Bracebridge Mindfulness Meditation Group Guidelines

 

Arriving: Please arrive 5 to 10 minutes early. The silent 30-minute sitting meditation starts promptly at 7 p.m. with optional walking meditation for the first 10 minutes. Facilitator-led discussion follows until 8:30.

Donations — Rent and Dana: The rent for the Monday night meeting space is about $40 per evening. If you’re able, please contribute a suggested amount of $5 per meeting, but if finances are tight please don't let this be a barrier to attending.

Dana, the Sanskrit and Pali word for generosity or giving, is welcome as a show of appreciation for the teachings that are offered by volunteers; this money allows us to invite guest teachers from time to time.

There are collection boxes for those who attend in person and e-transfers may be sent to admin@mindfulnessmuskoka.com

 

Commitment to Each Other: We’re here to acknowledge our shared humanness with openness and without judgment. Please keep everything you hear shared confidential. Practice leaving respectful space during and after someone speaks.

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Listening: Listen from the heart, allowing yourself to be touched by what the other person is communicating and showing empathy for their human condition. Any time a judgment, an attempt to fix a problem, a reflection or a thought arises, let it pass from the mind and return to the heart space, listening deeply with curiosity to avoid reacting. Listening is about empathy, not judgment or advice. To avoid interrupting, please raise your hand.

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Sharing: We use communication to further our understanding of ourselves and others as a way to develop insight, knowledge, and wisdom.

Before sharing, remember this isn't a personal session, it's a shared space. Share from your own journey and personal experience, without going into too much personal detail to avoid identifying others, as Muskoka is a small community.

Pause and ask yourself, "Does this contribute to the conversation? Is this a thoughtful contribution or a reactive one? Is this the right space and time to share?"

Speak in a way that promotes harmony and goodwill, and avoid offering advice to others in attendance. Trust each person to find their own way. Meet each other with compassion, support, and egolessness.​

 

Holding your seat (Staying present and settled): Refrain from private conversation. When joining from Zoom, please keep your microphone muted unless you’re speaking, and avoid using emojis or chatting with other people in the chat box. If you wish to show compassion, we suggest placing a hand over your heart.

As much as possible, stay in the present moment.

 

Guiding Principles
 

Be impeccable with your words. Speak with integrity, say only what you mean, avoid using words to speak against yourself or to gossip about others, and use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.​

 

Don't take anything personally. Nothing others do is because of you, what others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream.

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Don't make assumptions. Find the courage to ask questions and express what you really feel. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstanding, sadness, and drama.

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Always do your best. Your best is going to change from moment to moment, for example, it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.

 

Be aware of your privilege. You have relative societal privileges and oppressions based, in part, on your experience with race, gender, and class. Investigate for yourself how this affects what you say and what you do.

Honour all paths. Welcome diverse perspectives. Approach differences with curiosity, not division.

 

(Adapted from Don Miguel’s The Four Agreements)