Norwich
“A lot of people are suffering and also a lot of people are wanting to grow, to respond and be more active in looking at the suffering in our society on many different levels,” said Fern Dorrensteyn, who along with her husband and fellow Dharma teacher, Michael Ciborski, will be leading a series of four programs called “Serving the World from a Place of Inner Awakening: A Study of the Buddhist Teachings on Perfect Understanding and the Way of the Bodhisattva (Awakened Being)” for the Heart of the Valley Mindfulness Practice Center at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Norwich for the third year in a row.
The free sessions will take place from 6-8 p.m. on Jan. 24, Feb. 7 and 21, and March 7 at 262 Main St., in Norwich. The programs are open to all regardless of experience, and participants do not need to attend each one.
Each session will include relaxation, guided meditation, chanting, teaching and a discussion. The teachings follow the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietamese Buddhist monk who practices at Plum Village Mindfulness Practice Center in southwest France. Both Dorrensteyn and Ciborski lived and studied at Plum Village for nine years.
“They’re very gifted at putting the teachings into language that anyone can understand,” said Joyce Solomon, who is one the facilitators of Heart of the Valley.
In the last year, Dorrensteyn has seen increasing interest in meditation, particularly at the retreats the couple run at their MorningSun Mindfulness Center in Alstead, N.H.
“We’ve noticed a big change in the energy in the retreats and the sense that people are more distressed and more agitated when they come into a retreat,” Dorrensteyn said. The upcoming series in Norwich will in part address the question, “How can we practice in ourselves so that we have more space, more energy and more clarity to be more effective in the work that we do and how do we not close our eyes to the suffering?”
The practice of meditation, of taking stock of the world and slowing down, can help navigate those feelings.
“In (Thich Nhat Hanh’s) teaching, mindfulness is a way of life: one aspires to live a mindful life in order to be happy, to be able to transform suffering. And this is not just for oneself,” Solomon said. “When we live mindfully, we’re able to bring more joy to others and to contribute to a more peaceful and compassionate world.”
Editor’s note: For more information on the program, visit http://uvmindfulnessmeditation.org/. Liz Sauchelli can be reached at esauchelli@vnews.com or 603-727-3221.
