East Bay Meditation Center

Midday Sangha
2016-08-24 12:00 - 13:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | East Bay Meditation Center, 285 17th Street, Oakland, CA, 94612, United States
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, Bang Nguyen, Jenn Biehn, Kam McCallum, Karen Jackson, Manuel Vasquez, Preston Justice, Shawki, Yvette Flores

Alphabet Sangha
2016-08-23 19:00 - 20:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | East Bay Meditation Center, 285 17th Street, Oakland, CA, 94612, United States
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

Dharma in Motion
2016-08-23 17:30 - 18:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | East Bay Meditation Center, 285 17th Street, Oakland, CA, 94612, United States
Every Tuesday
5:30 pm – 6:30 pm
A weekly offering of access-centered movement practices for all ages and abilities. Teachers and modalities will rotate every 5-6 weeks. Drop in format, no experience necessary. Please wear clothing that allows for gentle movement.
http://eastbaymeditation.org/programs/sanghas/#toggle-id-1

EBMC Teen Sangha: Summer 2016
2016-08-17 19:00 - 20:30, 2016-08-10 19:00 - 20:30, 2016-08-03 19:00 - 20:30, 2016-07-27 19:00 - 20:30, 2016-07-20 19:00 - 20:30, 2016-07-13 19:00 - 20:30, 2016-07-06 19:00 - 20:30 UTC | East Bay Meditation Center, 285 17th Street, Oakland, CA, 94612, United States
Wednesdays: July 6 – August 24, 2016
7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Open to teens, ages 14-19
Led by the EBMC Teen Sangha Team: Raúl Kahlil Betancourt, Anthony “T” Maes, Sarwang Parikh, Adrienne Price, Syra Smith, and Phoenix Soleil
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.
Registration: Registration is encouraged and space is limited. Click here or the link below to register.
http://eastbaymeditation.org/ebmcreg/?event=summerteen
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.

Nourishing Our Relationship to Practice
2016-07-31 22:00 UTC | East Bay Meditation Center, 285 17th Street, Oakland, CA, 94612, United States
with Larry Yang and Max Airborne
How are we relating to our practice? Do we feel the beauty and kindness of practice? Do we relate to it with impatience, self-criticism, boredom or obligation? Why do we practice? Does our practice resemble our life, or does it feel separate from it?
In this daylong for people who have some experience with Dharma practice, we’ll look deeply at wise relationship to practice. Like any relationship, the relationship we have with our practice needs care and feeding. Let’s explore how to bring kindness, juiciness and aliveness to this important relationship, to create the best possible conditions for deepening our freedom.
Registration: Registration is required and space is limited. Click here or the link below to register.
http://eastbaymeditation.org/ebmcreg/?event=july16nourish
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.

Free Your Heart: Transformational Workshop for Exploring Love
2016-07-30 09:30 - 17:30 UTC | East Bay Meditation Center, 285 17th Street, Oakland, CA, 94612, United States
with Spring Washam
The potential exists in every human being to love without defenses or fear, so that true intimacy – direct, unobstructed, heart-to-heart connection with ourselves and others – becomes a way of life. We can learn to share, one heart to another, through the power of unconditional love. We can become more whole in ourselves so that we can be energized and empowered on our paths. Barriers to authentic connection occur due to unconscious fears that are rooted in the past. This workshop will provide safe, nurturing space to explore those fears and barriers. The workshop will include powerful interactive group processes, periods of meditation, sacred music, movement, and group discussion.
Registration: Registration is required and space is limited. Click here or the link below to register.
http://eastbaymeditation.org/ebmcreg/?event=july16heart
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.

Survival, Resistance and Resiliency: Practice for Men of Color
2016-07-25 19:00 - 21:00 UTC | East Bay Meditation Center, 285 17th Street, Oakland, CA, 94612, United States
led by EBMC’s Men of Color Deep Refuge Group
Together, we will explore the concepts of survival, resistance, and resiliency, and how we can bring balance to the individual and collective male experience in our global community. Through meditation, movement, and discussion, we will explore the subtle components of our masculine energy and uncover our conditioned patterns in order to refine and reconnect to our true nature as men.
Navigating the world on our own, we will never be our best; therefore, we invite you to join us in community as we collectively connect and cultivate a deeper understanding of what it means to be mindful men of color.
Registration: Registration is required and space is limited. Click here or the link below to register.
http://july16mocdr.eventbrite.com
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.

Meditation Training: Establish a Meditation Practice in 4 Weeks
2016-07-21 19:00 - 20:30, 2016-07-14 19:00 - 20:30, 2016-07-07 19:00 - 20:30, 2016-06-30 19:00 - 20:30, 2016-06-23 19:00 - 20:30, 2016-06-16 19:00 - 20:30 UTC | East Bay Meditation Center, 285 17th Street, Oakland, CA, 94612, United States
4 Wednesdays: July 6, 13, 20, 27, 2016
7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
with Rev. Keiryu Liên Shutt
Want to learn how to meditate? Or, have you tried at different times but just can’t quite figure how to make it work for you? In this series, specific and easy-to-follow instructions will be given in three areas – body, heart/emotions and mind/mental states – to practice with one area per week. Then, in each class, you will have an opportunity to have your specific needs and questions addressed.
Think of this class as a four-week “training camp.” Come see how the two factors of practiced-guidance and cohort-support can help you to establish a sustainable practice in just four weeks!
Registration: Registration is required and space is limited. Click here or the link below to register.
http://eastbaymeditation.org/ebmcreg/?event=july16meditation
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.

A Benefit and Celebration for Shahara Godfrey
2016-07-16 19:00 - 21:00 UTC | East Bay Meditation Center, 285 17th Street, Oakland, CA, 94612, United States
with musical performances by Melanie DeMore and Eve Decker
Come join us to welcome Shahara Godfrey, beloved dharma teacher back to EBMC! Listen to the wonderful music of Melanie DeMore and Eve Decker and gather with our beautiful spiritual community to support Shahara’s continued recovery.
Our beloved teacher and friend, Shahara Godfrey, has courageously faced many serious health challenges these last several months including multiple surgeries, high levels of pain and being in the Unknown. We celebrate that she is now out of the hospital and beginning to walk tenderly on her path of recovery. Shahara is deeply grateful for all the support that has been offered and for the prayers and metta sent to her during this vulnerable and challenging journey.
Funds raised through this benefit will help support Shahara during this new phase for her long-term recovery. Shahara is unable to work for a much longer time then she had originally expected. All are welcome to come celebrate Shahara’s return to EBMC and her life. Any amount of a donation is appreciated, small or large.
Register here for this event and you are welcome to make your donation now!
http://july16shahara.eventbrite.com
Singer-songwriter Melanie DeMore has a remarkable voice, weaving the fibers of African American folk music with soulful ballads, spirituals and her own original music. DeMore beautifully brings her audience together through her music and commentary.
Eve Decker is a Buddhist teacher, singer/songwriter, and song leader. She combines the power of music and of dharma practices, including mindfulness, lovingkindness, and compassion. Her connections to music, to the spirit and to her audience have made her a beloved and sought-after artist.
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.

Fundraising Event (test)
2016-07-15, 2016-07-08 | CA

Practice Groups (test)
2016-07-12, 2016-07-05 | East Bay Meditation Center, 285 17th Street, Oakland, CA, 94612, United States

The Bhakti Path: From Simple Listening to Self-Surrender
2016-07-10 14:00 - 17:00 UTC | East Bay Meditation Center, 285 17th Street, Oakland, CA, 94612, United States
with Jay Nair

Bhakti Yoga is also called heart opening yoga, and uses devotion as the primary motivational energy to practice all other aspects of yoga. This workshop will give an overview of Bhakti path and help develop a daily Bhakti Yoga practice with rejoicing, devotion and love as it core. The aspects covered in this workshop are Listening from Heart, Singing from Heart, Visualizing, Prostrations, Puja (Seva, Offerings, and Self Surrender).
Registration: Registration is required and space is limited. Click here or the link below to register.

EBMC Registration

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.

Generosity from the Heart
2016-06-27 19:00 - 21:00 UTC | East Bay Meditation Center, 285 17th Street, Oakland, CA, 94612, United States
with Kaira Jewel Lingo

During this evening, we will explore the practice of generosity, both in giving and receiving. We will investigate how we can give and receive from our heart, with wisdom and discernment while also staying embodied. Experiential practices will help us learn how to allow generosity to flow abundantly through all aspects of our life.
During a retreat last fall, I decided to make the practice of generosity my focus for 2016, and to give away 10% of my income and time. I am looking forward to practicing and cultivating generosity with you!
At the end of the evening, there will be a gift-giving ceremony. Please bring a small gift to give away.
Registration: Registration is required and space is limited. Click here or the link below to register.
http://eastbaymeditation.org/ebmcreg/?event=june16generosity
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.

Death and Rebirth: A Shamanic Perspective
2016-06-20 19:00 - 21:00, 2016-06-13 19:00 - 21:00 UTC | East Bay Meditation Center, 285 17th Street, Oakland, CA, 94612, United States
Mondays: June 6, 13, 20, 2016
7:00 – 9:00 pm
with Spring Washam
As we courageously walk forward on our spiritual path, we all eventually experience what is called “a spiritual death”. It is a transformative process followed by a beautiful rebirth. Like a snake shedding its old skin, this is a profound and necessary part of our spiritual growth. Dying is the process of letting go of habits, beliefs, relationships and certain emotional patterns that no longer support us. This stage of our journey can bring up fear, sorrow and uncertainty, and at times it can feel like a spiritual emergency instead of a glorious rebirth. In this class series, we will explore the archetypal theme of death and rebirth from a Buddhist, mythological and shamanic perspective.
Registration: Registration is required and space is limited. Click here or the link below to register.
http://eastbaymeditation.org/ebmcreg/?event=june16rebirth
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.

Upper Back and Shoulder Therapeutics
2016-06-11 14:30 - 17:30 UTC | East Bay Meditation Center, 285 17th Street, Oakland, CA, 94612, United States
with Satya de la Paz
Unlock our bodies’ innate healing capacity through aligning the upper back, shoulders, and neck. We will methodically address common areas of misalignment in order to unleash our bodies’ ability to move and heal. Learn how to use yoga to balance the physical discomforts arising from our daily lives, from hours of staring at our portable devices to meditation sitting practice. We will also use sound and passive poses that open the heart to release stuck emotions that tense the body.
This workshop is perfect for people dealing with chronic and acute pain, as well as those curious about using yoga as a therapeutic practice.
Registration: Registration is required and space is limited. Click here or the link below to register.
http://eastbaymeditation.org/ebmcreg/?event=june16yoga
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.

Spirit Rock's Dedicated Practitioner Program (DPP)
2016-06-11 10:00 - 12:00 UTC | East Bay Meditation Center, 285 17th Street, Oakland, CA, 94612, United States
with Sally Armstrong, Bonnie Duran, and Tempel Smith
The Dedicated Practitioner Program is an innovative program for serious practitioners of Insight meditation to deepen understanding of the Dharma, strengthen practice, and integrate compassion and wisdom into day-to-day life. This is an event to learn about the upcoming DPP at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, and talk with teachers and East Bay Meditation Center community members who are a part of DPP.
In this program, practitioners will study Buddhist suttas, traditional and contemporary texts, and use the dharma, meditation practice, and sangha to understand ways suffering and freedom is created in our hearts, our lives, our communities, and the world.
For more information on DPP or Spirit Rock, please visit http://www.spiritrock.org/dedicated-practitioners-program-2016
Registration: Click here or the link below to register
http://june16dpp.eventbrite.com
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.
