Class · Miyo Samten Ling Hermitage
This event has passed. It took place on Saturday 14 December 2024 at 5:00pm – 6:30pm (UK time).
Miyo Samten Ling Hermitage
Center for Contemplative Research - Miyo Samten Ling Hermitage, Carmelite Way, Moffat, CO
In person
In December, David will be on personal retreat at Miyo Samten Ling Hermitage (The Center for Contemplative Research) in Colorado.
David has been invited to lead the Ghatika Monthly on the 14th of December from his retreat. This will take place from 5pm-6.30pm (UK time).
The topic is 'Mind Training for Modern Life'.
No one likes to experience misfortune. Yet, challenge and change can seem to feature front and centre in our daily lives. Our habits of mind don’t always help - we may have only a brief encounter with a difficulty and then find ourselves hours or days later still dwelling on every slight and minor inconvenience.
By ignoring the power of our own attitudes, we may focus entirely on factors outside ourselves. Soon, we may become paranoid and consumed by our efforts to erase difficult situations and people from our lives. The more we become consumed by negative attitudes such as fear and hostility, the more negative circumstances appear to us.
There is, however, another way to deal with adversity. Lojong (mind training) teachings show us a radically empowering path by turning towards the difficulties and irritations that we have always considered misfortunes. By shifting our attitude 180 degrees, we instead transform these misfortunes into valuable parts of our spiritual journey - the energy that propels us towards greater levels of wellbeing, wisdom and compassion.
In a world as difficult as ours, training in this way is not always easy, but, it is often the only option left to us. Where we cannot control what the world brings to us, we can control what we bring to the world.
As the great Dzogchen master Dodrupchen Tenpey Nyima says, “By training in this way, you will become gentle-minded, easy-going, and courageous; there will be no obstacles to your spiritual practice, all unfavorable circumstances will arise as splendid and auspicious; and your mind will continually be content with the joy of serenity. To follow a spiritual path in a degenerate era, such armor as this is indispensable.”
Ghatika Monthly is an in-person and virtual gathering held on the 2nd Saturday of every month for the local and global communities. Ghatika is the Sanskrit term for one 24-minute meditation session, which is the recommended length for beginning meditators. In each session, CCR expert teachers offer accessible guidance in foundational yet transformative contemplative practices. Each free session includes:
– Theory/practice introduction by an expert teacher
– 24-minute guided meditation
– Q&A discussion period
While most of the CCR’s expert teachers come from a Buddhist background, these sessions are designed to be secular, informative, and welcoming to beginning and advanced practitioners alike.
Previous Ghatika Monthlys have been led by Lama Alan, Eva Natanya, Anita Milicevic, Clara Seeger and Doug Veenhof. You can find previous recordings here.
The CCR is a research, retreat and teaching center founded by Lama Alan and Eva Natanya, PhD. The CCR’s founders are world experts on the convergence of science, philosophy, and religion, with decades of experience in contemplative practice, teaching, and research. The CCR maintains its primary centre in Crestone, Colorado, with another centre under development in Tuscany, Italy and a centre in the planning stages in New Zealand.
The founding vision of the CCR posits that the problems of human civilization stem from mental afflictions, and that to address the crises humanity faces and bring about a new era of human flourishing, we must address their root causes in the mind.
The CCR sees a future guided by collaborative, cross-cultural, and interdisciplinary inquiry, where scientists and contemplatives work together in mutual respect to fathom the nature and potentials of the mind and seek to discover and implement the sustainable causes of personal and social well-being. Find out more.
To get the Zoom link, you can register for the Ghatika Monthly newsletter here, or you can fill in the quick form below and Samadhi will send you the Zoom link nearer the time.
Sign up to the CCR Ghatika Newsletter
David Oromith, Buddhist Contemplative, Author & Meditation Guide
David is a Buddhist contemplative, meditation guide and retreat leader, co-founder of Samadhi and author of A Practical Guide to Mindful Living.
(legacy - no ticket data in MEC) Covers the cost of hosting the group for everyone.
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