Meditation calls on us to be with ourselves gently and precisely; this is no small feat. The language and heartfulness of poetry can help support this inner work, pointing us back to our inherent courage, tenderness, and ability to be with what is true for us in the moment, and to give voice to that experience.

Over the course of 4 weeks, we will practice meditation in different forms, including meditative silence. We will listen to poetry and try our hand at writing it, as a liberating practice free of self-judgment. No prior writing experience is required. You might leave the sessions having written much or very little. You might leave not even sure that what you’ve written is poetry. You are welcome to show up exactly as you are and see what unfolds.

Each session will be an invitation to pause, practice, reflect, and write; speak and be listened to; appreciate silence; and simply be in the good company of one another.

NOTE: this workshop is for graduates of an 8-week mindfulness-based program conducted live, in person or online.

Join Saki Santorelli on Sunday, February 12, 2023, and be a part of a circle of mutual support and companionship during a day of practice.

While meditation and mindfulness require effort, often enough our efforts are filled with a striving founded in our small, limited self. Transcending this limited view, imagine what might happen as we shift our focus from striving to receiving, from seeking to being sought, from acting to being acted upon. By giving rather than seeking love, imagine what secrets of the heart might be revealed in our journey to nearness and inseparability with the whole of life.

Saki F. Santorelli, EdD, MA is an educator, meditation guide, writer, gardener, and pioneer in integrating meditation and mindfulness into medicine, health care, and the broader society. In 2017, he retired as professor of medicine, executive director of the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society and director of the internationally acclaimed Stress Reduction Clinic – the clinic of origin of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) - at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

Join Dr. Andrew Holecek for a four-session program in which he will explore some of the obstacles to meditation, including spiritual bypassing, escapism, spiritual materialism, and McMindfulness.

Offering a healthy critique of mindfulness, and a survey of the many meditations that transcend (but include) it, Dr. Holocek will also examine a host of related topics: what is the role of the body on the meditative path, and does therapy have a place? Can meditation help with political upheaval, social unrest, and the ecological crises?

Andrew Holecek is an author and spiritual teacher who offers talks, online courses, and workshops in the United States and abroad. A long-time student of Buddhism, he has completed the traditional three-year Buddhist meditation retreat and offers seminars internationally on meditation, lucid dreaming, and the art of dying.