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Over the centuries the Chinese have developed their own meditation techniques and adapted those of India, Tibet and elsewhere. These courses explore the Buddhist and Taoist Meditation traditions through different but effective techniques for expanding awareness. All Taoist Arts Center courses are designed to help students harmonize with themselves, nature and the universe. Here are some of the Meditation courses we teach: Being Present Many spiritual traditions recommend being present and living in the moment. Long believed to promote feelings of well-being, being present helps people slow down and recognize the wonder in every day. The Insight Meditations in this workshop offer breathing, movement and awareness techniques to help students gain self-knowledge, and unite body, mind, heart and soul. Being Present is an excellent introduction to Buddhist and Taoist meditation and will be useful to all those who wish to increase their consciousness and awakened to the universal in everyday life. The Gentle Rain Taoist Inner Dissolving (often called The Gentle Rain) is the central practice in the Water Tradition. As water wears away rock, Inner Dissolving enables us to wear away obstacles to our spiritual growth leading us gently inward to our being and helping us to fully live our lives. It is extremely effective while also gentle. The meditations taught in this workshop will help us to become aware of our hidden motivations and enable us to change or eliminate those that we no longer find useful. The Gentle Rain will be helpful for all those who wish to develop peaceful, relaxed, energy and feel more at one with the universe around them. Chakra Balancing Some of the oldest Buddhist meditations on mindfulness of the body vanished from India but were preserved in Southeast Asia. In this version of the White Bone Meditation from the Theravada tradition students learn to visualize their skeleton and then their chakras (energy centers) in order to connect with the energy of the universe. With its use of visualization and its power to help students cut through attachments to a calm, clear awareness, the Chakra Balance Meditation is an excellent introduction to the central Buddhist tradition of meditation. Cosmic Resonance Meditation Taoism preserved and developed the native meditation traditions of China, Tibet and elsewhere. In this meditation from the Water Tradition of Lao Tzu, students learn to feel and transform the energies of their mind and body, so they may resonate with the energies of their inmost selves, of nature and the universe around them. Cosmic Resonance provides a tangible connection to a profound but little known tradition of Taoist meditation. The Jump to Emptiness Emptiness is the source of all being. In Emptiness there is clarity, inner stillness and a central place that is permanent and stable. The goal of many spiritual traditions, the peaceful quiet mind - empty - yet filled with awareness, is the perfect vehicle for increasing mindfulness and cosmic realization. In this workshop traditional Taoist techniques will help students relax, release energy blocks, and convert emotional energy to spirit and emptiness. Open to all, 'The Jump to Emptiness' will be useful to everyone who wishes to relax into an expanded consciousness and a new level of inner harmony and joy. |
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