You really can’t argue with the wisdom of Caribou Coffee…life is, indeed, short and we don’t want to miss a thing! Yet, because of our tendency to be on “autopilot” we do miss things…lots of things, like the taste of a tangerine, or the sweetness of a child in the grocery cart as we wait at the checkout…too rushed to sit and pet the cat for five minutes; too pressured to stay in the shower for a few extra seconds, just because it feels good.  We can get a pretty hard and fast idea of what HAS to happen each day, and in accomplishing it, rush past many of life’s riches.  Caribou’s clever motto offers us coffee so we don’t sleep our lives away…But wait….there’s another way.    Forget the caffeine, mindfulness practice can enable us to get our kicks from life itself.  Mindfulness is the gradual replacement of blind habit with simple awareness.  Learn how, with Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction.  Subscribe to this site to get updates on future classes, or email the instructor, Geri Wilimek, at geriwilimek@gmail.com

If you have been thinking about starting a meditation practice, or want to explore how mindfulness can enhance your life at home at work and at play, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction  may be just what you need to help get started.  The course is modeled after the renowned Stress Reduction Program at the University of Massachusetts Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care and Society.   The next MBSR class will be taught Mondays during February 22 thru April 7, 2016.  There will be a day class and an evening class.   Click Here for registration materials.  The updated brochure for the course is also available.  Click here to view it.

Join the growing community of people learning to live life “on purpose”.  Explore this site to get some exposure to the background, supporting research and structure of MBSR classes.   Contact Geri Wilimek with questions:  geriwilimek@gmail.com

The All Day Silent Retreat Saturday, March 21, 2015 was well attended by current MBSR participants, and alumni. Getting re-acquainted with body scan, yoga, mindful eating, walking, sitting and loving kindness can inspire renewed practice, and reveal benefits for ourselves and for all whose lives we touch. The MBSR class will conclude April 7. We will “begin again” with another MBSR class next winter.

Also, we were able to make a donation of $175 to the Bemidji Food Shelf, thanks to the weekly donations of the Wednesday night Sitting Group. We sit, share and express our gratitude with small donations weekly. Over time the benefits add up, just as gentle, persistent meditation practice enriches us. We human beings are of great consequence to one another. May donors, receivers and offerings radiate goodwill!

Hello, MBSR Alumni!  The Winter 2015 MBSR class invites you to join them in the All Day Silent Retreat that is part of the 8 week MBSR curriculum.  It is a great opportunity to practice in the company of others, to renew your own commitment to mindfulness, and to review practices that help us navigate life more skillfully!  Where?  Beltrami Electric Community Room When?  Saturday March 21 2015,  9:00am to 4:00 pm  Cushions, chairs and blankets are provided.  Light snacks are provided. Bring a bag lunch to eat mindfully at noon, and any additional cushions or supports that help you with comfort. Come a bit early to visit with others, and settle in before class starts!  If you have any questions,  email Geri Wilimek, geriwilimek@gmail.com

BRRRRRrrrrrrrrr…….with temperatures predicted to fall to -18º this evening, I have decided to cancel class.  I will offer an extra class as a make up session, Tuesday, April 7.  Watch for an email with more details.

We enter winter. The snow offers pleasant cover for things left undone. Just let it go.  Mother nature will be there soon enough to reveal all we have forgotten. The broom; the shovel; the garden glove…the baby’s left mitten.  They’re all under there. Think how fun it will be to discover them next spring!  The 8 week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course will be offered again this winter Tuesday evenings from 6:00 to 8:30 at the Beltrami Electric Community Room. See the Schedule page for  details.   The course teaches empirically supported meditation-based skills to identify and address stress in your life. We often forego self care in order to “get things done” in life.  Mindfulness practice uncovers our innate capacity to care for ourselves and our families and communities, with compassion and skill.  If you’re wondering what to “do” with winter this year, try MBSR!

Now is the time to plan for Fall MBSR.   Classes meet Monday evenings 6:00pm-8:30pm starting September 8, and go through November 3.  The course is taught in a respectful, supportive  environment, where basic awareness skills are introduced an practiced.  Thousands of people have benefitted by reducing stress with this empirically supported approach.  See Schedule page for details.  Pre-register for the course on the Class Registration page.  Subscribe to this site for email updates.

How many times in our lives will we read or hear about sunsets and sunrises? Thousands. We write poems about it, blog about it, buy houses for their view of it, travel the earth to see it in novel ways, and tell about it over coffee or wine. Why? And why don’t we get tired of it? It’s not all aesthetics. The dawn can be full of dread for someone facing a day of pain or hardship. The sunset can be the doorway into a night of loneliness or fear.

This morning I looked out the window at a colorless tangle of trees and melting ice. Another gray day. I blinked, sensing a subtle distortion in my vision. Then, as if it were liquid, pink began quietly filling the world out there, and in a matter of moments, permeated everything.   No drama. No way to describe it other than its humble four letter name. Then as quietly as it had arrived, pink faded out, leaving a new version of gray.

This moment, and sharing it,  has made it a good day.