In-Person: Lifeboat in the Storm – A Post-Election Retreat
with David Grogan
Saturday, November 9th, 2024 | 10:00am – 4:00pm ET
In-Person Location: New York Insight at 115 West 29th Street, 12th Floor
In the wake of a hyperkinetic election, give yourself a break. Join us in person at the New York Insight Meditation Center for a day of restorative practice and open-hearted fellowship away from the incessant drumbeat of news and cacophonous views clamoring for attention on your electronic devices. Pause, relax, and breathe.
During the mini-retreat we will explore foundational meditation practices for finding poise and balance in our bodies in the midst of turbulent times. The invitation will be to slow down and cultivate an attitude of curiosity and care to whatever might arise moment by moment.
The mind and heart are like the ocean. When gale-force winds of change are blowing, navigating the tempestuous waves on the surface of the water can seem perilous. The secret is to drop below the surface, and savor the stillness deep within. From the depths it is possible to observe the activities on the surface of the mind and heart with more ease and clarity. The day will include periods for engaging in solitary reflection through journaling as well as relational practices of deep listening.
When times are urgent, observes the writer and activist Bayo Akomolafe, “the idea of slowing down is not about getting answers. It is about questioning our questions.” It is also about recognizing that in the spaciousness of uncertainty, there is room to act.
Registration:
Please register below. If you are able, registering at the “Supporter” level enables others to attend at the “Subsidized” level. Thank you for your generosity! (Please note that the registration price includes a base level of teacher support, and you will have the opportunity to donate more after the program.)
If you are registering via a mobile device such as a phone or tablet, you can scroll right and left and up and down within the below form if it is partially obscured or cut off.
CLICK HERE to open the registration form in a new browser window.
Volunteering
All of our programs rely on volunteers to support our teachers and staff with various tasks and responsibilities. Volunteering allows you to participate in our programs at no cost. To inquire about volunteering opportunities, please fill out our inquiry form, and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
Teacher(s)
David Grogan
David Grogan joined the New York Insight Teachers Council in 2023 after a decade of service as a practice leader with the Brooklyn Sangha and the Aging as a Spiritual Practice Sangha. He is also a member of the teaching team for Space2Meditate.com, an online community of dedicated practitioners co-founded by one of his longtime mentors, Jon Aaron. David is a qualified Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) instructor and he completed a yearlong
Mindfulness Training Institute (MTI) teacher training program under the guidance of Mark Coleman and Martin Aylward. Insatiable curiosity is a catalyst in his life and practice, and he delights in accompanying others in the process of discovery. During a long career as a journalist, which included a decade as the primary story editor for a popular science magazine and another decade editing various history magazines, he had the privilege of learning something new every day and sharing those nuggets of insight. He is currently a member of the CUNY Graduate Center Lifelong Peer Learning Program (LP 2 ), where he facilitates workshops in meditation and guided autobiography. His personal passions include jazz and poetry and the wondrous potential the art of deep listening reveals for people to open their hearts and minds and connect with each other through the sound of surprise.