July 10 –August 28
This seven-week summer Mindful Living Path Intensive will provide an opportunity for FCM members who participated in the Winter/Spring Intensive on the Four Immeasurables to deepen their understanding and practice of these four “divine abodes.” The Winter/Spring Intensive provided an introduction to the cultivation of a warm, accepting, kind and compassionate heart through the study and practice of Loving-kindness, Compassion, Sympathetic Joy and Equanimity. We began to uncover the natural qualities of our own heart/mind and learn to live with an openness that feels connection and friendliness towards all beings, rejoices in their happiness, and desires to alleviate their suffering. We practiced meditations to cultivate these qualities in our mind, and through consistent mindfulness we began to bring them into our daily life of relationship, work and interaction with others.
In this self-development Intensive, participants will build on their previous practice of the Four Immeasurables by choosing 2-3 areas to focus on during the Intensive, such as:
· Developing a more loving accepting relationship with oneself by cultivating positive mind states and ceasing the cultivation of negative mind states
· Developing a more loving accepting relationship with one or more people we find “difficult”
· Deepening our sense of empathy, understanding and connection with others
· Strengthening our capacity to be present to suffering
· Cultivating a joyful mind that rejoices in the successes and well-being of both ourself and others
Participants in this Intensive will be provided with supports for their practice that include Dharma talks by a senior student, offered to participants by phone conference call. Participants will be assigned to bi-weekly small group video interview forums with a senior student to receive individualized guidance. In addition, Fred will offer a Forum in Tampa to answer questions and interact with participants; the Forum will be live-streamed so that those in other locations can participate.
Please note that this Intensive is open only to FCM members who either participated in the Winter/Spring 2017 Four Immeasurables Intensive or with Diane’s permission.
The commitments for this Intensive are listed below. Before registering for the Intensive please read the commitments and reflect carefully on whether you will be able to keep them.
Commitments for each Intensive participant:
· The commitment to practice a minimum of 30 minutes of daily formal meditative practice and/or other practices related to this Intensive.
· The commitment to participate in your assigned bi-weekly small group video interview forums.
· The commitment to be present for the phone Dharma Talks.
· The commitment to be present for the Forum with Fred, in person or by livestream.
· The commitment to read Dharma texts assigned for the Intensive.
· The commitment to attend all the practice periods of your sangha during the Intensive, as possible.
There is a suggested donation for this Intensive of $50 (no fee for Supporting and Sustaining FCM members). This is a suggested donation and participants are free to donate more or less, depending on their individual practice of Dana and their financial situation. Please note that participation in this Intensive is open only to members of the FCM sangha. For information about membership please access our website at floridamindfulness.org.
The intensive will begin July 10 and continue through August 28. You may pay on-line or send your check made out to the Florida Community of Mindfulness (FCM) to Florida Community of Mindfulness, 6501 N. Nebraska Ave., Tampa, FL 33604. Registration will close on June 12. Out of consideration to our Intensive organizers, and to ensure your acceptance into the Intensive, please register immediately or mark the registration closing date in your calendar now.
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