Ozarks Dharma Community

Join Ozarks Dharma Community for a Daylong Meditation Retreat in Strafford. When : Sunday, June 9, 2019, 9am-4pm  Where : Strafford, MO, 30 minutes north of Springfield. Detailed directions will be emailed after you register.  How to attend: Register online .  Cost:  Suggested donation of $15 per person at the door, but no one is turned away for lack of funds. Any amount paid above $15 helps those who may not otherwise be able to attend. The day will be held in Noble Silence. There are scheduled group sitting times, but feel free to practice sitting or walking meditation at your own pace the rest of the day. SCHEDULE 8:45am  Registration check-in 9:00am   Retreat Begins / Group Sitting Meditation with Don 11:15am Group Sitting Meditation with Janet 12pm   Lunch (1 hour; we will maintain Noble Silence) 1pm  Group Walking Meditation with Darryl (optional) 3pm  Group Sitting Meditation with John...

Come to our Open Sit evening meditations on the first and third Thursday in April. The Open Sit is a silent, group meditation with a simple format: between 7-8pm you can come-and-go any time, just do so mindfully and quietly. A bell is rung every 20 minutes; use it as a cue to change from sitting to walking meditation, or walking to sitting meditation, or just remain in the mode you're in. There is no formal guidance or discussion. This event is free and open to all. Open Sit  evening meditation Doors open at 7pm, close at 8pm.  Come and go as you please. April 4 & 18 , 2019.  Attend one or both dates, see  calendar . National Avenue Christian Church,  Parlor Room.  See detailed parking and room directions . Free. Open to new as well as experienced meditators.  Cushions, benches, chairs, mats and blankets are available. For questions, contact us at ozarksdharma@gmail.com. 

Join Ozarks Dharma Community for the 2019 Saturday Study series on The Seven Factors of Awakening . The Insight Meditation Center summarizes the factors as “...creat[ing] the conditions in the mind so the mind can do the kind of letting go that leads to Liberation. The seven factors can be developed to the point of becoming inner strengths that facilitate...releasing clinging.” Saturday Study is the third Saturday of every month. We’ll emphasize one factor per month: Mar 16, 2019 - Mindfulness with John Apr 20 - Investigation with Rowena May 18 - Effort with Don Jun 15 - Joy with Jeff Jul 20 - Concentration with Jeff Aug 17 - Tranquility with Don Sep 21 - Equanimity with Janet For a richer experience, we encourage you to listen to these dharma talks fr om Insight Meditation South Bay with a talk dedicated to each factor. Jack Kornfield’s Living Dharma excerpt pro vides a quick summary. More detail is provided by Thanissaro Bikkhu’s Wings to Awakening...

Join us for a new evening meditation held the first and third Thursday in March. The evening Open Sit is a silent, group meditation with a simpler format: between 7-8pm you can come-and-go any time, just do so mindfully and quietly. There is no formal guidance or discussion. This event is free; new and experienced meditators are welcome. Open Sit evening meditation Doors open at 7pm, close at 8pm. Come and go as you please. March 7 &  21, 2019. Feel free to attend one or both dates, see  calendar . National Avenue Christian Church,  March 7 in the Gallery, March 21 in the Parlor. Parking and directions . Free. Open to new as well as experienced meditators.  Cushions, benches, chairs, mats and blankets are available. For questions, contact us at ozarksdharma@gmail.com.  Pause, breathe and enjoy a peaceful evening of meditating together!

New to meditation or looking for a peaceful evening of practice? Connect with others for a  Community Meditation by Candlelight  on Thursday evening, November 15th from 6:30-7:30pm. Ozarks Dharma Community will host this free event in The Gallery at National Avenue Christian Church (parking and directions  here ). All are welcome. This relaxed format includes: Brief Intro  with help on posture, etc as needed Sitting Meditation 30 min with first 10 min guided Short Break  5 min in silence Closing Metta/Lovingkindness Meditation  15 min briefly guided Cushions, blankets, mats and chairs are available. You are also welcome to bring your own. Questions? Contact us via  facebook  or email Rowena at rowena.raborar@gmail.com. We look forward to seeing you!

Are you new to meditation or looking for a peaceful evening of practice? Connect with others for a Community Meditation by Candlelight on Thursday evening, September 13th from 6:30-8pm. Ozarks Dharma Community will host this free event in The Gallery at National Avenue Christian Church (parking and directions here ). All are welcome. This relaxed format includes: Brief introduction 20 min sitting meditation (first 10 minutes guided) 20 min walking meditation (first 5 minutes guided) 25 min sitting meditation (silent)  Closing gratitude practice (there will be some time for questions and conversation after the closing).  Cushions, blankets, mats and chairs are available. You are also welcome to bring your own. Questions? Contact us via facebook or email us at ozarksdharma@gmail.com. We look forward to seeing you!

Our most recent  Saturday Study  meeting was August 25, 2018. The topic was  "The Noble Eightfold Path (Part 1)." Saturday Study meetings usually occur on the 3rd Saturday of every month after our regular 9am meditation. Our next Saturday Study is scheduled for September 15, 2018. The meeting will start around 10:15am and last about 45 minutes. If you're just joining this series, you can review our August 25 material by listening to  "The Noble Eightfold Path (Part 11)" by American Buddhist teacher, Upasaka Culadasa  here . We've been studying over several months. The complete curriculum (specifically, Parts 7-12) is available  here .  We welcome your participation at any point. Pre-meeting notes for the Aug 25 discussion,  read  here .  Looking for Saturday Study support?  Join our  Saturday Study facebook group . This is a "closed group" which simply means you need to request to join through the ...