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About Our Workshops
Each Fall, Winter and Spring Stephen teaches eight 90-minute workshops of guided, group meditation under the banner of The Quiet Mind. These take place at various times in various parts of the Montreal region. Please send us a message, call us at 450.853-0616 for more information, or register online.
Mindful reflection
isn't some remote island of tranquility but a practical state of mind, able to cope with everyday stresses and willing to stand upo to our deepest existential fears. A mind emptied of illusions fills spontaneously with the joy of life and the awe of simply being sentient.
The purpose of workshop is not to acquire new knowledge but to build a practice of mindfulness – a non-theoretical way to understand your mind and how it works. This approach includes concentration, to develop focus and and reflection, to confront the inner dialogue that rushes us from birth to death. Our goal is not simply to develop skills while sitting quietly in a room but to transform daily life itself into a meditation.
Each session includes brief
periods of silent meditation as well as detailed explanations of how to get into your own mind and what to look out for. A question and answer
period concludes each evening.
Click here for an outline of the current workshop.
Types of Meditation
The Buddhist way of mindfulness uses both concentrative and contemplative approaches. Mindfulness is a path of honesty that is simple, but not easy. The complication is not in the technique but in the habitual mind which usually puts up an extraordinary resistance. Mindfulness requires giving up denial and its consoling but treacherous illusions. Mindfulness reminds you that life is an adventure of
discovery and insight that began with your first breath. It means living
in full awareness throughout the day, watching the world within and around
you without being carried away by compulsive thoughts and emotions. It’s non-controlling,
non-judgmental and uninvolved.
Like a good movie or a great book, meditation should leave a mark on your mind that finds its own way into your heart. Its purpose is to get in touch with yourself and your natural resources of intelligence, kindness and sanity. It's not like any other sort of learning – rather than learning more facts you'll rearrange what you already know, let go of unnecessary burdens and discover that you've got all you need … and more.
Thinking
In spite of what some people imagine, meditation isn't about tuning out. Rather than clearing
your mind of all thoughts, it puts thoughts in perspective, making them less compulsive and leaving room for the direct contact with the world around us through uncluttered perception of sights,
sounds,
smells, tastes and touch sensations. In everyday life, intangible thoughts
lead into one another with incredible
rapidity and catch us up in their current. A distracting thought lasts only
a moment, but its momentum can extend a sense of loss or annoyance
for minutes, hours or days. In order to work, create and relate to others we need to think and develop the rational mind, but a compulsive avalanche of thoughts is not rational. Unrestrained
thinking severs our link to a natural way of life and is a major factor in the growth of stress. Mindfulness develops concentration and enhances the the rational mind.
Naming
We come to terms with distraction by naming uncontrolled thoughts and feelings
as they arise, then moving back to our bird’s eye view. Instead of
following our regrets or worries, we label them – ‘regret’ or ‘worry’ – and
return to the breathing. Like learning to ride a bike, we keep losing control,
but if we keep getting back on, it brings its own gradual reward.
By keeping our thoughts in perspective, our perceptions become clearer,
and we see them for what they are – passing events in an ongoing stream
of consciousness. The result is clarity of mind, enabling us to recognize
our mental patterns and ultimately to think and feel without mental clutter.
We also begin to experience the simple wonder of unencumbered perception.
Breathing
Watching our breath keeps us steady against the turbulence of the mind.
The human brain is incredibly sophisticated – there’s no end
to the distractions it comes up with. They pass by like a procession. As
long as
we resist joining
in, we get to watch over the whole parade with a bird’s eye view, but
when we jump into the excitement we lose sight of the big picture. With
regular practice, an open-minded guide and the support of friends, we
can always come back
to the breathing. It's our anchor.
The Goal
When our meditation progresses from a quiet room out into the everyday world,
we witness our own behavior, our drives and motivations, the stresses and
strains of everyday life, as events rising and falling in the mind, a chain
of causes and effects. We recognize our mental patterns and learn with increasing
subtlety to distinguish creative, positive ones from those that are harmful
and negative. We have a tool with which to cultivate the mind at a very fundamental
level. Everything we put into it – and everything that comes out – contributes
to a focused and intrinsically moral way of life.
Building a practice
The meditation course is outlined in the section ongoing
practice in which
it is described how, on the basis of mindfulness, we build a meditational
practice through contemplation and practice of giving, behavior, tolerance,
enthusiasm, focus and insight.
ONGOING PRACTICE
Meditation is most effective when it enters daily life, and yet this in no way requires a change of lifestyle or a retooling of our daily activities. It consists of a subtle reorientation of our attitude towards ourselves and others. It is unobtrusive in that no one need notice anything new about us, and profound in that it affects our every gesture of body speech and mind. A complete full-life practice will be summed up in the following six practices, each one dependent on the other five.
Giving
Real giving is generous to oneself and others. We distinguish it from neurotic giving and self-disrespect. We also learn the subtle nature of attachment and clinging, and see how they undermine our happiness and learn to turn away from them. Giving is creative, and comes from unsentimental love.
Behavior
We refine our judgment, carefully separating it from judgmentalism. We come to terms with living in an impermanent world of cause and effect. We acquire restraint and base our behavior on clear-headedness and the knowledge that we're all in it together.
Tolerance
When life seems intolerable, we can bear it and grow. When trying seems like a waste of time, we can break through the deadlock. When everything seems pointless, we do find hope. When all our pain seems to come from other people, we understand that blame comes from within.
Enthusiasm
We recognize the benefits of meditation in our life, take procrastination by the horns and find joy in persistence.
Focus
We find calm within ourselves, dignity in every action and poise in each gesture of body speech and mind. We also understand the dangers of self-indulgence and apply our meditative power wisely.
Insight
We see how reality is like an illusion, and yet still negotiable. We find out who we are, and who we're not.
REFLECTIONS
A
full lifestyle practice entails scrupulous analysis and reflection
on all aspects of everyday life, including giving, behavior,
tolerance, enthusiasm, concentration
and insight. The following thoughts are neither
immutable facts nor tenets of doctrine,
but challenges to contemplate.
Anxiety
The pain inflicted on us by life pales in comparison to the anxiety we inflict
upon ourselves. Thwarted hopes and unexpected setbacks are common to us all,
yet still we reach for control, setting in motion a chain of events that
compounds everything. Mindfulness combats compulsive grasping by letting
go without turning away. It leads to neither perfection nor escape. Mindfulness
puts the mind at rest in a busy world. It is integrity.
Language
Language enables us to point out things without using our fingers, as well
as things that fingers just can’t locate. But words are treacherous.
They pose as real things, but they aren’t. They just stand for real
things. Words are approximate. Ultimate reality is timeless, but what we
rightly say today is wrong tomorrow. How can you trust words?
Thinking & knowing
Thinking is the play of concepts, which are similar to words. Through
thinking we figure things out, sometimes rightly, sometimes wrongly, always
approximately.
Putting thoughts aside, we know things differently – through direct experience
of sights and sounds, touch, smell and taste. This is neither wrong nor
right, for right and wrong are thoughts.
- Thus, I know that I am, but who I am is just a thought.
- Knowledge has no past and future, while
thought can’t abide the present.
- Knowing seeks to change nothing, but thinking
is filled with regret and expectations.
Advanced meditation
Tantric visualization and recitation are sophisticated practices with lots
of distracting stuff to think about. Any guru worth his salt will tell you
to master mindfulness first. Those who care only for advanced meditation
have fallen once again for their own compulsion to
avoid the simplicity of here and now.
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ON THIS PAGE
About Our Workshops
Types of meditation
Ongoing practice
Meditative reflections
BEEN HERE BEFORE?
NOTE TO RETURNING STUDENTS
ENQUIRIES:
CALL: (450) 853-0616 or EMAIL us
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WORKSHOP LEADER
STEPHEN SCHETTINI
Stilling the mind
aids recovery from
stress, illness, injury
Mental clarity
promotes strength
and self-confidence
Peace of mind
increases tolerance
and sensitivity
The American Cancer Society reports that:
"The ultimate goal of meditation is to separate oneself mentally from the outside world."
This view may be prevalent, but it reduces meditation to mere escapism. Peace and quiet are just the tip of the iceberg, and the real value of mindfulness training lies in its ability to infuse every aspect of daily life with awareness, meaning, equanimity and love.
MINDFULNESS
… isn't transcendental; it puts you where you are
… doesn't change reality; it embraces it
… doesn't turn you into someone else; it shows you who you are
… doesn't cling; it just watches
… doesn't turn from pain; but does remove its sting
… doesn't control; but chooses how it’s driven
… isn't aloof; is filled with love
KUAN YIN
Chinese bodhisattva
of compassion
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