Up Tampa Bay, a mindfulness and meditation group for people in their 20s and 30s, Bryan has served by teaching classes and presenting on mindfulness and on Buddhism, leading intensive practice periods, and serving as the Assistant to the Teacher.

This weekly meditation group will be held Tuesdays on Zoom and is open to everyone in recovery: AA, NA, Alanon, and other programs. It is also for those trying to spend less time on the internet, Facebook, TV, shopping, etc. Please join us to learn more about the 11th Step (Prayer and Meditation) and how to make it part of your daily life. Meditation is easy to learn and will help you cultivate a rich and rewarding spiritual practice, one that will support you in realizing the promises.

People who practice meditation report reduced stress, greater peace, more clarity and happiness in their lives. They sleep better and have an increased ability to concentrate. These are some of the benefits of adding meditation to your recovery program.

Everybody is welcome, whether you are just starting out or have been meditating for a while. The evenings will be led by teachers with a foundation in both meditation and recovery.

ZOOM: Please join us online five minutes before the start at 6:30 pm.

Video Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86074740220

or

Dial-In #: 1-646-558-8656

Meeting ID #: 860 747 40220

If you have any questions please contact Eleanor at ececil1@verizon.net 

This weekly meditation group will be held Tuesdays on Zoom and is open to everyone in recovery: AA, NA, Alanon, and other programs. It is also for those trying to spend less time on the internet, Facebook, TV, shopping, etc. Please join us to learn more about the 11th Step (Prayer and Meditation) and how to make it part of your daily life. Meditation is easy to learn and will help you cultivate a rich and rewarding spiritual practice, one that will support you in realizing the promises.

People who practice meditation report reduced stress, greater peace, more clarity and happiness in their lives. They sleep better and have an increased ability to concentrate. These are some of the benefits of adding meditation to your recovery program.

Everybody is welcome, whether you are just starting out or have been meditating for a while. The evenings will be led by teachers with a foundation in both meditation and recovery.

ZOOM: Please join us online five minutes before the start at 6:30 pm.

Video Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86074740220

or

Dial-In #: 1-646-558-8656

Meeting ID #: 860 747 40220

If you have any questions please contact Eleanor at ececil1@verizon.net 

This weekly meditation group will be held Tuesdays on Zoom and is open to everyone in recovery: AA, NA, Alanon, and other programs. It is also for those trying to spend less time on the internet, Facebook, TV, shopping, etc. Please join us to learn more about the 11th Step (Prayer and Meditation) and how to make it part of your daily life. Meditation is easy to learn and will help you cultivate a rich and rewarding spiritual practice, one that will support you in realizing the promises.

People who practice meditation report reduced stress, greater peace, more clarity and happiness in their lives. They sleep better and have an increased ability to concentrate. These are some of the benefits of adding meditation to your recovery program.

Everybody is welcome, whether you are just starting out or have been meditating for a while. The evenings will be led by teachers with a foundation in both meditation and recovery.

ZOOM: Please join us online five minutes before the start at 6:30 pm.

Video Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86074740220

or

Dial-In #: 1-646-558-8656

Meeting ID #: 860 747 40220

If you have any questions please contact Eleanor at ececil1@verizon.net