This Week's Events

Classes

Retreats

Welcome to Bellingham Insight

Bellingham Insight Meditation Society (BIMS) supports meditation and practice in the Buddhist Theravada tradition. We do not have a single guiding teacher. Rather, we are a sangha-led community. We bring in regional and national teachers, including monastics, for residential and non-residential retreats. Our weekly programs are facilitated by senior members in coordination with our Board and Program Committee.

Insight meditation is a simple and direct practice, the moment-to-moment investigation of the mind/body process through calm and focused awareness. Learning to observe experience from a place of stillness enables one to relate to life with less fear and clinging. Seeing life as a constantly changing process, one begins to accept pleasure, pain, fear, joy and all aspects of life with increasing equanimity and balance. As insight deepens, wisdom and compassion arise. This practice is sometimes called "vipassana", which is a Pali word for insight.

Our address is: Red Cedar Dharma Hall, 1021 N. Forest Street.

News

Fundamentals of Mindfulness Meditation

Fundamentals of Mindfulness Meditation

A Six-Week Course

April 19-May 24

Do you feel caught up in restlessness and worry, irritation, craving for something more in life, or feel preoccupied by some other distraction from peace of mind and heart?

Participants in this class will gain in understanding about what mindfulness is and how it works to calm our minds — to be able to enjoy life more fully.

In addition to offering some information about mindfulness, the teacher will offer skillful guidance for development of a strong meditation practice.

This class is offered by donation, although no one will be turned away for lack of funds. All donations collected will be gifted to the Bellingham Insight Meditation Society operating expense fund, in gratitude for their generous support of this class.

The instructor, Willow Myers, has a strong professional background in use of meditation for stress management since the late 1970s. She is also a practitioner and student of classical meditation and is currently in the process of becoming a Certified Mindfulness Mediation Teacher under the guidance of Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach.

This course is not intended to be therapy. For questions call Willow at 360-961-1734

2/10/18

Heather Martin & Pascal Auclair Residential Retreat April 13-22

This residential retreat will be held at a rural retreat center south of Bellingham. The retreat location is on the water and has extensive grounds for walking. All registrants will have a cabin to themselves. There will be three simple vegetarian meals a day. This retreat is suitable for both new and experienced practitioners.

For more information see the retreat flyer and registration form here.

2/9/18

Parenting as a Path - Daylong retreat March 10th

Bellingham Insight Meditation Society and Sangha Mamas invite you to an evening talk and a daylong retreat: Parenting as a Path.

Our teachers will be Keri Pederson and Tim Geil, both teachers with Seattle Insight; each of them is parenting young children.

We'll explore together how we might embrace the daily rigors and delights of parenting as a unique path of practice, with the potential to deepen our experience of who and what we are, as well as our commitment to awakening together.

This retreat is open to parents, grandparents, or anyone who regularly participates in the care of children.

Keri and Tim will offer a talk on Friday evening as well as a day-long retreat on Saturday. There will be opportunities for silent practice as well as interactive discussion, walking meditation, and meetings with the teachers.

Both new and experienced meditators are welcome.

A flyer for the retreat is available here. A registration form is here.

2/4/18

BIMS Study Groups - 1) Aging and 2) The Hindrances

BIMS currently has two ongoing study groups meeting during the 8 p.m. program hour after our Tuesday evening 7 p.m. meditation period. These groups are open to all, although regular attendance and following the current reading schedule is recommended to get the most benefit.

The first group is "Aging as a Spiritual Practice". It is discussing the application of Buddhist teachings to the experience of aging, illness and death, using topics from Older and Wiser: Classical Buddhist Teachings on Aging, Sickness, and Death by Mu Soeng, Gloria Taraniya Ambrosia and Andrew Olendzki.

The second group is reading and following the exercises for working with the five classic Buddhist hindrances to spiritual growth contained in Gil Fronsdal's book Unhindered.

We look forward to studying with you. Use the calendar to see the schedule for meeting dates of these groups.

12/14/17

Elementary Level Dhamma Studies

This curriculum is translated into English from the official Thai curriculum which is endorsed by the King of Thailand. You will ponder some Buddhist proverbs, learn (or relearn from a new perspective) words like “evil” (which from a Buddhist perspective means unskillful) or virtue (which actually means skill), or punna or that which cleanses the mind — or something exotic sounding like Bala or states of dhamma power. Overall it is a rich and fun introduction to some classic Buddhist teachings.

We will meditate, contemplate and share our insights. We will also do a little chanting and take precepts, for those who want to.

The organizational meeting will be on Sunday Oct. 1 at 10:00 at the Red Cedar Hall, with plans to meet once a month. If you are interested in attending please email dwmm@comcast.net

12/7/17

Regular Activities

-Morning Meditation

-Tuesday Night Group Meditation

-Tuesday Night Programs

-Book Club

-Dharma Talk

-Thursday Evening Programs

-Teen and 20s Group

-Going Forth

-Friday Mindful Recovery Group

-Weekend Meditation

-The Saturday Sit-In

-Sangha Mamas

-Orientation to Meditation