July/ August 2018

Posted on September 11, 2018 by hoffmanjms

 

Meditation Opportunities

Thursday evenings at First Presbyterian  

We will meet for meditation on all Thursdays in July and August from 7:00 – 8:00 pm in the fellowship hall. Our format is two 20-minute periods of sitting in silence with a 10 minute walking meditation in between.  Afterwards there is a brief time for announcements and sharing prayer concerns.

July Retreat Day

Saturday July 28, 2018

 9:00 am – 1:00 pm

Fellowship Hall

Inspirational Poetry

Poetry in all its beauty and truth has the potential to open our hearts to the mysteries of life and the wondrous workings of the Spirit in our lives. It can deepen our appreciation of the simple but profound truths that are found in our experience.  We can soar with the poets who fling themselves into the heart of things.  Join us for a morning of meditation and sharing poems of gratitude, prayer, longing, and the timeless search for wisdom.

A freewill offering will be available.

Upcoming Events

Ongoing                                Hei’s Tai Chi class at Oldemeyer

Center Tue/Thur at 10:30 am

Mondays 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm

July 6, 2018                          I-help for women dinner provided by

Monterey Meditation Group—to help

contact Juliet at jspohntwomey@gmail.com

Sept. 29, 2018                       MMG Silent Retreat Day

9am – 3pm        Fellowship Hall

In closing,

Abba Macarius of Egypt, when asked to provide a spiritual shortcut, instructed the seeker to spend a day at the cemetery abusing the dead, calling them names and insulting them in every way possible.  The next day Macarius instructed the seeker to praise the same dead that he had previously insulted.  The seeker told Macarius that the dead neither rebuked him when he insulted them nor applauded him when he praised them.  Macarius said, “Go and do likewise and you too will be a holy man”

From Heaven Begins within You:  Wisdom from the Desert Fathers

By Anselm Gruen

 

 

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May/ June 2018

Posted on May 17, 2018 by hoffmanjms

Meditation Opportunities

Thursday evenings at First Presbyterian  

We will meet for meditation on all Thursdays in May and June from 7:00 – 8:00 pm in the fellowship hall.  Our format is two 20-minute periods of sitting in silence with a 10 minute walking meditation in between.  Afterwards there is a brief time for announcements and sharing prayer concerns.

May Retreat Day

Saturday May 26, 2018

 9:00 am – 3:00 pm

Fellowship Hall

Silent Retreat Day

Our May retreat day is our longer format that allows us time to deepen our silence.  The rhythm of our day will include an hour and a half silent meditation in the morning, watching a talk by Pema Chodron from her DVD titled “Fully Alive:  Living Beautifully with Uncertainty and Change”, a lunch break, and conclude with a tea ceremony and another hour and a half time of silent meditation.  Come join us as we learn and practice how to deepen our silence to bring more love and peace into the world.  Please bring a sack lunch.  Coffee, tea and refreshments will be provided.  A freewill offering will be available.

Upcoming Events

Ongoing                                Hei’s Tai Chi class at Oldemeyer  Center                                              Tue/Thur at 10:30 am

Mondays 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm

May 4, 2018                          I-help for women dinner provided by

Monterey Meditation Group

to help contact Juliet at jspohntwomey@gmail.com 

July 28, 2018                       MMG Retreat Day — Poetry

9am – 1pm        Fellowship Hall 

In closing,

You have given me eyes to see with, O God,

and ears to hear life’s sounds and sorrows

and yet my seeing and hearing

like my tasting and touching

are wounded and weakened by failures.

As rest can heal the sores of a body

and sleep restores its strength

so may your angels of grace visit me in the night

that the senses of my soul may be born afresh.

Visit my dreams with messengers of grace, O God,

that the senses of my soul may be born again

J. Philip Newell

 

 

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March/ April 2018

Posted on May 17, 2018 by hoffmanjms

Meditation Opportunities

Thursday evenings at First Presbyterian  

We will meet for meditation on all Thursdays in March (except March 29) and April from 7:00 – 8:00 pm in the fellowship hall.  Our format is two 20-minute periods of sitting in silence with a 10 minute walking meditation in between.  Afterwards there is a brief time for announcements and sharing prayer concerns.

April Retreat Day

Saturday April 28, 2018

 9:00 am – 1:00 pm

Fellowship Hall

Rest for the Body, Soul, and Mind

Our April retreat day includes practices to help us rest our body with yoga, soul with meditation, and mind with drawing.  Our day begins with an hour meditation session.  Then after a time for refreshments, we will participate in yoga for all levels.  (Please don’t be intimidated – you can even practice yoga from a chair).

After yoga, we’ll gather at the table for some drawing exercises that will move us away from the thinking process, from the verbal mind to the nonverbal. Then in silence we will move into the meditation room for a final meditation.

Please bring a yoga mat, blanket, or towel for the yoga practice.

A freewill offering will be available.                                                         

Upcoming Events

Ongoing                                Hei’s Tai Chi class at Oldemeyer

Center Tue/Thur at 10:30 am

Mondays 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm

May 4, 2018                          I-help for women dinner provided by

Monterey Meditation Group—to help

contact Juliet at jspohntwomey@gmail.com 

May 26, 2018                       MMG Retreat Day

9am – 3 pm        Fellowship Hall

July 28, 2018                       MMG Retreat Day

9am – 1pm        Fellowship Hall

In closing,

This Year’s At the Spring

The year’s at the spring,
And day’s at the morn;
Morning’s at seven;
The hill-side’s dew-pearled;
The lark’s on the wing;
The snail’s on the thorn;
God’s in his Heaven—
All’s right with the world!

Robert Browning

 

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January/ February 2018

Posted on January 31, 2018 by hoffmanjms

Meditation Opportunities

Thursday evenings at First Presbyterian  

We will meet for meditation on all Thursdays in January and February from 7:00 – 8:00 pm in the fellowship hall. Our format is two 20-minute periods of sitting in silence with a 10 minute walking meditation in between.  Afterwards there is a brief time for announcements and sharing prayer concerns.

January Retreat Day

Saturday January 27, 2018

9:00 am – 3:00 pm

Fellowship Hall

The Neuroscience of Gratitude and Well-Being

Emerging evidence demonstrates that gratitude can enhance our health and well-being. During our time together, we’ll do several types of gratitude practices that have been used in research studies and explore the contemplative and social neuroscience research underlying the ways in which living gratefully can improve our relationships, decrease depression and anxiety, buffer against stress and negativity, improve sleep quality and duration, and increase our happiness and sense of satisfaction in life.

Join us for a morning and afternoon sitting of meditation in addition to Dr.Joe Neary’s talk and some time for Tai Chi with Hei. Please bring a sack lunch. Refreshments are provided.

A freewill offering will be available.                                                          

Upcoming Events

Ongoing                             Hei’s Tai Chi class at Oldemeyer

Center Tue/Thur at 10:30 am

Mondays 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm

Feb. 7, 2018                      Evening with John Phillip Newell

6 – 9 pm   Soul Work Studio

Westhope Presbyterian     Saratoga

http://evite.me/HMXvZeN6Br

Feb. 9, 2018                       Taize service — First Presbyterian

7:30 – 8:30 pm

March 2, 2018                   I-help for women dinner provided by

Monterey Meditation Group—to help

contact Juliet at jspohntwomey@gmail.com 

April 28, 2018                   MMG Retreat Day

9am – 1 pm     Fellowship Hall 

In closing,

A Buddhist Prayer of Forgiveness

If I have harmed anyone in any way

either knowingly or unknowingly

through my own confusions

I ask their forgiveness.

If anyone has harmed me in any way

either knowingly or unknowingly

through their own confusions

I forgive them.

And if there is a situation

I am not yet ready to forgive

I forgive myself for that.

For all the ways that I harm myself,

negate, doubt, belittle myself,

judge or be unkind to myself

through my own confusions

I forgive myself

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November/ December 2017

Posted on December 6, 2017 by hoffmanjms

Meditation Opportunities

Thursday evenings at First Presbyterian  

We will meet for meditation on all Thursdays in November (except Thanksgiving) and December (except Dec. 21 and 28) from 7:00 – 8:00 pm in the fellowship hall. Our format is two 20-minute periods of sitting in silence with a 10 minute walking meditation in between.  Afterwards there is a brief time for announcements and sharing prayer concerns.   We will begin meditation in 2018 on January 4.                                                         

Upcoming Events

Ongoing                                Hei’s Tai Chi class at Oldemeyer

Center Tue/Thur at 10:30 am

Mondays 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm

Dec. 14, 2017                       Cookie Party after meditation

Jan. 5, 2018                        I-help for women dinner provided by

Monterey Meditation Group—to help

contact Juliet at jspohntwomey@gmail.com

Jan. 27, 2018                    MMG Retreat Day     9 am – 3 pm

Neuroscience of Gratitude and Well Being

In closing,

Isaiah 40:28-31

28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. 29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

 

 

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September/October 2017

Posted on September 23, 2017 by hoffmanjms

Meditation Opportunities

Thursday evenings at First Presbyterian  

We will meet for meditation on all Thursdays in September and October from 7:00 – 8:00 pm in the fellowship hall. Our format is two 20-minute periods of sitting in silence with a 10 minute walking meditation in between.  Afterwards there is a brief time for announcements and sharing prayer concerns.                                                           

September Retreat Day

Saturday September 30, 2017

9:00 am – 1:00 pm

Fellowship Hall

Inspirational Poetry

Poetry in all its beauty and truth has the potential to open our hearts to the mysteries of life and the wondrous workings of the Spirit in our lives. It can deepen our appreciation of the simple but profound truths that are found in our experience.  We can soar with the poets who fling themselves into the heart of things.  Join us for a morning of meditation and sharing from a selection of poems from the book The Wilds of Poetry by David Hinton.

Coffee, tea, and refreshments will be provided.

A freewill offering will be available. 

Upcoming Events

Ongoing                             Hei’s Tai Chi class at Oldemeyer

Center Tue/Thur at 10:30 am

Mondays 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm

Oct. 21, 2017                     Silent Retreat Day in fellowship hall

9:00am – 3:00 pm

Nov. 3, 2017                        I-help for women dinner provided by

Monterey Meditation Group—to help

contact Juliet at jspohntwomey@gmail.com

In closing,

You cannot stay on the summit forever;

You have to come down again . . .

So why bother in the first place?

Just this:

What is above knows what is below,

but

what is below does not know what is above.

One climbs,

One sees,

One descends.

One sees no longer,

but one has seen.

There is an art of conducting oneself

In the lower regions by the memory of

what one saw higher up.

When one can no longer see,

One can at least still know . . .

― Rene Daumal

   from Mount Analogue

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July/ August 2017

Posted on July 27, 2017 by hoffmanjms

Meditation Opportunities

Thursday evenings at First Presbyterian  

We will meet for meditation on all Thursdays in July and August from 7:00 – 8:00 pm in the fellowship hall. Our format is two 20-minute periods of sitting in silence with a 10 minute walking meditation in between.  Afterwards there is a brief time for announcements and sharing prayer concerns.                                                        

July Retreat Day

Saturday July 29, 2017

9:00 am – 3:00 pm

Fellowship Hall

Silent Retreat Day

Join us for a day of silence that will include sitting and walking meditation, watching a video featuring a talk by the Dalai Lama, and gentle yoga relaxation.   We will have three periods of meditation both in the morning and afternoon. We will begin sitting at 9 AM, so plan on arriving a little early to settle in. If you are staying for the afternoon, please bring a sack lunch and a yoga mat or blanket.

Coffee, tea and refreshments will be provided. Feel free to join us for all or part of the day.

A freewill offering will be available. 

Upcoming Events

Ongoing                                Hei’s Tai Chi class at Oldemeyer

Center Tue/Thur at 10:30 am

Mondays 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm

No August Retreat Day

Sept 1, 2017                        I-help for women dinner provided by

Monterey Meditation Group—to help

contact Juliet at jspohntwomey@gmail.com

Sept 30, 2017                        MMG Retreat Day – 9am – 1pm

Inspirational Poetry with Joseph

In closing,

“…feelings like disappointment, embarrassment, irritation, resentment, anger, jealousy, and fear, instead of being bad news, are actually very clear moments that teach us where it is that we’re holding back. They teach us to perk up and lean in when we feel we’d rather collapse and back away. They’re like messengers that show us, with terrifying clarity, exactly where we’re stuck. This very moment is the perfect teacher, and, lucky for us, it’s with us wherever we are.”

― Pema Chödrön

 

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May/June 2017

Posted on May 21, 2017 by hoffmanjms

Meditation Opportunities

Thursday evenings at First Presbyterian  

We will meet for meditation on all Thursdays in May and June from 7:00 – 8:00 pm in the fellowship hall. Our format is two 20-minute periods of sitting in silence with a 10 minute walking meditation in between.  Afterwards there is a brief time for announcements and sharing prayer concerns.                                                           

May Retreat Day

Saturday May 27, 2017

9:00 am – 1:00 pm

Fellowship Hall

Share What Inspires You 

When bogged down in day-to-day humdrum, we could all use a little help to remember God’s presence and be grateful. Join us as we share what inspires us to keep going on the spiritual journey. You might find that someone else has a practice that would lift your spirits as well.  Bring a favorite poem, song, piece of art, quote from literature, etc. that lifts your spirit. Our first meditation sitting will begin at 9:00 and the sharing will follow at 10:30.

Coffee, tea and refreshments will be provided.  A freewill offering will be available. 

Upcoming Events

Ongoing                             Hei’s Tai Chi class at Oldemeyer

Center Tue/Thur at 10:30 am

Mondays 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm

July 7, 2017                        I-help for women dinner provided by

Monterey Meditation Group—to help

contact Juliet at jspohntwomey@gmail.com

July 29, 2017                      MMG Silent Retreat Day – 9am – 3pm

In closing,

The Still Point by T.S. Elliot

“At the still point of the turning world. Neither flesh nor fleshless;

Neither from nor towards; at the still point, there the dance is,

But neither arrest nor movement. And do not call it fixity,

Where past and future are gathered. Neither movement from

nor towards,

Neither ascent nor decline. Except for the point, the still point, There would be no dance, and there is only the dance,

I can only say, there we have been: but I cannot say where.

And I cannot say, how long, for that is to place it in time.

The inner freedom from the practical desire,

The release from action and suffering, release from the inner

And the outer compulsion, yet surrounded

By a grace of sense, a white light still and moving.

 

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March/ April 2017

Posted on March 24, 2017 by hoffmanjms

Meditation Opportunities

Thursday evenings at First Presbyterian  

We will meet for meditation on all Thursdays in March and April (except Maundy Thursday April 13) from 7:00 – 8:00 pm in the fellowship hall. Our format is two 20-minute periods of sitting in silence with a 10 minute walking meditation in between.  Afterwards there is a brief time for announcements and sharing prayer concerns.                                                          

March Retreat Day

Saturday March 25, 2017

9:00 am – 3:00 pm

Fellowship Hall

Silent Retreat Day

Join us for a day of silence that will include sitting and walking meditation, chanting, listening to a reading of a koan from the Zen tradition, and tai chi movement.   We will have three periods of meditation both in the morning and afternoon. We will begin sitting at 9 AM, so plan on arriving a little early to settle in.

Coffee, tea and refreshments will be provided.  Please bring a sack lunch. Feel free to join us for all or part of the day.

A freewill offering will be available.

For further information call Janet Hoffman at 484-1686 or E-mail hoffmanjms@gmail.com. 

Upcoming Events

Ongoing                             Hei’s Tai Chi class at Oldemeyer

Center Tue/Thur at 10:30 am

Mondays 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm

April 13, 2017                    No Thursday meditation

May 5, 2017                        I-help for women dinner provided by

Monterey Meditation Group—to help

contact Juliet at jspohntwomey@gmail.com

May 27, 2017                      MMG Retreat Day

In closing,

“The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely, or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature, and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. As long as this exists, and it certainly always will, I know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances may be.”

Anne Frank

 

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January/February 2017

Posted on January 25, 2017 by hoffmanjms

Meditation Opportunities

Thursday evenings at First Presbyterian  

We will meet for meditation on all Thursdays in January and February from 7:00 – 9:00 pm in the fellowship hall. Our format for the first hour is two 20-minute periods of sitting in silence with a 10 minute walking meditation in between.  For the second hour, we are doing a contemplative listening book reading.  We are currently reading short sections from a book by Pema Chodron, The Pocket Pema Chodron. Join us for either or both hours.                                                        

January Retreat Day

Saturday January 28, 2017

9:00 am – 1:00 pm

Fellowship Hall

The Evolution of the Contemplative Christian Spiritual Journey – Fr. Keating DVD 

“Think of God in a very big way. And if you do, that’s too small!” Come join us for meditation and a video presentation by Father Thomas Keating. We will hear his light-hearted reflections as a man who has been on the spiritual journey for 78 years. He touches on subjects such as the vastness of God, the three stages of the transformational spiritual journey, inter-spiritual dialogue, the evolution of the cosmos, and more. Coffee, tea and refreshments will be provided.  A freewill offering will be available. You are welcome to come for all or part of the day.

Upcoming Events

Ongoing                                Hei’s Tai Chi class at Oldemeyer

Center Tue/Thur at 10:30 am

Mondays 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm

March 3, 2017                       I-help for women dinner provided by

Monterey Meditation Group—to help

Contact Juliet at jspohntwomey@gmail.com

March 25                               Silent Retreat Day

9:00 am – 3:00 pm

In closing,

“To be in and out of peace is normal in every period of prayer, although there might be some periods that are uniformly quiet throughout. But in that case you are likely to find that the next time you pray, you will be filled with what airline pilots call turbulence, and you will be bounced around quite a bit by persistent and disturbing thoughts. This is not a disaster but something one has to accept. The alternation between peace and thought-barrage is an important part of the process. They are two sides of the same coin.”

Thomas Keating from Open Mind Open Heart

 

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