Napa Valley Insight Meditation

Super Fun Picnic
2016-06-12 04:30 - 07:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Fuller Park Elm Site Tables, 560 Jefferson St, Napa, CA, 94559, United States
It’s time to get your summer on and come together for a Sangha style pot luck!
Come join us for our “Super Fun Picnic, on Sunday June 12th, starting at 11:30am. We will be meeting at Fuller Park in downtown Napa at the Elm site picnic tables (north side of the part).
Details: Please bring a dish to share, all family and friends are welcome.
We will have games, such as horseshoe, bat mitten, board games if you would like to participate and play.
NVIM will provide biodegradable (non-tree) plates, cutlery and cups, napkins, and water.
Please feel free to bring blankets if you would like to lounge on the grass. There are several picnic tables at the site as well.
Contact Erika (ekria@napainsight.org) to RSVP and let us know what dish you’d like to bring.
Hope to see you there!!

Thursday Morning Meditation
2016-06-09 02:00 - 03:00, 2016-06-02 02:00 - 03:00, 2016-05-26 02:00 - 03:00, 2016-05-19 02:00 - 03:00, 2016-05-12 02:00 - 03:00, 2016-05-05 02:00 - 03:00, 2016-04-28 02:00 - 03:00, 2016-04-21 02:00 - 03:00 and 6 more dates | Napa Valley Unitarian Universalists, 1625 Salvador Ave, Napa, CA, 94559
For those interested in supporting their morning practice, we invite you to join us on Thursday mornings for silent meditation. The meditation will begin promptly at 9 am in Universalist Unitarian Fellowship sanctuary.
There will be a 30 minute silent meditation period, followed by a short 10 – 20 minute period in which individuals may comment on their own practice, while the group listens in silence.

Special Guest: Albert Flynn DeSilver
2016-06-07 12:00 - 13:30 | Napa Valley Unitarian Universalists, 1625 Salvador Ave, Napa, CA, 94559
On Tuesday June 7th, Napa Valley Insight Meditation will host a talk by mindfulness speaker, poet, writer, speaker, and workshop leader, Albert Flynn DeSilver. This is an event you won’t wnat to miss!
Albert Flynn DeSilver is an internationally published poet, writer, speaker, and workshop leader. Albert served as Marin County’s very first Poet Laureate from 2008-2010. His work has appeared in more than 100 literary journals worldwide including ZYZZYVA, New American Writing, Hanging Loose, Jubilat, Exquisite Corpse, Jacket (Australia), Poetry Kanto (Japan), Van Gogh’s Ear (France), and many others. He is the author most recently of “Beamish Boy: A Memoir,” “Letters to Early Street” from La Alameda/University of New Mexico Press (2007), and “Walking Tooth & Cloud,” from French Connection Press in Paris (2007). His new books, “Writing as a Path to Awakening,” based on his popular writing workshops by the same name, and a novel “Brooklyn, Wyoming” are due out in 2017.
Albert is also a speaker and trainer having taught and presented with such luminaries as Elizabeth Gilbert, Cheryl Strayed, Maxine Hong Kingston, Michael McClure, and U.S. Poet Laureate Kay Ryan among many others. He teaches writing workshops at The Esalen Institute, The Omega Institute, Spirit Rock Meditation Center and literary conferences nationally. He lives in Northern California.

Meditation and Discussion: Lori Stelling
2016-05-31 12:00 - 13:30, 2016-05-03 12:00 - 13:30, 2016-04-05 12:00 - 13:30 | Napa Valley Unitarian Universalists, 1625 Salvador Ave, Napa, CA, 94559
Lori Stelling will facilitate this evening’s meditation and discussion. Lori has practiced Insight Meditation since 2002. She has completed Insight Meditation Center’s 9-Month Eightfold Path Program and is currently engaged in on-going Buddhist studies through Dharmagiri.
Our evening sittings generally begin with a 30 minute meditation, followed by a short break for tea and greetings. The Facilitator will then give a short talk on relevant themes and lead a group discussion. All levels of experience are welcome.

Guest Teacher: Fresh! White
2016-05-24 12:00 - 13:30 | Napa Valley Unitarian Universalists, 1625 Salvador Ave, Napa, CA, 94559
On Tuesday May 24th, Napa Valley Insight Meditation will host a talk by meditation and dharma teacher Fresh! White.
Fresh! White from Oakland. He is a Certified Life and Mindfulness Coach, writer, speaker, and facilitator, as well as a Meditation and Dharma leader. He is a coach for several organizations including; LeaderSpring’s Executive Capacity Building Program; the Brown Boi Project, a gender justice project focused on masculine identified individuals; and CompassPoint. Fresh! is a contributing author to, Trans Bodies Trans Selves, a health, legal and cultural resource guide for service providers and members of the trans community.

Meditation and Discussion: Mike Coughlin
2016-05-17 12:00 - 13:30, 2016-04-26 12:00 - 13:30, 2016-03-29 12:00 - 13:30 | Napa Valley Unitarian Universalists, 1625 Salvador Ave, Napa, CA, 94559
Mike Coughlin will facilitate this evening’s meditation and discussion. Mike has been practicing mindfulness in the vipassana tradition for over a decade. He has received training in Buddhism and mindfulness through Spirit Rock Meditation Center and Mindful Schools and is currently enrolled in UCLA’s Certification in Mindfulness Facilitation program.
Our evening sittings generally begin with a 30 minute meditation, followed by a short break for tea and greetings. The Facilitator will then give a short talk on relevant themes and lead a group discussion. All levels of experience are welcome.

Meditation and Discussion: Forrest Hill
2016-05-10 12:00 - 13:30, 2016-04-12 12:00 - 13:30, 2016-03-22 12:00 - 13:30 | Napa Valley Unitarian Universalists, 1625 Salvador Ave, Napa, CA, 94559
Forrest Hill will facilitate this evening’s meditation and discussion. Forrest has been practicing Insight Meditation since 2004 and is a founding member of Napa Valley Insight Meditation. He is currently enrolled in the Community Dharma Leaders Program at Spirit Rock Meditation Center.
Our evening sittings generally begin with a 30 minute meditation, followed by a short break for tea and greetings. The Facilitator will then give a short talk on relevant themes and lead a group discussion. All levels of experience are welcome.

Daylong with Lori Wong: Practicing Compassion
2016-04-23 03:00 - 09:00 | Napa Valley Unitarian Universalists, 1625 Salvador Ave, Napa, CA, 94559
This daylong retreat will offer a combination of meditation practice and experiential exercises which cultivate and explore compassion as both a support and a fruit of practice. The day will offer a mixture of silence, practice in right/mindful speech, and compassionate listening practices. Beginning and experienced meditators are welcomed.
Lori Wong is a Stanford-certified Compassion Cultivation Training™ (CCT) teacher, trained through Stanford University’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education. Lori is also the founding teacher of Insight Meditation Central Valley, a graduate of Spirit Rock’s Community Dharma Leader program, a board member of Sati Center for Buddhist Studies. She was one of the founding directors for the Buddhist Insight Network, has volunteered for the Buddhist Pathways Prison Project, and has been offering teachings in the Central Valley since 2009. Lori has been practicing Insight Meditation since 2003 under the guidance of Gil Fronsdal.
What to Bring: Please bring a lunch, beverage and appropriate clothing for outside walking meditation.
Suggested Donation: $25 – $100. No one turned away for lack of funds. All levels of experience welcomed!
For more information and to RSVP, please contact Susan DuQuette at: susandiorr@yahoo.com

Guest Teacher: Kevin Griffin
2016-04-19 12:00 - 13:30 | Napa Valley Unitarian Universalists, 1625 Salvador Ave, Napa, CA, 94559
On Tuesday April 19th, Napa Valley Insight Meditation will host a talk by Kevin Griffin, author Buddhist teacher and innovator in the field of addiction treatment.
Kevin is a longtime Buddhist practitioner who trained as a Community Dharma Leader at Spirit Rock. He is the author of One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps and the forthcoming God, Buddha, and the Path of Recovery. A co-founder of the Buddhist Recovery Network, he teaches regularly at Spirit Rock, as well as at treatment centers, Buddhist centers, professional conferences, and colleges across the U.S. Kevin has been a member of the Spirit Rock Family Program for ten years.

Beginning Meditation
2016-04-07 12:00 - 13:30
Lori Steeling and Forrest Hill will host a night for beginning meditators. This night is for anyone who wants to work on their practice. You might have never meditated before but are curious about the practice and not sure where to start. Or you may have been practicing for a little while and have questions.

Special Guest: Catherine Ingram
2016-03-15 12:00 - 13:30 | Napa Valley Unitarian Universalists, 1625 Salvador Ave, Napa, CA, 94559
On Tuesday March 15th, Napa Valley Insight Meditation will host a talk by Dharma teacher, author and social activist Catherine Ingram.
Catherine is an international dharma teacher with communities in the U.S., Europe, and Australia. Since 1992 she has led Dharma Dialogues, which are public events that focus on directing awareness toward greater wellbeing in an ethical and happy life. Catherine also leads numerous silent retreats each year in conjunction with Dharma Dialogues. She is president of Living Dharma, an educational non-profit organization founded in 1995.
Catherine has been the subject of numerous print, television, and radio interviews and is included in several anthologies about teachers in the west.
A former journalist specializing in issues of consciousness and activism, Catherine is the author of two books of nonfiction, which are published in numerous languages: In the Footsteps of Gandhi: Conversations with Spiritual/Social Activists and Passionate Presence: Seven Qualities of Awakened Awareness.
