Insight Meditation – An Introduction
“Insight Meditation – An Introduction” is a four week course exploring the Buddhist teachings of wisdom and compassion. Topics will include:
How to establish and maintain a daily meditation practice.
Integrating mindfulness into daily life.
Learning to work with difficult emotions.
The dates are: Tuesday evenings, May 7, 14, 21 and 28
Time: 7 – 8:30 p.m.
Location: Unfolding Body Studio in Cumberland.
Registration fee is $60 or by donation. To register, complete the form and send an e-transfer for the total to margostoryteller@gmail.com.
Tending the Spark: Mindfulness and the Creative Life with Margo McLoughlin
In this afternoon workshop, we’ll look at the role of contemplative practice in the creative process. How do we prepare the mind and heart to return to a creative project or launch a sustained time of focus on an artistic endeavour?
By nurturing a discipline of attentive presence, we discover how to refresh our perception, awaken wonder and enter the work with a sense of curiosity and openness to discovery.
Margo McLoughlin is a storyteller and writer. She has been teaching meditation and mindfulness to children and adults since 2012, often using storytelling and art as ways to explore the role of awareness in living a creative, compassionate life. Recently, she offered a school program at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria titled, “Discovering the Gift of Perception.”
To register, please complete the form below. The registration fee is $50.00 plus GST ($52.50.) To confirm your registration please send $52.50 as an e-transfer to mcloughlingardens16@gmail.com. Or you may send a cheque to McLoughlin Gardens, PO Box 1223, Comox, BC V9M 3W7
The Clear Light of Awareness - Uncovering Wisdom and Balancing Effort: A Weekend Retreat for the Victoria Insight Meditation Society
This non-residential, in-person retreat takes place on beautiful grounds of Goward House, not far from the University of Victoria on the southern tip of Vancouver Island. Hosted by the Victoria Insight Meditation Society, the retreat is offered freely, with no registration fee. To receive an e-mail reminder when registration opens, please visit victoriaims.org. The weekend will include periods of sitting and walking meditation, group interviews and a Dharma talk each day.
The Clear Light of Awareness
“The Clear Light of Awareness” begins Tuesday, March 12th and runs for five evenings (three in a row, a one-week gap, then two more). This series combines a review of the foundations of Buddhist meditation with an exploration of the Five Spiritual Faculties – faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration and wisdom. Those who are new to meditation are very welcome to attend, as well as those with more experience. The class format will include guided meditation, teaching and discussion. Please bring your questions about meditation practice and mindfulness in everyday life! Let’s learn from each other how to apply these beautiful teachings to the complexity and challenges of the times we live in.
The dates are:
March 12, 19 and 26 + April 9 and 16.
Time: 7 – 8:30 p.m.
Location: Unfolding Body Studio, 3276 Second Street, Cumberland, BC
March 12 - Saddha (Faith or Confidence)
March 19 - Viriya (Energy)
March 26 - Sati (Mindfulness)
April 9 - Samadhi (Concentration)
April 16 - Pañña (Wisdom)
Registration options:
Sign up for one session, three, or all five. (One session is $25, three is $60, five is $75. If finances are an issue, you may also make a donation of your chosen amount.) To register, choose the number of sessions, complete the form and send an e-transfer for the total to margostoryteller@gmail.com.
Dharma Talk for Victoria Insight Meditation Society
Guided meditation and talk for the Sunday night sitting group. Everyone welcome.
Launch Your Writing Project
Have you got a story idea that’s been waiting in the wings? Join author Jeanette Taylor and storyteller Margo McLoughlin for this six-part online series, designed to help you launch your writing project, whether you are working on a memoir, a work of fiction, or a children’s book. Visit mcloughlingardens.org to find out more.
Dates: Saturday afternoons, 1 - 3:30 p.m., February 3 - March 9
Registration fee: $295 + GST
“Life-Stories as Riddles: A Dharma Talk for Satipañña Insight Toronto”
Guided meditation and Dharma talk for Satipañña Insight Toronto.
Against all odds, the early Buddhist nuns managed to find a spiritual home and devote themselves to their practice, under the Buddha’s guidance. Their life stories, as described in the commentary to the Therigatha (poems of enlightenment of the Elder Nuns), present the challenges they faced to become students and teachers of the Dharma. Margo will share two stories and comment on the teachings they offer us, as students of Buddhist thought and practice, living as we are in the 21st century.
Find the Zoom link here: Tuesday evenings at Satipañña
Storytelling at the Heriot Bay Inn
Join us for an afternoon of storytelling on Sunday January 21 at the Heriot Bay Inn on Quadra Island. Get swept away to other times, lands and dimensions by the illustrious storytellers Laurie North, Jeanette Taylor, and Margo McLoughlin. Door prizes, as well as a free book for every school-age person. Limited seating - no reservations. For additional information, please email quadraliteracynetwork@gmail.com