As valued members of our Sangha, we want to invite you to attend one of the upcoming community meetings we will hold here at the center. The meetings are designed for you to share your ideas, feedback, concerns and vision for our community. This is a key time of transition for Insight Santa Cruz and we want to hear your ideas and understand your vision to inform the future of our center.

We have scheduled four community meetings. Each meeting will run approximately 1 hour in length and will feature a short meditation, an open community discussion forum and time for tea and refreshments. We invite you to attend one of the meetings.

In preparation for the meetings, we would like to know which topics you feel are most important for us to receive community input about. We would be very grateful if you could take a moment to fill out a brief survey before the meeting.

When: Sunday Jan. 22 (6:30 - 8:00 PM)
Monday, Jan. 23 (7:00 - 8:30 PM)
Tuesday, Jan. 24 (12:00 to 1:30 PM)
Thursday, Jan 26 (7:00 - 8:30 PM)
Teacher: Various teachers and board members
Registration: No registration required.
Cost: There is no charge, dana accepted.
Location: Vipassana Santa Cruz, 1010 Fair Ave, Santa Cruz, CA.

How do we relate in our everyday relationships, with family, friends, coworkers, and people we encounter? What does it mean to relate from our inherent nature, from our presence, wisdom, compassion and kindness? This class includes dharma talks, meditation, and the practice of skillful means to support the flourishing of our connectedness, openness, and centeredness in relationship. You are warmly invited.

When: Thursday evenings in Jan. 1/5, 1/12, 1/19 (community meeting 1/26) (7:00 - 8:30 PM)
Teacher: Nicola Amadora
Registration: No registration required.
Cost: There is no charge, dana accepted.
Location: Vipassana Santa Cruz, 1010 Fair Ave, Santa Cruz, CA.

There are purely physical sensations, sensations charged with emotional juice, and states of rest. Learn to know these variations through the technique of noting (noticing and focusing). Each class will build on the work of the previous one. Drop ins welcome. Instruction, guided meditation, Q & A.

When: Wednesday evenings Jan. 11, 18, 25, Feb. 1 (6:30 - 8:00 PM)
Teacher: Jill Hyman and Bruce Hyman
Registration: No registration required.
Cost: There is no charge, dana accepted.
Location: Vipassana Santa Cruz, 1010 Fair Ave, Santa Cruz, CA.

States of rest are closely connected to concentration, relaxation, and joy. Learn to find rest in what you see, hear or feel (visual, auditory and sensory fields). This daylong is suitable for beginning or experienced students. Mindful movement, guided meditation, walking meditation, Q & A. Techniques of Shinzen Young will be presented.

When: Sunday Feb. 5 (10:30 AM - 4:30 PM)
Teacher: Jill Hyman and Bruce Hyman
Registration: No registration required.
Cost: There is no charge, dana accepted.
Location: Vipassana Santa Cruz, 1010 Fair Ave, Santa Cruz, CA.

Buddhadharma leads us down a path to a deeper way of knowing, a view that is beyond judgment and comparison. As we travel this journey, our self centeredness relaxes, and we see through the eyes of compassion and taste freedom. However, many people struggle with a persistent sense of unworthiness and inadequacy, with repetitive habits of rejecting, resisting and criticizing oneself. This ongoing pattern, this withholding of self-compassion, stunts authentic spiritual growth until it is openly addressed. The practice of self-compassion can then become the fertile ground for the deep work of real awakening.

Some of the topics to be discussed: Why cultivation of self-compassion is so essential to our dharma practice. The necessity of integrating self-compassion into daily life. The far reaching effects from bringing unconditional kindness to our experience of being human. What the difference is between self-compassion and self-esteem. Experience with the practices of self-compassion, including self-forgiveness.

When: Thursdays Feb. 9, 16, 23 (7:00 - 8:30 PM)
Teacher: Carla Brennan
Registration: No registration required.
Cost: There is no charge, dana accepted.
Location: Vipassana Santa Cruz, 1010 Fair Ave, Santa Cruz, CA.

Women who are awake and walk with wisdom are needed, especially in this time of change. The treasure within us and our connectedness to all, allows us to be a beacon in our lives, in the world and when things fall apart.

This retreat is a warm invitation to go deep into the ground of your being, to be nourished and embrace the gifts of your feminity. Meditation, dharmatalk, and natural movement will support us to strengthen each other and shine our wisdom light.

When: Saturday Feb. 11 (12:00 - 5:00 PM)
Teacher: Nicola Amadora
Registration: No registration required.
Cost: There is no charge, dana accepted.
Location: Vipassana Santa Cruz, 1010 Fair Ave, Santa Cruz, CA.

This is a day dedicated to working with Depression (and anxiety), through the practices of mindfulness and yoga. Both yoga and Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy have been empirically shown to be effective approaches to working with depression and eliminating future relapse.

Richard Aryeh Nanas, LCSW and Karen Zelin, yoga & mindfulness meditation teacher, are teaming up to offer a combination of talk, movement and meditation practices, including loving-kindness practice. This daylong is intended to support, encourage, and offer insight to anyone who is working with depression (or anxiety) on any kind of regular basis.

Richard Aryeh Nanas, LCSW, is a long time meditator with extensive retreat experience. He has more than 35 years of professional work in adult mental health. Richard has had extensive post-graduate studies in mindfulness-based interventions. His specialty is utilizing mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression and anxiety. He has had considerable experience training clinicians in Mental Health agencies in mindfulness-based interventions in psychotherapy and in stress reduction. He has received training in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction with Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D and Bob Stahl, PhD, and has trained in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression with Zindel Segal, PhD.

Karen Zelin is a teacher (and student!) of yoga, buddhism and mindfulness meditation practices. For the past 15 years, she has been teaching Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction program, currently as part of the community education program at Dominican Hospital. She also teaches regular weekly yoga classes in Santa Cruz. Her classes are designed to bring compassion to the body/mind, while increasing steadiness, resilience and well-being. She is a graduate of Iyengar Institute of San Francisco, certified as a Restorative Yoga instructor, and is currently enrolled in Spirit Rock's Mindfulness and Yoga Program. She has trained extensively with the Center for Mindfulness, connected with Jon Kabat-Zinn and the University of Mass Medical Center.

When: Saturday, Jan 21(9:30 am - 3:00 pm)
Teachers: Karen Zelin and Richard Aryeh Nanas.
Registration: No registration required.
Cost: There is no charge, dana accepted.
Location: Vipassana Santa Cruz, 1010 Fair Ave, Santa Cruz, CA.

What is the actual feeling of being alive? The feelings are different for all of us, but what is the same is that it is all in the body. Coming home to the body, with all of its myriad sensations, offers a direct line to our deepest sense of aliveness. When our attention is fully and completely grounded in sensation, dominance of thoughts and thinking decreases, presence increases.

Teacher Karen Zelin will offer this day of practice dedicated to grounding attention in the body, through alternating yoga and mindfulness. The day will begin with Foundations of Mindfulness - what is common in yoga and Buddhist practice. In the morning, students will explore active yoga poses; in the afternoon we'll move into restorative poses. All bodies, shapes and sizes, stiffness and flexibility are welcome.

Please bring a yoga mat and your lunch.

When: Saturday Feb 25 (9:30 am - 4 pm)
Teacher: Karen Zelin
Registration: No registration required.
Cost: There is no charge, dana accepted.
Location: Vipassana Santa Cruz, 1010 Fair Ave, Santa Cruz, CA.

Insight Santa Cruz is happy to continue the ongoing Committed Students Program, guided by Dan Landry and Carolyn Dille, beginning in January 2012. This program of study, meditation, dialog and interactive practice requires participants to attend twice a month through the spring. Dan and Carolyn welcome all current Committed Students to continue and encourage those not yet enrolled to contact Dan Landry for further details. General requirements include two or more 7-day retreats, a dedicated meditation practice and a commitment to the meetings. We’ll begin with focus on "Let Go" by Martine Batchelor, available from Bookshop Santa Cruz and Wisdom Publications by order. Pali Canon suttas and chants will be provided. The meetings will begin on Tuesday, January 24, and continue through 1st and 3rd Tuesdays through May 15.

About the teachers:

Dan Landry has been a Vipassana practitioner since 1999. During that time he has attended many retreats, assisted with the Committed Students groups, taught the New to Practice class and served on the VSC Board.

Carolyn Dille practices and teaches in the Insight and Soto Zen traditions. She has trained in the U.S. and Asia and completed Spirit Rock's Community Dharma Leaders Program. She is especially interested in the mutually supporting practices of meditation and creative expression.

When: January 24; February 7 and 21; March 6 and 20; April 3 and 17; May 1 and 15. (6:30 - 9:00 PM)
Teacher: Dan Landry and Carolyn Dille
Registration: Email Dan Landry,
Cost: There is no charge, dana accepted.
Location: Vipassana Santa Cruz, 1010 Fair Ave, Santa Cruz, CA.

We are happy to announce a very special and rare opportunity to practice the Thirty-Two Parts of the Body meditation that is being offered by Vipassana Santa Cruz. In the Buddhist tradition, this mediation practice takes 33 weeks to complete.

The methodical practice of the Thirty-two Parts of the Body Meditation can help one penetrate and understand the true nature of the body. To see impermanence and comprehend that the body is made from the four primary elements of earth (solidity), air (motion), fire (temperature), and water (liquidity). This methodical practice of the Thirty-two Parts of the Body Meditation can build immense levels of concentration, potentialities for healing, and experience the taste of deep freedom and peace.

When: Free Intro. Class Friday Oct. 7. After that, every Friday Morning, Oct. 14 to –June 1, 2012 (10:00 - 11:30AM) NOTE: No class on Nov. 25
Teacher: Bob Stahl.
Prerequisites for taking this Class: This practice is for serious students of mindfulness meditation that are able to keep the multi-month commitment to practice. It is recommended to come as many of the weekly classes as possible.
Registration: no registration required.
Cost: According to the Buddhist tradition, the teachings of the Dhamma are priceless; therefore one is welcome to make an offering that is suitable for their means. No one will be turned away.
Location: Vipassana Santa Cruz, 1010 Fair Ave, Santa Cruz, CA.

Living examples of illness, aging and death, were 3 of the 4 "heavenly messengers" sent to the Buddha to awaken him to reality of the human condition. He saw that everyone is subject to impermanence in the form of sickness, old age and dying. The fourth messenger showed that there is a path to freedom and an end to suffering. Our culture says that you must be young and healthy to be happy; Buddhism tells us that happiness and freedom come from within, not from external circumstances.

When we are feeling fit and well we can easily forget this truth. When we experience illness or disability, then the limitations, vulnerability, and imperfection of existence and the brevity of our human life are obvious. We can take advantage of this to develop understanding and compassion and to reveal the deep teachings of the dharma.

In this monthly, ongoing, drop-in group, we look at these messengers in our own lives. You are welcomed to attend whether you have an illness, disability or chronic pain or are dealing with the usual array of physical or emotional challenges of human life.

We begin the session with a 30-minute meditation (you are welcome to lie down or move to accommodate pain). Through our mindfulness practice we learn to connect with and accept ourselves as we are, to be present with our experience without reactivity and to be able to spaciously "hold" all our joys and sorrows.

The rest of the session includes teachings, discussion and sharing. We will explore both how the teachings help us work skillfully with our difficulties and how our difficulties can teach us wisdom and compassion. Some of the topics discussed included: developing greater acceptance, kindness, compassion for oneself, facing fear, working with anger and resistance.

Often in daily life we feel we must hide our chronic challenges so that we do not burden (or bore) others. In this group, we can share the truth of our experience and find others who understand our situation.

When: First Monday of the month (noon - 1:45PM)
Teachers: Bob Stahl and others.
Registration: no registration required.
Cost: There is no charge, dana accepted.
Location: Vipassana Santa Cruz, 1010 Fair Ave, Santa Cruz, CA.