STARTING ON SEPTEMBER 2, 2025:

WHY DO WE MEDITATE?
(guided by Joseph Emet)

If you Google this topic, you will find a number of benefits of meditation listed, among them reduced stress, improved sleep, and lower blood pressure. However, these benefits only appear if you meditate regularly, and not only occasionally. Also, it takes a month or two for them to be noticeably different.
It helps if your meditations have a focus. That may be through a guided meditation, sitting with a mantra, or following a talk, an inspiring read, or a video.
“Identify with the ocean, not the waves,” wrote Thich Nhat Hanh. In meditation, that means, “Identify with the mind, not the thoughts.” Easier said than done… Thoughts grab the attention; they are the waves of the mind.
There is more to the ocean than the waves though: the tiny herring and mackerel as well as the giant whales, kelp and other seaweed, depth, and currents.
The mind is equally rich in its makeup, with thoughts, mental states, emotions, beliefs, dreams, and attitudes. Identifying with the mind means being aware of all those without being controlled by them.

During the next 4 weeks, we will practice with various meditation themes. Please bring along your phone or a notebook, so that you can take notes after a practice period if you feel like it. This way, you can replicate a similar meditation at home during the rest of the week.
These sessions will be particularly useful for those who wish to establish a regular meditation practice.

Please send a message to Joseph at josephemet @ gmail.com if you intend to attend these sessions. (Please remove the spaces around the @ sign)

Meditation sessions on Tuesdays from 7:30 to 9 pm
at 43 ave De Breslay in Pointe-Claire.

BILINGUAL, WITH APPROPRIATE DONATION

PAST PROGRAM:

THE PRACTICE OF FREEDOM
guided by Joseph Emet.

STARTING APRIL 8, 2025:

“Letting go gives us freedom, and freedom is the only condition for happiness,” said Thich Nhat Hanh. Indeed, we can rephrase many of our common concerns in terms of freedom:
Too many thoughts at bedtime? Freedom from unwanted thoughts.
Feel like you are doing one chore after another? Freedom from always being in the future.
Anxiety? Freedom from negative feelings.
MBSR? Freedom from stress.
Yet, Thich Nhat Hanh also said, “Freedom is not given to us by anyone; we have to cultivate it ourselves.”

The next 4 Tuesday evening sessions will focus on cultivating freedom with stories and practices from the Zen tradition.

BILINGUAL, WITH APPROPRIATE DONATION

4 -Week Session