East Bay Meditation Center

Opening Our Hearts: A Day of Lovingkindness Practice for the Transgender, Nonbinary, Gender Variant, and Genderqueer Communities
2018-06-16 10:00 - 16:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | East Bay Meditation Center, 285 17th Street, Oakland, CA, 94612, United States
Open to all self identified Transgender, Nonbinary, Gender Queer, Gender Variant, and Gender Non-conforming people
with JD Doyle, René Rivera and Fresh (Lev) White
Lovingkindness is a powerful practice that enables us to cultivate our capacity for an open, fearless, and loving heart. This day will include meditations, sharing, and discussions that nurture kindness and love.
We will join in community, as Trans* and Gender Queer/Gender Variant people to share our stories, our practice, and create a space to practice freeing our hearts, not only for ourselves, but for our communities and for the freedom of the planet.
This daylong is suitable for both new and experienced meditators and is an opportunity to practice in a space which will be lead and held by Trans* identified individuals.
Registration: Registration is required and space is limited. Click HERE to register.
Cost: There is no registration fee for attending this event, nor most EBMC events. However, EBMC is not independently funded. The Center and the teachers will be sustained only by your voluntary donations (the practice of generous giving, or “dana”). Please donate generously, in proportion to your ability:
* Either online (you will be offered an opportunity during the online registration process to donate to EBMC; the teachers will not receive any part of this online donation).
* Or at the event, in the two baskets at EBMC, one for the Center, the second for the Teacher.
Thank you for your generosity. EBMC will be only be sustained through our collective generosity.
Fragrance-free: In order to protect the health of community members with environmental illness, please do not wear fragranced products (including “natural” fragrances) or clothes laundered in fragranced products to EBMC.
EBMC is wheelchair accessible.

People of Color Sangha
2018-06-14 19:00 - 21:00, 2018-06-07 19:00 - 21:00, 2018-05-31 19:00 - 21:00, 2018-05-24 19:00 - 21:00
The People of Color Sangha is a growing tribe of people of color waking up and getting free!
Thursdays
7:00 – 9:00 PM
For more information, visit the: POC SANGHA WEBSITE

People of Color Yoga
2018-06-14 18:00 - 19:00, 2018-06-07 18:00 - 19:00, 2018-05-31 18:00 - 19:00
Weekly Yoga Practice for Self Identified People of Color led by Satya de la Paz
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Build strength and flexibility while cultivating mindfulness in this all levels hatha yoga class. Each class has a unique, inspiring theme and personalized instruction that will leave you feeling joyous and rejuvenated.
No registration required. No mat or special clothes required.

Teen Sangha: Spring & Summer Session
2018-06-13 19:00 - 21:00, 2018-06-06 19:00 - 21:00, 2018-05-30 19:00 - 21:00
EBMC Teen Sangha – Spring & Summer 2018
Wednesdays: April 11th – June 20th, 2018
7:00 – 8:45PM
Open to teens, ages 14-19
EBMC Teen Sangha is a weekly meditation group for teens, ages 14-19. Our focus will be on creating deeper relationships with ourselves and each other, having fun, getting real and supporting each other. Learn mindfulness meditation and explore the dharma (Buddhist teachings) in creative and practical ways. No experience necessary. We are committed to maintaining a Sangha (community) that is welcoming to people of all identities, cultures, beliefs and ways of being.
Led by the EBMC Teen Sangha Team: Raúl Kahlil Betancourt, Anthony “T” Maes, Sarwang Parikh, Nirali Shah, Syra Smith, and Sara Oakes.
Registration: Registration is encouraged and space is limited. Click here or the link below to register.
https://eastbaymeditation.org/ebmcreg/?event=Summer18teen
Cost: There is no registration fee for attending this event, nor most EBMC events. However, EBMC is not independently funded. The Center and the teachers will be sustained only by your voluntary donations (the practice of generous giving, or “dana”). Please donate generously, in proportion to your ability:
* Either online (you will be offered an opportunity during the online registration process)
* Or at the event, in the two baskets at EBMC, one for the Center, the second for the Teacher
Thank you for your generosity. EBMC will be only be sustained through our collective generosity.
Fragrance-free: In order to protect the health of community members with environmental illness, please do not wear fragranced products (including “natural” fragrances) or clothes laundered in fragranced products to EBMC.
EBMC is wheelchair accessible.

Midday Sangha
2018-06-13 12:00 - 13:35, 2018-06-06 12:00 - 13:35, 2018-05-30 12:00 - 13:35
Midday Sangha at EBMC Wednesdays at Noon!
Join our peer-led multicultural sangha for silent meditation practice and community building.
Every Wednesday
12:00 – 12:45 Silent sitting, standing or lying down meditation with optional walking meditation.
12:45 – 1:35 Potluck lunch with facilitated conversation about our practice and being the dharma in the world
Midday Sangha Coordinating Committee:
Abe Doherty, Jenn Biehn, Kam McCallum, Karen Jackson, Manuel Vasquez, Preston Justice, Shawki, Yvette Flores

Alphabet Sangha
2018-06-12 19:00 - 20:30, 2018-06-05 19:00 - 20:30, 2018-05-29 19:00 - 20:30
A meditation group for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Same-Gender Loving, and Two-Spirit communities. Because that’s such a mouthful, we call ourselves the Alphabet Sangha.
Tuesdays
7:00 – 8:30 pm
For more information, visit the ALPHABET SANGHA WEBSITE

Practicing with Strong Emotions
2018-06-11 19:00 - 21:00, 2018-06-04 19:00 - 21:00
Practicing with Strong Emotions :
Seeing our Difficulties as Opportunities for Growth
Open to all
with John Mifsud
Undeniably, strong emotions cause great stress. Suppressing them can increase our suffering. Spaciousness helps us make healthful choices during difficult times. Buddhist teachings offer many tools to work with challenging feelings and increase ease.
Overwhelming feelings are a simply part of being human. They can cause suffering. Denying them can cause even more. Opening to them can further our personal liberation. In community, we’ll build both the safety and the courage to proceed skillfully.
All sessions are stand-alone. Attend any or all four.
June 4 th: Anger & Disappointment
June 11 th Love & Lust
June 18 th: Fear & Anxiety
June 25th: Grief & Loss
Registration: Registration is required and space is limited. Click HERE to register.
Cost: There is no registration fee for attending this event, nor most EBMC events. However, EBMC is not independently funded. The Center and the teachers will be sustained only by your voluntary donations (the practice of generous giving, or “dana”). Please donate generously, in proportion to your ability:
* Either online (you will be offered an opportunity during the online registration process to donate to EBMC; the teachers will not receive any part of this online donation).
* Or at the event, in the two baskets at EBMC, one for the Center, the second for the Teacher.
Thank you for your generosity. EBMC will be only be sustained through our collective generosity.
Fragrance-free: In order to protect the health of community members with environmental illness, please do not wear fragranced products (including “natural” fragrances) or clothes laundered in fragranced products to EBMC.
EBMC is wheelchair accessible.

Every Body Every Mind Sangha
2018-06-10 18:00 - 19:30, 2018-06-03 18:00 - 19:30, 2018-05-27 18:00 - 19:30
Every Body Every Mind Sangha is a weekly practice group for people living with disabilities, limitations, differences and chronic illnesses.
Sundays
6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Please come and take part in this time to meditate, share our lives and support with each other, and learn more about the dharma. There is no need to register for these weekly meetings, just come and share this path together!
Teachers include Charlie Johnson, Deb Kerr and others.
For more info, visit the Every Body Every Mind Sangha Website.

Family Practice: Opening the Heart through the Buddha's Teachings
2018-06-10 10:00 - 12:30
with Baruch Golden Fresh! White and Shahara Godfrey
We invite you to come and help create the diverse family sangha at EBMC. We welcome families with babies, toddlers, and children up to age 13. Children under 5 will need to have a parent/caregiver stay with them.
This class features training on “Family Tea Time” and how mindful practices can bind the family together. We will also explore how meditation and meditative movement can contribute to successful family life. Parents/caregivers and young people will meet together and separately during the class. We are committed to creating a diverse family sangha. No prior experience is necessary.
Please bring a snack (without nuts) to share.
Registration: Registration is required and space is limited. Click HERE to register.
Cost: There is no registration fee for attending this event, nor most EBMC events. However, EBMC is not independently funded. The Center and the teachers will be sustained only by your voluntary donations (the practice of generous giving, or “dana”). Please donate generously, in proportion to your ability:
* Either online (you will be offered an opportunity during the online registration process to donate to EBMC; the teachers will not receive any part of this online donation).
* Or at the event, in the two baskets at EBMC, one for the Center, the second for the Teacher.
Thank you for your generosity. EBMC will be only be sustained through our collective generosity.
Fragrance-free: In order to protect the health of community members with environmental illness, please do not wear fragranced products (including “natural” fragrances) or clothes laundered in fragranced products to EBMC.
EBMC is wheelchair accessible.

ONLINE: Multiracial Peer-Led Deep Refuge Group
2018-06-09 19:00 - 21:00
The Multiracial Deep Refuge Group is a monthly exploratory Deep Refuge Group for and by people who identify as multiracial. Our meetings include periods of mindfulness meditation and sharing of narratives and perspectives as we come together to be seen and to see one another. By sitting and exploring our own unique stories, we can come to know and care for the common threads that bind us together. Our collective work bravely expands the narrative that informs multiracial experience today. Meets 7pm-9pm on the second Saturdays of every month. Online and occasionally hybrid (in-person at EBMC + online).
Newcomers welcome- please contact us before your first visit: mrdrcoordinators at googlegroups dot com

Community Celebration of Strategic Plan
2018-06-02 18:00 - 20:00
Community Meeting: Celebrating East Bay Meditation Center’s Strategic Plan!
All EBMC Sangha members, past and present, are invited!
Join us as we come together to celebrate the completion of our Strategic Plan! Our evening together will include an interactive presentation of our Strategic Plan, a lively discussion of the next two, five and ten years of EBMC, a Community Meditation and time to be in Beloved Community.
Appetizers provided courtesy of Reem’s California. Tea courtesy of Numi Tea.
Registration: Registration is required and space is limited. Click HERE to register.
Cost: There is no registration fee for attending this event, nor most EBMC events. However, EBMC is not independently funded. The Center and the teachers will be sustained only by your voluntary donations (the practice of generous giving, or “dana”). Please donate generously, in proportion to your ability. You will have an opportunity to donate at the event via cash, check or credit card.
Thank you for your generosity. EBMC will be only be sustained through our collective generosity.
Fragrance-free: In order to protect the health of community members with environmental illness, please do not wear fragranced products (including “natural” fragrances) or clothes laundered in fragranced products to EBMC.
EBMC is wheelchair accessible.

Healing the Oppressor Within: A Space for White Men to Explore the Intersection of Whiteness and Masculinity in the Context of the Dharma
2018-06-02 10:00 - 16:30
Open to White Men
with Baruch Golden, Gregory Mengel & Tom Malarkey
White men, including many of us who are committed to social justice, continue to wreak havoc in our world. We are ill prepared to unlearn the patterns of oppression we enact in part because of the social conditioning we receive as young boys. We’ve been taught to “man up,” “never show weakness,” and “always have the answer.” This work, however, requires humility and vulnerability, which are the precise opposite. In this daylong we will explore our personal and interpersonal views and beliefs about whiteness and maleness through small group work, storytelling, dharma teachings, and mindfulness practices to help participants gain awareness of our conditioning and hold ourselves and each other with compassion.
Registration: Registration is required and space is limited. Click HERE to register.
Cost: There is no registration fee for attending this event, nor most EBMC events. However, EBMC is not independently funded. The Center and the teachers will be sustained only by your voluntary donations (the practice of generous giving, or “dana”). Please donate generously, in proportion to your ability:
* Either online (you will be offered an opportunity during the online registration process to donate to EBMC; the teachers will not receive any part of this online donation).
* Or at the event, in the two baskets at EBMC, one for the Center, the second for the Teacher.
Thank you for your generosity. EBMC will be only be sustained through our collective generosity.
Fragrance-free: In order to protect the health of community members with environmental illness, please do not wear fragranced products (including “natural” fragrances) or clothes laundered in fragranced products to EBMC.
EBMC is wheelchair accessible.

EBMC 5 Month Buddhist Basics Curriculum: Evening for Practice Q&A
2018-05-30 19:00 - 21:00
with Mushim Ikeda
For those who have taken either some or all of EBMC’s 5-month “Buddhist core teachings” curriculum an evening class where you can bring your “biggest” Buddhist practice questions, meet Dharma companions on the Path, and rejoice in the merit that you have generated! Please note: The focus of this class is on praxis rather than abstract theory – in other words, what you are doing to deepen your spiritual practice and to transform your life through these wisdom teachings. If you like, bring a snack or non-alcoholic beverage to share for the OPTIONAL brief social immediately afterward. (9:00 – 9:30PM)
Registration: Registration is required and space is limited. Click HERE to register.
Cost: There is no registration fee for attending this event, nor most EBMC events. However, EBMC is not independently funded. The Center and the teachers will be sustained only by your voluntary donations (the practice of generous giving, or “dana”). Please donate generously, in proportion to your ability:
* Either online (you will be offered an opportunity during the online registration process to donate to EBMC; the teachers will not receive any part of this online donation).
* Or at the event, in the two baskets at EBMC, one for the Center, the second for the Teacher.
Thank you for your generosity. EBMC will be only be sustained through our collective generosity.
Fragrance-free: In order to protect the health of community members with environmental illness, please do not wear fragranced products (including “natural” fragrances) or clothes laundered in fragranced products to EBMC.
EBMC is wheelchair accessible.

ONLINE: Trans/Gender-Expansive Deep Refuge Group
2018-05-28 18:30 - 20:00
Trans/Gender-Expansive Deep Refuge Group
Fourth Mondays (online over zoom)
6:30-8pm PM PST
This deep refuge group is by and for trans/gender-expansive people. Our goal is to provide a welcoming community space for trans/gender-expansive folks who are interested in exploring meditation and other aspects of Buddhist practice. Both beginners and experienced practitioners welcome!
To be added to the email list, please email tgedeeprefuge@eastbaymeditation.org with a quick note about your interest in the group. We look forward to practicing with you!

Compassionate Dharma Deep Refuge: 8 Step Recovery Buddhist Meeting
2018-05-26 13:00 - 15:00
The last Saturday of every month at EBMC, 1:00 – 3:00 pm

Beginning Saturday, February 24th, 2018, and continuing on the last Saturday of every month, EBMC offers a Recovery, Deep Refuge Buddhist meeting with a focus on ways to heal addiction. Based on the Eight Steps to Recovery developed by Dr. Mason-John M.A (hon.doc) and Dr Groves, we believe this inclusive approach can build a solid foundation for those at any level of recovery and for those who have yet to seek help.
Through these practices we hope you gain a practice that can sustain you in your recovery.

We ask that you attend sober on the day with respect for others that may be active in recovery. Open to all in Recovery.

Advance Registration is not required.
For additional information, please contact:
Shahara Godfrey slgvibing@earthlink.net

Honoring Our Ancestors: Telling The Truth and Reclaiming Our Wisdom
2018-05-26 10:00 - 16:30
with Arisika Razak
for Self Identified People of Color
Based on who we are and what we’ve been through and how we survive and where we stand, we are on kind of sacred ground. We stand on the backs of our ancestors. – Ava DuVernay
How are our lives informed by the actions of our ancestors – and what can we learn from their choices and experiences? How do we integrate multicultural linages, intergeneration trauma and ancestral wisdom? Join us for a day of storytelling, dharma teachings, movement, writing, and music in which we compassionately examine our diverse ancestral histories, celebrate our multicultural heritage/s and create a new liberation story.
Registration: Registration is required and space is limited. Click HERE to register.
Cost: There is no registration fee for attending this event, nor most EBMC events. However, EBMC is not independently funded. The Center and the teachers will be sustained only by your voluntary donations (the practice of generous giving, or “dana”). Please donate generously, in proportion to your ability:
* Either online (you will be offered an opportunity during the online registration process to donate to EBMC; the teachers will not receive any part of this online donation).
* Or at the event, in the two baskets at EBMC, one for the Center, the second for the Teacher.
Thank you for your generosity. EBMC will be only be sustained through our collective generosity.
Fragrance-free: In order to protect the health of community members with environmental illness, please do not wear fragranced products (including “natural” fragrances) or clothes laundered in fragranced products to EBMC.
EBMC is wheelchair accessible.
