Members and non-members are invited to join the FCM community in selfless service and work meditation Saturday, November 23 by participating in this Saturday's workday!

We will begin the day together meeting under the pergola located between the Education Building and Great Cloud in preparation for our mindful work, with an orientation by work day leaders. There will be both indoor and outdoor tasks in need of our joyful attention. Please wear old clothes, sturdy closed-toe shoes and bring work gloves if you have them. Snacks and water will be provided.

We encourage everyone to experience the richness of practicing together, in-person on our campus. Our safety protocols are based on CDC recommendations. Please familiarize yourself with our FCM Health Protocols.

With metta,

Bill

Cancelled

Please join us in Naples for a Forum for FCM members and nonmembers on Saturday, November 23 from 9:00 am  – 12:30 pm at Unity of Naples, 2000 Unity Way, Naples FL 34112. 

Whether you are a new or experienced meditator, the event is an opportunity to support and deepen the practice of mindfulness and meditation, and to nourish the seeds of well being, inner peace and happiness in our lives.

The morning will include sitting and walking meditation, mindful movements and song. This will be a chance for all of us to put down the busyness of our lives and to relax, refresh, and renew with the healing energy of mindfulness. The day is an opportunity to experiment with letting go of our stories and dramas about our lives and the world. Instead we will practice simply be present to, and nourished by, our actual experience in the present moment.

The Forum will be held in-person only.

Please familiarize yourself with our FCM Health Protocols and plan to arrive between 8:30 and 8:45 am.

There is a $10.00 fee to cover the rental cost of the facility.

If you have any questions please contact Chris Lee Nguyen (chrisleenguyen2000@gmail.com) or Tony Pollit (fanthonypollitt@gmail.com).

FCM members and their families/guests are invited to join the Florida Community of Mindfulness for a potluck Thanksgiving dinner at the Tampa Practice Center. It is good to notice and be grateful for all the gifts and opportunities that have come to us in this life, especially for the opportunity to walk this path of understanding, peace and loving kindness with each other. We warmly invite you and your families/guests to join us at the Florida Community of Mindfulness on Thursday, November 28 at 1:00pm to gather as a sangha family to express our deep appreciation for what has been most meaningful to us over the past year. We will then enjoy a potluck Thanksgiving dinner together.

As part of our Buddhist aspiration to do no harm and help support the sustainability of life on our planet our dinner will be vegan. Please complete step one by registering. Next, upon receiving confirmation, please sign up to bring a dish to share using the SignUpGenius link included in your confirmation email. Seating is limited so please sign up early.

Registration closes on November 22.

 

Please contact either Raven isharavensky@gmail.com or Maria Teresa j.emm.tee@gmail.com with any questions.

Please note: FCM Members can access the Death Cafe web page and the Zoom links by clicking here.

Members and non-members are invited to join the FCM community in selfless service and work meditation Saturday, December 7 by participating in this Saturday's workday!

We will begin the day together meeting under the pergola located between the Education Building and Great Cloud in preparation for our mindful work, with an orientation by work day leaders. There will be both indoor and outdoor tasks in need of our joyful attention. Please wear old clothes, sturdy closed-toe shoes and bring work gloves if you have them. Snacks and water will be provided.

We encourage everyone to experience the richness of practicing together, in-person on our campus. Our safety protocols are based on CDC recommendations. Please familiarize yourself with our FCM Health Protocols.

With metta,

Bill

FCM's Days of Mindfulness are offered both In-Person at the Tampa Practice Center and Online. Whether you are a new or experienced meditator, our Days of Mindfulness are an opportunity to support and deepen the practice of mindfulness and meditation, and nourish the seeds of well being, inner peace and openness in our lives.

 

The day will be a chance for all of us to put down the busyness of our lives and to relax, refresh, and renew with the healing energy of mindfulness. The day is an opportunity to experiment with letting go of our stories and dramas about our lives and the world. Instead we will practice simply be present to, and nourished by, our actual experience in the present moment. 

We encourage everyone in the Tampa Bay vicinity to experience the richness of practicing together, in-person in our Meditation Hall. Please familiarize yourself with our FCM Health Protocols and plan to arrive by 8:30 am.

If joining us online, the link to Zoom information will be provided once you register. We provide guidance to help you make the experience at home as close as possible to an experience in the Meditation Hall.

When you register indicate your choice of participation In-Person or Online.  While there is no fee for participation, the traditional practice of Dana (generosity) is appreciated. Please register to receive important information about your In-Person or Online Zoom attendance.  

If you have any questions please contact Rita Cathey at ritaanna727@gmail.com

with Fred Eppsteiner

Just as all the Buddhas of the past

Have brought forth the awakened mind,

And in the precepts of the Bodhisattvas

Step-by-step abode and trained,

Likewise, for the benefit of beings,

I will bring to birth the awakened mind,

And in those precepts, step-by-step,

I will abide and train myself

Fred will be transmitting the Bodhisattva Vow to FCM members in a weekend retreat, culminating in the Bodhisattva Vow ceremony, to be held in-person at the Tampa Center the weekend of December 13-15. The vows and ceremony will be based on verses found in Shantideva’s text, The Way of the Bodhisattva. The aspiration and commitment to live an awakened life and to unceasingly bring benefit to sentient beings is at the core of the Mahayana Buddhist path. It unites the path of wisdom and insight with the path of love and compassion, so our personal transformation always remains grounded with our interconnection with all life.

As this is a profound and significant step for anyone contemplating such a vow, the first requirement for this transmission is that one has been involved in studying and practicing the Bodhisattva Way by participating in our current Intensive or one of our past Intensives on the Shantideva text. Secondly, one will have begun to move beyond merely thinking about the commitment to live a compassionate and wise life to actually manifesting this commitment in the priorities and choices that one makes day-to-day.

During this weekend retreat, Fred will be commenting on the traditional 18 root vows and 46 secondary vows that were transmitted to him ceremonially in 1975 while in India. While it will not be mandatory to attend this retreat if you wish to receive transmission on Sunday, Fred strongly encourages your attendance for your own benefit. Scholarships are available if needed, so please don’t let financial conditions prevent you from participating in this meaningful culmination of our many months of study and practice together.

The retreat will begin with dinner the evening of December 13 and end with an early morning ceremony followed by breakfast on the 15th. You may register for retreat as an overnighter or commuter, or to participate in the Sunday morning ceremony only.

Registration will close on November 22.

Retreat Logistics

This retreat is in-person only (either staying overnight or as a commuter) at FCM’s Tampa Center. The retreat will begin with orientation at 5:00 pm on Friday, December 13 and ends after breakfast on Sunday, December 15 at 9:30 am. Participation is open to FCM members only.

The fee for in-person participation is $160 for overnighters and $120 for commuters, with a $50 deposit required to apply. The fee is $20 for those who plan to simply participate in the Sunday morning Vows ceremony, followed by a group breakfast.

If you are not familiar with our campus, you may enjoy this short video tour.

Please note: 

• The deadline for application for this retreat will be November 22. Please understand that this application DOES NOT guarantee you a spot in the retreat; all acceptances are subject to Fred’s approval. 
• We will notify all applicants by November 25 as to whether or not they have been accepted into the retreat. 
• For those accepted, the balance of the fee will then be due by November 28, otherwise the spot will be given to another applicant.
• Please click here to read FCM's Retreat Cancellation Policy.

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.

The teachings are offered in the Buddhist tradition of Dana, wherein the teachers freely give of themselves to the students out of gratitude for what they’ve received from their teachers and a desire to be of service. The student’s response is also based on Dana, i.e. generosity that naturally flows from a sense of appreciation of the value of Dharma and gratitude to the living lineage. All retreat dana will go towards supporting the retreat teachers.

The retreat registrar will be sending additional information to accepted registrants once registration is closed.

Retreat Leader
Fred Eppsteiner has been a student of the psychology of Buddhist meditation for over 40 years and was a psychotherapist for more than 30 years. He has trained extensively in the Buddhist meditative traditions the U.S. and Asia. He received permission to teach from Thich Nhat Hanh in 1994 and is the editor of two books: The Path of Compassion and Interbeing.

Questions?
For more information, please contact Angie at parrish26@gmail.com.

At FCM we celebrate the full moon each month with an evening devoted to meditations that help us develop and cultivate the mind of kindness, friendship and compassion towards all beings. During the guided meditation, we will practice embracing ourselves and others with thoughts of unconditional kindness, compassion, and support, and then to extend those feelings with well wishes for peace, happiness and an end to suffering for everyone in the world.

It has long been part of Buddhist tradition to honor and celebrate the arrival of the full moon. Legend has it that Shakyamuni Buddha was born under a full moon, arrived at his enlightenment under a full moon, and passed into paranirvana under a full moon. In Zen the full moon reminds us of our Buddha nature or our essential wholeness and completeness.

Our Full Moon Loving Kindness and Compassion evening will be from 7:30 – 8:45 pm. The evening will include guided loving kindness and compassion meditations, a short talk, and recitation of the Metta (Lovingkindness) Sutra and/or other music and altruistic readings. 

We encourage everyone in the Tampa Bay vicinity to experience the richness of practicing together, in-person in our Meditation Hall. There is no need to register ahead of time. Please familiarize yourself with our FCM Health Protocols and plan to arrive by 7:15 pm.

 

If joining us online, the link to Zoom is below. The event is suitable for both beginners and experienced meditators. There is no formal advance registration; simply join us online on the Sangha Line shortly before 7:30 pm. 

Zoom Links for FCM Sangha Line
Video Link https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3296243465?pwd=bUo1aFVQblhhbUFpZmZTci9EK0daZz09

Dial-In # 1-646-558-8656
Meeting ID# 329 624 3465

Cancelled

Please join us in Naples for a Forum for FCM members and nonmembers on Saturday, December 21 from 9:00 am  – 12:30 pm at Unity of Naples, 2000 Unity Way, Naples FL 34112. 

Whether you are a new or experienced meditator, the event is an opportunity to support and deepen the practice of mindfulness and meditation, and to nourish the seeds of well being, inner peace and happiness in our lives.

The morning will include sitting and walking meditation, mindful movements and song. This will be a chance for all of us to put down the busyness of our lives and to relax, refresh, and renew with the healing energy of mindfulness. The day is an opportunity to experiment with letting go of our stories and dramas about our lives and the world. Instead we will practice simply be present to, and nourished by, our actual experience in the present moment.

The Forum will be held in-person only.

Please familiarize yourself with our FCM Health Protocols and plan to arrive between 8:30 and 8:45 am.

There is a $10.00 fee to cover the rental cost of the facility.

If you have any questions please contact Chris Lee Nguyen (chrisleenguyen2000@gmail.com) or Tony Pollit (fanthonypollitt@gmail.com).

Save the Date

Cancelled this month due to the holidays.

Please note: FCM Members can access the Death Cafe web page and the Zoom links by clicking here.

with Bill MacMillen and John McHarris

In our modern world, we have countless ways to stay busy, informed, entertained, and otherwise distracted from the moment we wake up until we go to bed at night. We can easily spend our entire day completely disconnected from our actual experience and unaware of what thoughts and mind-states we are cultivating throughout our busy days. If we do have a moment to stop, we may find that we feel uneasy, agitated, bored, anxious, stressed, in despair, or otherwise uncomfortable in our bodies and our minds. 

Fortunately, as so many people throughout the world are discovering, there is another way. Through what the beloved Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh called, “The Miracle of Mindfulness,” we can learn how to be at ease in the present moment. We can learn to use our minds in a way that nourishes our well-being and helps us to feel whole again. Through cultivating mindfulness of the body, breath, and mind, we can learn to develop peace within ourselves and to enjoy the simple experience of being alive.  

In this two-day Introductory Retreat, participants will learn mindfulness and meditation practices that calm and nourish the body and mind. There will be both formal instruction as well as “off-the-cushion” practice in areas such as walking, eating, mindful movements and work meditation. There will be periods of Q&A and deep sharing within a setting that is mostly silent, offering participants the opportunity to retreat from digital devices and other distractions that so often clutter our minds and cover the natural spaciousness that lies beneath the “noise.”

This will be a silent retreat. The silence affords us the opportunity to deepen our meditative experience while absorbing the experiential meaning of the teachings and practices presented.

Who is the retreat for?

This retreat will be beneficial for both newcomers to meditation and more experienced mindfulness practitioners with an interest in living with more ease in the present moment. 

Retreat Logistics

This retreat is in-person only (either staying overnight or as a commuter) participation at FCM’s Tampa Center. The retreat will begin with orientation at 5:00 pm on Friday, January 10 and ends after lunch on Sunday at 4:00 pm, January 12. Participation is open to both FCM members and non-members.

The fee for in-person participation is $270 for overnighters and $210 for commuters.

If you are not familiar with our campus, you may enjoy this short video tour.

Please note: 

• The deadline for application for this retreat will be December 20. Please understand that this application DOES NOT guarantee you a spot in the retreat; all acceptances are subject to approval. 
• We will notify all applicants by December 23 as to whether or not they have been accepted into the retreat. 
• For those accepted, the fee will then be due by December 27, otherwise the spot will be given to another applicant.
• Please click here to read FCM's Retreat Cancellation Policy.

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.

New to retreating with FCM? Please visit our FAQs page.

The teachings are offered in the Buddhist tradition of Dana, wherein the teachers freely give of themselves to the students out of gratitude for what they’ve received from their teachers and a desire to be of service. The student’s response is also based on Dana, i.e. generosity that naturally flows from a sense of appreciation of the value of Dharma and gratitude to the living lineage. All retreat dana will go towards supporting the retreat teachers.

The retreat registrar will be sending additional information to accepted registrants once registration is closed. 

Retreat Leaders

Bill Mac Millen has been a Dharma practitioner with the Florida Community of Mindfulness and a student of FCM's teacher Fred Eppsteiner since 2013; in 2018 he completed the three year Dharma Transmission training taught by Fred. Bill was ordained as a member of the Order of Interbeing at Thich Nhat Hahn’s Magnolia Grove monastery in 2019. Aspiring to be of service to the community, he is on the Leadership Council overseeing the area of Center Care and also teaches and facilitates various classes and Intensive study programs offered by FCM.

John McHarris is a Dharma Instructor with the Florida Community of Mindfulness. He has been a student of FCM's teacher Fred Eppsteiner since 2011. John completed FCM's three year Dharma Transmission Group program, and is an ordained member of the Order of Interbeing. He has Co-led various FCM offerings such as the Introduction to Mindfulness and Meditation class, FCM Intensives, and Days of Mindfulness. John is the current Chair of FCM's Board of Directors. Although based in Naples, he's also a part-time Tampa resident; in conjunction with FCM's Residency program.

Questions?
For more information, please contact Bill at bmacm21@gmail.com.