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Interbeing Sangha of Kingston - Weekly Electronic Bulletin Issue #14 - September 23rd, 2017

Interbeing Sangha
of Kingston

Weekly Meeting

Please join us for our next weekly gathering, taking place this Sunday, September 24th, for meditation and dharma sharing, 6:30pm at Unitarian Place (Kingston Unitarian Fellowship), 206 Concession Street. Keith Gawronski-McNinch will be bell minding.

Wisdom of an Autumn Leaf

"One autumn day, I was in a park, absorbed in the contemplation of a very small but beautiful leaf, in the shape of a heart. Its color was almost red, and it was barely hanging on the branch, nearly ready to fall down. I spent a long time with it, and I asked the leaf a lot of questions. I asked the leaf whether it was scared because it was autumn and the other leaves were falling. The leaf told me, “No. During the whole spring and summer I was very alive. I worked hard and helped nourish the tree, and much of me is in the tree. Please do not say that I am just this form, because the form of leaf is only a tiny part of me. I am the whole tree. I know that I am already inside the tree, and when I go back to the soil, I will continue to nourish the tree. That’s why I do not worry. As I leave this branch and float to the ground, I will wave to the tree and tell her, ‘I will see you again very soon.' And after a while I saw the leaf leave the branch and float down to the soil dancing joyfully. Because as it floated it saw itself already there in the tree. It was so happy. I have a lot to learn from the leaf because it is not afraid – it knew nothing can be born and nothing can die.”

-- Thich Nhat Hanh, The Heart of Understanding

Ottawa Pagoda Sangha

Remembering a Sangha Sister

Our thoughts are with our friends at Ottawa Pagoda Sangha on the recent loss of their sangha sister, Heather Parker. Members of our sangha who attended the Ottawa retreat in May 2017 remember Heather fondly. The Ottawa sangha has had a difficult year of loss and health challenges of members. We hold them in our thoughts and send our energy of mindfulness that they may know peace and grace in trying times.

This Tuesday

Be Still Sangha

It is a joy to connect more deeply with our wider family practicing in the Plum Village tradition. Be Still Sangha Kingston is a group of mindfulness practitioners who meet to practice and learn mindfulness together, based on the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh. Meeting monthly on the last Tuesday of the month, their next meeting is Tuesday, September 26th, 6:30-8:00 pm at the Queen's University Faculty Women's Club, 144 Albert Street. All are welcome, including beginners. Learn more: www.facebook.com/bestillkingston or contact bestillkingston@gmail.com

Webinar Video

Mindful Resistance

Thank you to everyone who joined us this past Thursday for the live webinar, Mindful Resistance: How to Resist without Burning Out. Wonderful insights and practices were shared to help "nourish our freshness." The video of the webinar has now been uploaded to YouTube. Also, the article to which Buddhist teacher Mushim Patricia Ikeda referred in her talk has been shared on the Parallax Press website: I Vow Not to Burn Out. This includes details on taking the vow for ourselves.

Fall Rotation

Bell Minders

Our Bell Minders Team is working out the schedule for our Fall-Winter Rotation. If you are a member of the team, please check your email for a link to the Doodle poll, and sign up for all the dates that work for you and we will space the bell minding apart hopefully by 6-8 weeks. If you are only able to do one or two dates, just choose the ones you can. If you are are not a member of the team but interested in bell minding, email interbeingkingston@gmail.com.

Community Announcement

Mindful Eating Workshop

Sangha member (and Bell Minder) Susan Young will lead a workshop entitled Six Simple Steps to Mindful Eating on Friday, September 29th, 6:30-9:00 pm at Janati Yoga School, 16 Bath Road. Sangha member Tibrata Gillies, who is a Red Seal chef, organic farmer & culinary professor, will provide provide fresh, locally foraged food. $40 includes food, resources & HST. Learn more and register here.

Mindful Eating

"Look into the piece of bread, look into the piece of carrot you are eating, one hundred percent of yourself, and touch that, deeply. When you pick up one piece of carrot, don’t put it into your mouth yet. Look at it and smile to it. And if you are mindful, you will see deeply into the piece of carrot. Sunshine is inside. A cloud is inside. The great earth is inside. A lot of love, a lot of hard work is inside. And when you have seen clearly the real piece of carrot, you put it into your mouth, and you chew it mindfully. And please, be sure to chew only carrots, and not your projects, not your worries."

-- Thich Nhat Hanh, "Returning to Our True Home"

Our sangha has two teams helping to share leadership and facilitation of our meetings. Our Bell Minders Team are mindful facilitators for our weekly gatherings, as well as retreats, taking beautiful care of our friends in the practice including the bell. Our Sangha Care Team facilitates sangha care meetings, plans retreats, minds our library and resources, and coordinates outreach. If you are interested in helping with either or both, contact interbeingkingston@gmail.com for more information.

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