Triangle Insight Meditation Community |
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August 2022 Newsletter
triangleinsight.org
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"History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived,
but if faced with courage, need not be lived again."
Maya Angelou
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Our home is the
Episcopal Center at Duke
505 Alexander Ave. | Durham, NC 27705
(when safe to gather in person)
Morning meditation: Monday and Thursday
Wednesday meditation with Dharma Talk, or as Insight Dialogue (below)
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Wednesday Evenings
6:30 - 8:00 pm (Insight Dialogue: 6:30 - 8 pm)
Aug 03 - Ron Vereen
Aug 10 - Scott Bryce
Aug 17 - Cornelia Kip Lee
Aug 24 - Jeff Brantley
Aug 31 - Sharon Shelton
Sept 07 - Ron Vereen
Sept 14 - Scott Bryce
Sept 21 - Jeanne van Gemert
Sept 28 - Phyllis Hicks (Insight Dialogue)
Monday and Thursday Morning Meditation
7:00 - 7:45 AM (click here for more info)
Zoom locations to be emailed.
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If you would like to know more about our meditation schedule or would like to sign up to receive a Zoom invite for Morning Meditation or Wednesday Evenings, visit the Schedule page on our website OR email us at info@triangleinsight.org, and tell us the Zoom list(s) you would like to join,
To receive this monthly newsletter, please complete the newsletter subscription on our Newsletters webpage, or send your request to the info email above.
If you would like to change any part of your subscription, please email us and we will make this change for you.
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The Practice of Insight Dialogue at Triangle Insight |
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Insight Dialogue is an interpersonal meditation practice and is offered at Triangle Insight once monthly, usually on the fourth Wednesday of the month. It brings the mindfulness and tranquility of silent meditation directly into our experience with other people.
An excellent resource for learning more about the practice is the new website for Insight Dialogue: www.insightdialogue.org.
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"Time to switch; you talk, I'll listen." |
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The evening begins with silent meditation practice, followed by gentle mindful movement, and then shifting into dyad practice where interpersonal mindfulness is explored with a partner in response to a contemplation that is offered. The dyad practice is optional so that anyone who chooses to remain in silent practice may do so, rather than shifting into dyad practice. One can investigate the guidance of the contemplation internally, noticing the moment by moment unfolding of internal experience. Note that the ID practice goes from 6:30 to 8:00 pm while meeting on Zoom. When it is possible to resume in-person meetings the time will return to 8:30 pm, to allow for more spaciousness and time for questions. We hope you will be able to join us. |
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Links to Wednesday Dharma Talks
Our Triangle Insight Meditation teachers support your continued exploration of the Dharma by offering the recordings of their talks for your review . Since the talks are now available, notes and references will no longer be requested of the teachers as these are often noted in the talks.
Please click on any specific date below and you will be directed to the recording of the talk for that date.
July 2022:
To find teacher notes for previous Dharma talks, go here, on the TIMC website.
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RETREATS and SPECIAL EVENTS |
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A Free Mindfulness Class with Kathy Shipp!
September 12,19, 26 and October 3
In this four-week class, we will explore the basics of Mindfulness Meditation – present moment awareness of our experience with an accepting loving heart. Topics will include mindfulness of breath and body (in stillness and with movement), mindfulness of thoughts, mindfulness of emotions, and cultivating a wise heart through kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity. We will emphasize being comfortable in your body as you meditate. For new and experienced meditators!
Teacher: Kathy Shipp, a long-time meditator, is active in the Triangle Insight Meditation Community and is completing the Mindfulness Meditation Teachers Certification Program led by Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach.
For specific times, location and contact information for Kathy, and in order to register for the class, please click here.
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Please visit our website for information on these resources |
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Welcome Committee
Sangha means spiritual community, and it is treasured because without it awakening cannot be sustained. –Jack Kornfield, After the Ecstasy, the Laundry
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The Welcome Committee wishes to foster the experience of belonging to a diverse, tolerant community connected through mindfulness practice, where all feel welcome and safe. We seek to link all participants and newcomers to ongoing activities and to ensure the Zoom connection is available. You are welcome to Visit our Webpage!
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Having admirable people as friends, companions, and colleagues is actually
the whole of the holy life. - The Buddha
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New Durham Kalyana Mitta Group
While much of our practice both on and off the cushion is solitary, it is in relationships that we find the challenges, opportunities, and inspiration for our spiritual development. As Gil Fronsdal notes in his book, The Issue at Hand, “…spiritual practice in a community means that the community becomes a mirror for us, as we understand ourselves better through our relationships with other practitioners.”
He goes on to say that in community, “We look for opportunities for reconciliation, and for wise ways of respecting differences. This dedication of inclusion means that a Sangha is, or aims to be, a safe place for people to be themselves, which is a prerequisite for the deepest work of Buddhist practice.”
Our Kalyana Mitta (KM) groups offer a special opportunity for this practice. The intimacy and trust that develop support our being present with the truth of whatever is arising. With this greater openness and understanding we can move from separation to connection, from aversion to compassion.
A wondrous aspect of this process is that as the heart of the dharma is enriched in our own lives, we are contributing to the spiritual journey of others. This is the gift of the third jewel of sangha, a jewel that illuminates this path we travel together.
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KM Groups
We currently have openings in our Durham and Raleigh groups. Our Chapel Hill-Carrboro and Sutta Study groups each have a waiting list. Details about each of our groups are on our "List of KM Groups" web page.
Information about our KM program and links to helpful resources are on our KM web page. If you’d like more information, or you want to join a group, be on a waiting list, or start a new group, please contact Sarah Tillis, KM Coordinator at sarah@triangleinsight.org.
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The KM Coordinating Team of Sarah Tillis and Tamara Share expresses deep gratitude for the dedication of our sangha. |
May our Kalyana Mitta groups be of great benefit to all. |
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A message from Triangle Insight Racial Affinity Group Coordinator, Kathy Shipp
We have an opportunity to grow when we share with our TI spiritual friends about how race and “othering” affects us on every level: personal, organizational, and societal. We have Racial Affinity Groups (RAGs) in which you can discuss how racial conditioning affects your life. There are online training sessions to attend, such as the Organizing Against Racism two-day on-line workshop. I will be attending this workshop in August and would love for other TI participants to join me. Did you know that TI has a special scholarship fund for you to use to attend workshops or courses such as this?
The Organizing Against Racism two-day workshop is scheduled twice in August and twice each month through the end of the year; one of these dates may work for you.
Please contact me at kathy@triangleinsight.org if you are interested in exploring or joining a RAG, if you are interested in racial justice training, or simply would like to talk about your sadness and/or rage, now that Buffalo 2022 and Uvalde 2022 have been added to the long list of racially-motivated shootings: at Mother Emanuel AME church in Charleston 2015, the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh 2018, the Walmart in El Paso in 2019, and the spa workers in Atlanta 2021. And, as ever, may our efforts benefit all beings.
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Community Connections Committee
A TIMC Initiative connecting and strengthening the bonds of our shared practice.
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One Wednesday evening per season will be designated as a dana night for a specific local organization. As an expression of our heart practice and generosity, the Community Connections Committee is recommending Benevolence Farm for the summer suggested donations in lieu of dana to TIMC on August 10th.
“Benevolence Farm seeks to cultivate leadership, promote sustainable livelihoods, and reap structural change with individuals impacted by the criminal justice system in North Carolina.” More information about Benevolence Farm can be found and donations can be offered through this link https//:benevolencefarm.org.The Community Connections Committee extends gratitude to the Triangle Insight Meditation Community for its generous support to this important organization.
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When we resume meeting together at the Episcopal Center, dana baskets will be left out on those evenings, so members have the option of where they want to donate. |
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Financial Support Is Available For Training Programs and Workshops
in Racial Justice and Diversity
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Our goal:
To help individuals and our community deepen the understanding of how unexamined views of race can limit the mind and human systems.
A Scholarship Fund for this purpose exists through donations from the TIMC General Fund and the generosity of several Triangle Insight participants.
If Triangle Insight sangha participants would like to receive scholarship support for training with OARNC, White Awake, or other programs addressing racial injustice, please email us at: board@triangleinsight.org.
We invite the community to join this initiative by contributing directly to this scholarship fund.
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For your convenience, you may use the dedicated PayPal portal here:
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TIMC BOARD | NEWS AND REPORTS |
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Board Meetings:
Cornelia "Kip", Cynthia, Leah, Marian, Martin, and Ron convened an Open Meeting of the Board of Directors on July 9, 2022, on Zoom. No Sangha participants were present. Here is a summary of the meeting:
The July Meeting convened at 12:02 p.m.
A10 minute meditation was followed by all Board members reciting the Communication Guidelines, and the Board approved minutes from the June 11, 2022 Meeting. Then, the Board addressed the following topics:
Board Liability Coverage. The premium has not changed, and the Board decided to renew this insurance.
Website Re-Design. Contracts were approved for Claudia Fulshaw Design (template with page design) and FireStream Media (build, regular updating of content, and maintenance) to collaborate on the TIMC website.The secretary was designated to sign a contract with each consultant. The Board then discussed content matters for a new website. Of immediate interest was a (new) News & Events webpage. Also discussed was whether to integrate the current monthly newsletter into the new website and/or whether to change from a monthly to a quarterly email newsletter (or to some other schedule). Before exploring these questions further, board members wanted to talk with the web consultants.
Hybrid meeting options. Further consideration of the system presented by Custom Light and Design (see June's Board Notes), with its many components in need of set-up and take-down every week at the Episcopal Center, raised serious concerns regarding our ability to execute this program. The board discussed a simplified system for hybrid meetings, combining a Zoom format for remote visual connection, with augmented microphones and speakers located in-house to improve acoustics for both the remote and live audiences. A board member will consult with the audio expert to establish specific components and technical requirements.
TIMC Community Connections Committee. Their non-profit donation day will be August 10th; The chosen recipient is Benevolence Farm.
Discussion of Perry Sweitzer’s research was postponed until the August Board Meeting, due to lack of time.
The July Meeting adjourned at 2:06 p.m.
Join us for the next open board meeting, on Zoom: Saturday, August 20, 12 p.m.–2 p.m. You can join us at any time during the meeting. A Zoom invite will be sent to newsletter members in the week prior. If you have a presentation you would like to give to the board, please contact us at board@triangleinsight.org and we'll make every effort to include that in the agenda.
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Newsletter Submission Pointers |
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At least two weeks prior to the month in which you wish your announcement to appear, submit new items to info@triangleinsight.org.
- Include in your request a short statement of your relationship to TIMC.
- New requests submitted in the last week of any month may not be accepted if time is a factor in preparing a final copy.
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Changes to existing entries may be incorporated if submitted early in the last week of any month.
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All authors are encouraged to update their newsletter entries and to resubmit, clearly indicating all changes in text and lay-out to minimize error and design time.
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Keep the text crisp and short, but include important details and attachments. Instead of longer texts, refer the reader to websites for additional information.
- Indicate how many months you want your entry to be published, and
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Stay in touch with updates if any specific details change. You are responsible for calling in any changes in time, special dates and/or end dates for ongoing classes, groups or other continuing entries.
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Special circumstances may require adjustment of the deadlines indicated here; early submission is a best practice and helps the newsletter editors determine where, how and if the item submitted shall be published (please see #1 in the Guidelines).
Please contact us through info@triangleinsight.org, and include "Newsletter" on the subject line. We will help you get your item published. Thank you for helping us!
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The Triangle Insight Board is looking for interested sangha participants to help us build a Communications Network for our whole practice community
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Newsletter Editorial Committee
To all interested sangha participants, we are forming a Newsletter Editorial Committee and hope you will volunteer to help develop and maintain the Newsletter. Email www.board@triangleinsight.org. noting Editorial Committee in the subject line.
Website
Plans are in the works for refreshing the website with advice from. a professional website designer. If you are interested in working on planning the website, send us an email: ww.board@triangleinsight.org.
Thank you!
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You are welcome to contact me directly with any comments or suggestions to improve the newsletter and website.
In humor and good intention,
Leah Rutchick, leah@triangleinsight.org
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