What we’re about
What we do: We are a community that offers instruction related to mindfulness meditation, including classes, day long workshops, extended courses (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) and occasional weekend retreats. Instructions are designed for both beginners and experienced practitioners.
Most classes and workshops are free for all participants. Although a donation amount is suggested, donations are not required for participation. The MBSR courses are not free, but some scholarship is available.
While the forms of meditation we practice are rooted in Buddhist teachings, the study and practice of mindfulness and insight meditation is applicable to anyone from any background or religion, and all are welcome.
We are affiliated with the Insight Meditation Community of Washington (IMCW) and the teaching of Tara Brach, Jonathan Foust and Hugh Byrne.
Each class will include: guided meditation, instruction, opportunities to practice, and time for discussion, questions and answers.
When and where: Our ongoing drop-in class meets every Wednesday from 7:00-8:30 p.m. on days the school is open at Centennial High School, 4300 Centennial Lane, Ellicott City, MD, 21042, room 406. (See the individual event posting for summer locations) Please arrive early to settle into your seats - we start right at 7:00 p.m. If you arrive late, please enter as quietly as possible.
Other classes, workshops and courses are provided on an occasional basis. We hold tuition-based 8-Week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course several times per year, and daylong workshops every month or two. We also teach Mindfulness for Teens, Deepening MBSR, and Meeting Chronic Pain and Illness. To access our schedule, please follow this link:
http://www.meetup.com/Columbia-Insight-Medi...
We practice Insight Meditation, a style of meditation that helps the mind attain deeper levels of calm concentration through sustained attention on the breath, then combines this with the crucial aspect of insight through contemplation of the mind and body and all of their changing and impermanent senses, emotions and thoughts. Insight Meditation trains us to live more fully in the present moment, enables us to experience life from a greater stillness, and aids us in relating to both ourselves and others with increased clarity, compassion, calmness and creativity, and less fear, anxiety and stress.
Along with these and a long list of other psychological benefits, meditation has also been shown to reduce stress hormones in the body, lower blood pressure, reduce anxiety, alleviate depression and boost the immune system.
What we offer: Our ongoing drop-in Wednesday evening classes generally consist of a half hour semi-guided meditation, followed by a talk on Buddhist principles and their application to daily life, followed by discussion and/or practice.
We offer workshops (typically day long) to help deepen practice. Some of our workshop topics are: Deepening Insight, a Daylong Silent Workshop; Insight Out Loud (working with partners to deepen insight); A Day of Heart Practices; Deepening Presence; and a Relationship Workshop.
Our 8-Week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) courses help students initiate and develop an ongoing daily mindfulness meditation practice. These 8-week courses are designed to help students develop strategies to reduce stress and to relate to their day-to-day experiences in a more calm and creative manner. These courses are tuition-based, with
Other courses that are offered are based on MBSR and applied to particular populations. These include Mindfulness for Teens, Meeting Chronic Pain and Illness, and Deepening MBSR - For Graduates of MBSR.
We also sponsor Kalyani-Mitta (KM) groups. These are groups that meet outside the normal class hours to discuss Buddhist principles more in depth and to share about how these ideas apply to their personal lives. These groups also help foster deeper connection to other members of the community (sangha).
Teacher:
Stan Eisenstein, a former high school physics teacher who has been meditating for over 25 years and has been practicing Insight Meditation since 2004. Stan is a full teacher with the Insight Meditation Community of Washington (IMCW) and is a graduate of the Meditation Teacher Training Institute, a two-year certification program with senior Insight teachers Tara Brach, Jonathan Foust, Hugh Byrne, and Pat Coffey. He is a mentor for various Tara Brach led online courses, including Power of Awareness. He also teaches Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Deepening MBSR, Mindfulness for Teens, and Meeting Chronic Pain and Illness.
Questions: Please feel free to contact Stan Eisenstein at IMCWColumbia @yahoo.com if you have any questions.
Address: Centennial High School, 4300 Centennial Lane, Ellicott City, MD, 21042, room 406 (note - we have a different location during the summer)
Parking:
Park in the bus loop at the front of the building or in the main lot, enter the building, and then follow the Columbia Insight Meditation Class signs to room 406.
Suggestions:
1. There are plenty of chairs, but if you prefer to sit on the floor, which is not carpeted, please bring a hard pillow or zafu, since, when meditating, it is recommended that your hips be higher than your knees. If you have never tried sitting on the floor during meditation, it is highly recommended that you try the chair first, then practice sitting on the floor at home until you are comfortable.
2. If you have any back issues, please bring a pillow or cushion to place behind you.
3. Please remember to turn off your cell phones before entering the room.
4. Please try not to wear any perfume to the class, as it can be quite distracting to others. Also, with respect to those who may be allergic, we do not use incense.
5. The group is not recommended for those under age 13.
6. If you arrive late, please enter the room as quietly as possible.
Featured event
MEDITATIVE REPARENTING SILENT 5-DAY RETREAT - In-Person and Online Hybrid
[NOTE: An RSVP to this Meetup event is not sufficient for registration. To register and pay for the event, please follow this link.]
ABOUT: Reparenting is a powerful process for healing stored emotional and psychic tangles that keep us stuck and suffering in our lives.
As we go through life, especially in childhood but also into adulthood, we encounter messages and challenging events that do not get resolved. These unresolved issues stick in our subconscious experience like thorns. Until they are resolved, these psychic thorns affect our mood and our capacity to navigate life challenges. New situations that remind us of the old ones that are unresolved are taken to be threatening, and we find ourselves getting unskillfully reactive.
If we are to resolve some of these psychic thorns or tangles, we need to replay the old situations that brought them about – but in a new way, a way that resolves the situation. Our younger self needed someone to help us through the challenges. We needed a parent that could attune to our needs, understand the situation, and help us to navigate the difficulty. No external parent can do this all of the time. The one who is most capable of helping your younger self through challenges is the adult self you are now. You have lived through the experience of your younger self. You know intimately what your younger self was (and is) experiencing. And you have wisdom from life that can help you to discern what your younger self most needs to help them move through the challenges and come out the other side with a sense of well-being.
In the process of reparenting, we learn to use meditative imagery and body sensations to bring our wisest adult selves to our stored younger versions of ourselves. We learn to form a relationship with these younger versions. We learn to care for them, and they learn to trust us. Once a relationship is established, we learn how to guide our younger versions of ourselves through some of the challenging situations they encountered in a way that releases the psychic thorns or tangles. Each thorn that is removed brings a sense of relief or ease that has a direct through line to your current self.
This retreat will consist of talks about stages of reparenting and caveats for how to most safely work with the process, guided meditations, periods of unguided sitting and walking meditation, and group meetings with teachers.
SAMPLE TALK AND MEDITATION: Healing Conditions - The Practice of Reparenting
TEACHER: Stan Eisenstein has been guiding self-inquiry and other meditation practices since 2012. He is a teacher for the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, with founder Tara Brach. Stan is a an instructor for various courses: Mindfulness-Basted Stress Reduction; Inviting Chronic Pain and Illness to Tea; Self-Inquiry. He is also a mentor for the international Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program, taught by Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield, and run by Sounds True. You can explore Stan's bio and recordings of Stan's teachings at his website: staneisenstein.com
LOCATION: Seven Oaks Retreat Center in Madison, VA or Online via Zoom Video Conferencing.
RETREAT FEES:
Single room (limited availability): $1090 (waitlist only)
Shared room: $860
Camping: $740
Online: $350.00
Please note that retreat fees only cover direct expenses for this event, such as room, meals, and administrative costs. In keeping with the Buddhist tradition, the teachers and retreat managers receive no payment. Donations offered by students at the end of the retreat are appreciated and support the teachers and retreat managers in continuing to make the teachings available to all.
QUESTIONS AND SCHOLARSHIP REQUESTS: Contact Stan at imcwcolumbia@gmail.com
TESTIMONIALS
Even though I have been meditating for 15 years with many retreats and courses, this Meditative Reparenting retreat was the most transformative. I found so many old situations in my life that were still stuck, and in this retreat learned to address them with insight and love. I will take it again in order to keep growing by healing old wounds.
~Mo
This retreat provided specific and profoundly effective guidance, not only on how to make inner child contact but how to foster an on-going, loving relationship at different ages and in the midst of good and bad times. I can't recommend this retreat enough.
~Kent
As a long time psychotherapist and psychotherapy client I found the work to be profoundly helpful. As a teacher Stan excels: he embodies his teachings; he presents the teachings in a systematic way, building idea upon idea; he communicates clearly; he listens with attunement.
~Diane
Upcoming events
106
Columbia Insight Meditation Class ONLINE ONLY at this time
Zoom Video Conference, None, Maryland, md, USNOTICE: For the foreseeable future we will be ONLINE ONLY.
Online: Subscribe at this link to get the weekly Zoom link in your email 30 minutes before the class begins.
WHAT: This is an open ongoing drop-in mindfulness meditation group for both beginners and experienced practitioners.
While the forms of meditation we practice are rooted in Buddhist teachings, the study and practice of mindfulness and insight meditation is applicable to anyone from any background or religion, and all are welcome.
Donation: These teachings are available to all. Although a $10 donation is suggested, donations are not required for attendance.
What to Expect: Each class will include mindful movement, guided meditation, instruction, opportunities to practice, and time for discussion, questions and answers.
When and where: We meet every Wednesday from 7:00-8:30 p.m.
In-person: Centennial High School, 4300 Centennial Lane, Ellicott City, MD, 21042, room 406. Please arrive early to settle into your seats - we start right at 7:00 p.m. [Note: Class will be online only on days that the school is closed.]
Online option: Join Zoom Meeting (click on link or copy URL and paste in browser)
https://zoom.us/j/569956674
What We Practice: We practice Insight Meditation, a style of meditation that helps the mind attain deeper levels of calm concentration through sustained attention on the breath, then combines this with the crucial aspect of insight through contemplation of the mind and body and all of their changing and impermanent senses, emotions and thoughts. Insight Meditation trains us to live more fully in the present moment, enables us to experience life from a greater stillness, and aids us in relating to both ourselves and others with increased clarity, compassion, calmness and creativity, and less fear, anxiety and stress.
Along with these and a long list of other psychological benefits, meditation has also been shown to reduce stress hormones in the body, lower blood pressure, reduce anxiety, alleviate depression and boost the immune system.
TEACHERS:
STAN EISENSTEIN, is a full teacher with the Insight Meditation Community of Washington (IMCW). He teaches Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and other mindfulness-based courses. He is a mentor the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program run by Sounds True. He also works with individuals in instruction on using meditation and mindfulness to bring a greater sense of peace and freedom in daily life. Stan is a former high school physics teacher (32 years) who has been practicing Insight Meditation since 2004. Stan earned a Masters of Social Work in 1998.
LINDA NAINI: Linda is a full teacher with IMCW. She developed a deep appreciation for Tara Brach’s teachings and the practice of mindfulness in 2009 during her father’s terminal illness and later working through her own depression after his death. Linda is a certified Health and Wellness Coach through the Maryland University of Integrative Health. She has received Reiki II certification, and is certified to teach mindfulness meditation to children and adolescents through the .b program. As an Iranian-American, Linda has studied Rumi and Hafiz in both Persian and English.
Contact: Please feel free to contact Stan Eisenstein at IMCWColumbia@yahoo.com if you have any questions.
1 attendee
Resounding Presence: Daylong Mindfulness Retreat with Sound Bath
Location not specified yet(Please note, RSVP through MeetUp is not sufficient to attend this retreat. Please follow the link to Partiful to RSVP for in-person or virtual attendance)
Join us for a day of mindfulness meditation in the Insight Meditation tradition in the idyllic home of one of our generous sangha members, or online through Zoom.
We will gather for a day of silent practice in community with sitting meditation, walking meditation, and dharma talks offered by Certified Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Ari Pluznik. We will also practice mindful, embodied listening with a sound bath offered by Brooklyn-based guest artist and co-facilitator Alex Beckmann.
This hybrid daylong retreat will be held in the home of one of our sangha members and online through Zoom. There is limited space in-person, so please indicate whether you will attend in-person or online upon RSVP through the Partiful App. There will be a waitlist for in-person attendance — online attendance is limitless. Address will be shared upon RSVP.
This retreat is freely offered with donations of dana accepted following the retreat. Pay-what-you-can RSVP fees serve to support Alex’s travel costs and performance stipend. Suggested RSVP fee is $25 for in-person and virtual. Sliding scale / financial assistance is available and no one will be turned away for lack of funds – simply reach out to Ari at adpluznik@gmail.com with interest.
Online participants will receive a Zoom link to our virtual dharma hall. Zoom meeting passcode is 'Metta'. In-person participants are encouraged to bring a bagged lunch, cushions, blankets, and comfortable clothing. Limited chairs and floor cushions will be provided.
Link to RSVP through Partiful:
https://partiful.com/e/j9dRxGQc7PMtG0EjVQKbWith metta, Ari Pluznik and Alex Beckmann
2 attendeesColumbia Insight Meditation Class ONLINE ONLY at this time
Zoom Video Conference, None, Maryland, md, USNOTICE: For the foreseeable future we will be ONLINE ONLY.
Online: Subscribe at this link to get the weekly Zoom link in your email 30 minutes before the class begins.
WHAT: This is an open ongoing drop-in mindfulness meditation group for both beginners and experienced practitioners.
While the forms of meditation we practice are rooted in Buddhist teachings, the study and practice of mindfulness and insight meditation is applicable to anyone from any background or religion, and all are welcome.
Donation: These teachings are available to all. Although a $10 donation is suggested, donations are not required for attendance.
What to Expect: Each class will include mindful movement, guided meditation, instruction, opportunities to practice, and time for discussion, questions and answers.
When and where: We meet every Wednesday from 7:00-8:30 p.m.
In-person: Centennial High School, 4300 Centennial Lane, Ellicott City, MD, 21042, room 406. Please arrive early to settle into your seats - we start right at 7:00 p.m. [Note: Class will be online only on days that the school is closed.]
Online option: Join Zoom Meeting (click on link or copy URL and paste in browser)
https://zoom.us/j/569956674
What We Practice: We practice Insight Meditation, a style of meditation that helps the mind attain deeper levels of calm concentration through sustained attention on the breath, then combines this with the crucial aspect of insight through contemplation of the mind and body and all of their changing and impermanent senses, emotions and thoughts. Insight Meditation trains us to live more fully in the present moment, enables us to experience life from a greater stillness, and aids us in relating to both ourselves and others with increased clarity, compassion, calmness and creativity, and less fear, anxiety and stress.
Along with these and a long list of other psychological benefits, meditation has also been shown to reduce stress hormones in the body, lower blood pressure, reduce anxiety, alleviate depression and boost the immune system.
TEACHERS:
STAN EISENSTEIN, is a full teacher with the Insight Meditation Community of Washington (IMCW). He teaches Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and other mindfulness-based courses. He is a mentor the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program run by Sounds True. He also works with individuals in instruction on using meditation and mindfulness to bring a greater sense of peace and freedom in daily life. Stan is a former high school physics teacher (32 years) who has been practicing Insight Meditation since 2004. Stan earned a Masters of Social Work in 1998.
LINDA NAINI: Linda is a full teacher with IMCW. She developed a deep appreciation for Tara Brach’s teachings and the practice of mindfulness in 2009 during her father’s terminal illness and later working through her own depression after his death. Linda is a certified Health and Wellness Coach through the Maryland University of Integrative Health. She has received Reiki II certification, and is certified to teach mindfulness meditation to children and adolescents through the .b program. As an Iranian-American, Linda has studied Rumi and Hafiz in both Persian and English.
Contact: Please feel free to contact Stan Eisenstein at IMCWColumbia@yahoo.com if you have any questions.
1 attendee
Past events
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