Special Events
Monadnock Mindfulness Practice Center
Mindfulness Meditation involves learning to pay attention, connecting the mind and body in the present moment. We offer a number of one-time special events as well as 8-week courses throughout the year that explore basic techniques to develop a calm and open-hearted approach to living through challenging times and circumstances.
Move, Meditate and Chant with the Mother of all Buddhas.
A three-part series -- October 19: Green Tara, November 16: Red Swift & Courageous Tara, December 21: Great White Soothing Tara.
Move, Meditate and Chant with the Mother of all Buddhas.
A three-part series -- October 19: Green Tara, November 16: Red Swift & Courageous Tara, December 21: Great White Soothing Tara.
Move, Meditate and Chant with the Mother of all Buddhas.
A three-part series -- October 19: Green Tara, November 16: Red Swift & Courageous Tara, December 21: Great White Soothing Tara.
Yoga, Meditation, and Chanting on "Peace Day"
Benefit for MMPC at Aloha Healthy Living
Facilitated by Eve Kodiak
The eight sessions will be geared specifically to people who have minimal or no prior experience with meditating, and would like to see how this increasingly popular practice might be beneficial in their own lives.
After a long absence, Acharya Lama Gursam Rinpoche returns to the Monadnock Region! You are invited to meet and practice with Lama Gursam at 2 upcoming events.
After a long absence, Acharya Lama Gursam Rinpoche returns to the Monadnock Region! You are invited to meet and practice with Lama Gursam at 2 upcoming events.
Come and Join a Half-Day Meditation Retreat at our Center in Downtown Keene
Aylene and Ginnie will offer an exploration of the role Mindfulness can play in deepening this often disorienting time of life.
This course is an opportunity to go to the source of what is taught in MBSR and what is commonly taught in mindfulness retreats and courses.
Free event at Aloha Center, 83 Court St, Keene, NH. Josephine Russell is sponsoring this, the third year she has done so.
The eight sessions will be geared specifically to people who have minimal or no prior experience with meditating, and would like to see how this increasingly popular practice might be beneficial in their own lives.
Ajahn Jayanto, the abbot of Temple Forest Monastery, a Theravada Buddhist monastery in the Thai forest tradition in Temple, NH will present a Dharma talk in-person at the Center.
In Buddhism, The Four Immeasurables – Brahmavihara - are states without opposites. As we meditate on each one, we experience a different flavor of peace.
The course will explore basic techniques that develop a calm and openhearted approach to living through challenging times and circumstances.
An evening birthday party to celebrate the Center’s milestone twenty years!
The Mindfulness Center, in coordination with Cheshire Medical Center, will offer an Evening of Mindfulness at our Roxbury Street location.
We'll take advantage of the energy of the full moon for a heart-opening set of practices.
On Saturday, August 27, from 9 am to noon, we will sponsor a mini-retreat, open to all.
The morning will consist of sitting and walking meditation. There will be time to reflect on and share how obstacles like the pandemic have influenced participants’ relationship to mindfulness in their daily lives.
A 4-Night Meditation Vigil with Eve Kodiak
The “enemy” is the one who justifies our fury. It could be a head of state, whose policies are causing mass misery and death. It could be a criminal. It could be a boss or co-worker, a family member, friend or lover. It could be ourselves.
Extreme times require extreme compassion. To each meditation, we bring a willingness to be with whatever we find unforgivable. Our purpose is not necessarily forgiveness, a quality that is difficult to attain (and easy to fudge). Our purpose is simply to open up a space in our own hearts for compassion.An ocean is made of many drops of water. We aspire only to make our drops compassionate ones.
Bring a journal if you like. Participants are invited either to sit or lie down. There may be some guidance regarding the body, and a mantra for listening. But there will be mostly silence. The meditation period will last 25 – 30 minutes.
You are welcome to join any or all of the meetings.
This class is offered periodically and has previously met on: 29 April 2022.
Basic meditation techniques that develop a calm and open-hearted approach to living through challenging times and circumstances.
Six-week course exploring basic techniques for developing a calm and open-hearted approach to life.
The six sessions will be offered in a Zoom format and will be geared specifically to people who have minimal or no prior experience with meditating. The practice itself is simple, involving learning to pay attention, connecting the mind and body in the present moment.
Over the seventeen years of the Center’s existence in Keene, the six-week course has introduced hundreds of community members to the benefits of mindfulness practice. According to a recent article in The Boston Globe, Mindfulness Meditation Practice has produced measurable changes in the ability of practitioners to reduce emotional stress, while also promoting changes in the brain that can assist in coping with chronic pain, high blood pressure, and sleep disturbances.
Past class members have commented, “It was so much more than a class. It was a commitment to myself – a gift.” Others found, “It demystified the idea of meditation,” and “I found the meditations could be used throughout my day to help me cope with various challenges in a more positive way.”
The course will be taught by two facilitators at the Monadnock Mindfulness Practice Center who have each been practicing meditation for many years. Aylene Wozmak has been a hospice nurse for twenty-five years and has received training in Mind/Body Medicine through Harvard Medical School Dept. of Continuing Medical Education. Ginnie Gavrin holds a Masters Degree in Counseling. She is currently retired from her massage therapy practice.
Registration for the course is required and the number of participants will be limited in order to accommodate a Zoom format. Suggested donation for the course is $75. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
For further information, or to pre-register, call Ginnie at 876-9318 or Aylene at 355-7255.
We are once again having a walking meditation on the property of Michael and Kathy Nerrie’s 21- acre Distant Hill Gardens @ 507 March Hill Rd in Walpole NH on Saturday, September 26th from 9:30 am to 11:30 am.
1 hour will be a walking meditation, then we will gather for a sitting meditation followed by a sharing. So please join us for a contemplative walk on this beautiful property and reconnect with Mother Earth. As Thich Nhat Hanh said, “We cannot be grounded in our body if our mind is somewhere else.”
This is a benefit for both Distant Hill and the Monadnock Mindfulness Practice Center. Donations will be shared by both.
Please pre-register by contacting Aylene Wozmak @ 603-355-7255. We are accepting up to 20 participants only so don’t delay.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR AND BRING YOUR FRIENDS!!!
Our tag sale coordinator, Diana Damato, has been busy assembling and pricing many very special items for our fundraiser/community tag sale this upcoming Sunday, August 30, 8am-1pm at 17 Phil Lane, Keene. Set aside some time and bring friends to come check it out. You may find a beautiful item to place in your meditation space or a new piece of furniture to make sequestering at home feel new and more cozy.
We have received a great collection of wonderful donations:
several pieces of nice furniture,
lamps,
quality artwork,
frames,
kitchen and dishware
many unique objects of beauty and practicality.
attractive and unique jewelry,
meditation/yoga related material,
planters and plants.
The generous sharing from our community promises to make this a fun and renewing event.
Masks and hand sanitizer will be provided and adequate distancing will be noted.
Come Meditate among flowers, trees, and safely distanced community – A Mini Retreat
The Monadnock Mindfulness Meditation Practice Center's board invites you to join us for a morning to relax, take time for yourself, meditate, wander and reflect in the beautiful surroundings of Distant Hill Gardens and Nature Trail in Walpole, NH. This natural, peaceful setting may be just the elixir to refresh you amidst these times of uncertainty and stress that are stretching on indefinitely.
The event, planned for August 15th from 9:30 - 11:30 a.m., with a rain date of August 22nd, is offered as a source of nourishment and well-being for participants, while also serving as an opportunity to help support our small nonprofit meditation center that is in its nineteenth year of serving the greater Monadnock community. During these nineteen years, the Center has relied solely on donations for its funding, never turning anyone away for inability to contribute.
The morning’s retreat is a space for you to enjoy being outdoors, where social distancing can be more easily practiced. You may wish to join a guided sitting meditation that will be led by one or two of our facilitators for a portion of our time at this sanctuary.
It is our hope that this outdoor mini-retreat will sustain you, while also helping to sustain the Center. In light of that, we are requesting a suggested $15 - $20 donation. No one is ever turned away for lack of funds –– especially in these financially challenging times. Space is limited so please call Aylene at 603-355-7255 to preregister and reserve your space.
As we go through the day’s retreat, all of the basic mindfulness disciplines will be addressed: breath, body, sound, open awareness, mindful movement, loving-kindness, and working with the unwanted. The sessions will be led by the four facilitators at the Center (Ginnie Gavrin, Aylene Wozmak, Rebecca Marshall, and Tom Bassarear).
Brief guidance will be provided at the beginning of each session, followed by a period of silent mediation. We will ease out of silence at the end of the day with time for discussion and questions.
There will be a silent mindful meal around noon. Please plan to bring your own lunch. Tea and hot water will be provided.
All are welcome to attend. The day is set up for deepening practice and so a commitment to remain practicing and in silence for the entire set of sessions will help to create a community of practitioners offering support for each others’ efforts. Please plan accordingly.
There will be a donation box set up for Dana (contributions). Suggested donation: $75. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. All donations are anonymous.
Registration is required as the space is limited to 20 participants. Call Aylene at 603-355-7255 to register. We anticipate the retreat will fill up quickly.
Wednesday evenings, 6:30 - 8:30pm. Suggested Donation: $95.
Gendo Allyn Field, lay monk and teacher in the Rin-zai Zen tradition will lead a meditation and give a talk. He received ordination from Joshu Sasaki in 2003 and suijishiki (teacher ordination) from Sandy Gentei Stewart in 2013. He founded the Upper Valley Zen Center where he leads a weekly practice schedule. Gendo is also a "per diem" chaplain at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and leads Zen practice at Concord State Prison.
Eve Kodiak, of Aloha Keene, will be doing an experiential workshop on Mindfulness and Healing. Simply by being present, we re-create our world. When we become empty with a healing intent, healing may simply happen. Join us for a journey into “shuniya” - solo, with partners, and in community - breathing and listening to the resonant space that inhabits us. Safety respected. Beginner’s mind welcome.
We welcome Ajahn Jayanto, abbot of the Temple Forest Monastery, a Theravadin Buddhist monastery in the Thai Forest Tradition. The Ajahn (“teacher”), an American-born monk, has trained for over 25 years in Buddhist monasteries, in the UK, Thailand, and other Asian countries. He will lead a basic meditation, host an open dialogue, and speak on the benefits of Buddhist practices and principles for our complex, modern lives.
Wednesday evenings, 6:30 - 8:30pm. Suggested Donation: $95.
