Zoom, Zoom!
When libraries closed because of COVID, we pivoted and began offering meditation sessions by conference call. What started as a challenge unveiled itself to be an opportunity to come together more often and with no geographic limits. Since mid-March, there have been almost 5,000 dial-ins to the sessions. That’s almost 5,000 hours of self-care, growth, being, breathing, compassion, kindness, body awareness, present-moment grounding, appreciation, and equanimity building! Over 300 chances to share and reflect, to support each other and be together in community, when community was hard to come by. People have joined from much farther afield than Fairfield County - other counties, states, countries and continents (Europe, Africa and South America!).
There were technical glitches in the beginning, which gave us a chance to practice patience and accept the possibility of “failure” - many moments of seeing our habits of reactivity and then discovering our agency to relate differently to what arises in life. Entering our 20th week of this way of living, being, learning and coping, we have a deeper sense of our own resilience and ability to flex to new realities. We also have a deeper sense of gratitude for things that we took for granted.
It took a team to make this happen - including all of you who provided the financial support to keep CMP going, every caller who showed up to offer community, and all of the session hosts who shared their practices. It has been truly a “Community” “Mindfulness” “Project”.
At CMP, we’re ready to add another element to our virtual community: the chance to come together via Zoom. Those who wish to will be able see each other, deepening our sense of community and connectedness and making dialogue more fluid. We’ll start slowly, with our Tuesday evening meditation sessions moving to Zoom starting August 4th. For people who wish to dial-in, there will be that option (a different number than we currently have for the conference calls.) The other sessions will remain via conference call for the time being and, over time, we hope to migrate more of our virtual gathering to Zoom, so please stay tuned.
As we prepare for this new way of coming together, we’d like to offer a form of Loving Kindness meditation that can be done on any Zoom call. As you join the Zoom session, consider setting your screen to Gallery View so you can see everyone in attendance. Begin by sensing in to the chair beneath you, take a breath or two to open up to the present moment and fully connect with your virtual community. Then, beginning in the upper left hand corner take a moment to really see the human being who occupies that space. Look into their eyes, take in their humanity for a full in-breath and out-breath. Notice if you’re seeing them or if you’re seeing the room they're in, or the clothes they’re wearing…. Experiment with letting go of judgement, instead feeling a connection with them, a sense of shared humanity. Then, explore what your deepest wish is for this person and offer it up to them silently, from the heart. Repeat this with each person on the screen - including yourself, giving 2-3 breath cycles to each person for the seeing and the wishing.
We hope that you will join us this week for any of our 13 call-in meditations, and next Tuesday for our first ever Zoom meditation.
May all beings feel connected and cared for,
Your CMP family
Please Donate Now
In these challenging times, your support is more important than ever. As a nonprofit, we can’t cancel our needs to fundraise. We need your donations to continue offering meditation sessions.CMP is a licensed charity in the state of CT as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Checks can be mailed to Community Mindfulness Project, P.O. Box 1713, New Canaan, CT 06840. Credit cards are accepted at www.CommunityMindfulnessProject.org. Thank you!
Live Call-In Meditation Sessions
July 27-Aug 2
CMP is offering live meditation sessions via conference call. A different meditation practice will be offered each day and the sessions are FREE (though we rely on donations to continue).
MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY
7:00 -7:30 AM (Includes 15 minute guided meditation)
12:00-12:45 PM (Includes 20-30 minute guided meditation)
TUESDAY EVENINGS
7:00 -7:45 PM (Includes 20-30 minute guided meditation)
Starting 8/4 these sessions will be held via Zoom, with a phone-in option provided for those who wish to dial in
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY
9:00-9:45 AM (Includes 20-30 minute guided meditation)
DIAL IN: (857) 799-9498
Tuesday 7PM Zoom Sessions Starting 8/4
Beginning Tuesday August 4th, our Tuesday evening meditation sessions will move to Zoom.
Zoom link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84840527453
Meeting ID: 848 4052 7453
If you’d prefer to dial in by phone, you can use the following number:
+1 646 558 8656 US
Meeting ID 848 4052 7453
