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.

Many of you recall your time in MBSR as a small group experience.   This winter, there are 22 people in class!  We have a classroom that  supports a group this size: not too big, not too small, just right.   The circle is expanding.  The conversation is reaching into new spaces. Mindfulness practice is benefitting more and more people in our community!

The space has been hosted this winter by Peacemaker Resources, whose mission is enhanced by integrating mindfulness into its programming.   Peacemaker Resources  supports respectful, healthy communication in schools, family and work settings. Visit them at www.peacemakerresources.org  

If  winter has taken it out of you, consider a weekly refresher….mindfulness practice with others.  Spring Sitting meets each week on Wednesday evenings from 5:30-6:30pm.  This is not a class per se, but an opportunity for those beginning or maintaining meditation practice to meet with others for a weekly sit.  It is free, takes up only an hour and includes a 30 minute meditation and peer to peer discussion about practice. Yes, its cold outside, but warm within the company of others…..Don’t keep meditating alone!    Click here for details.

Yes, we’ve been hibernating. It’s the wise thing to do in an especially cold deep winter.  Eventually though, we know we’ll start stirring, just like the trees, and the bears, and everything else in nature. We will enter that amazing and difficult time of transition:  too late to ski; too mushy to ride a bike; too cold  to garden. What to do?  Why not make a commitment to wake up with Mindfulness practice?  This year’s Winter Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Class will be held throughout the months of March and April 2014.  The class teaches empirically supported meditation practices that help ease stress, increase awareness and foster overall contemplation and appreciation of life itself.  Now’s the time to clear your schedule Tuesday evenings 6:00 to 8:30pm through the months of March and April.  Basic orientation and registration materials are available (click here)  For more information about the instructor, the class and the growing mindfulness community in our area, surf around on this site or contact Geri Wilimek at geriwilimek@gmail.com.