Beginning Anew ceremony Jan. 22, 2024

The postcard below is from Wabanaki REACH and the theme is similar to Still Water Sangha's annual Beginning Anew ceremony. During the ceremony we collectively recite the Beginning Anew prayer. We also have a chance to light candles, both requesting and offering forgiveness for unskillful actions. We invite you to join the in-person sangha on January 22, 2024 for the Beginning Anew ceremony.

 

Dec. 18th in-person sangha canceled

Due to severe weather and many power outages, in-person sangha is canceled for Dec. 18th. 

Next in-person sangha on Jan. 1, 2024.

Happy holidays!

Dec. 11th in-person sangha program

On Dec. 11, 2023 at the in-person sangha meeting, Theodate Lawlor will offer a guided meditation and a discussion of the Discourse on Love sutra. All are welcome to attend, 5:30-7 pm, Church of Universal Fellowship, Orono. 

“He or she who wants to attain peace should practice being upright, humble, and capable of using loving speech.....read more here

No In-Person Sangha on Dec. 25, 2023

 

There will be no in-person sangha meeting on Christmas Day, Dec. 25, 2023. Still Water Sangha will meet as usual in person on New Years Day, Jan. 1, 2024. 

The zoom sangha will follow the same schedule-no meeting on Dec. 25, but meeting again on Jan. 1.

Happy Holidays to all!

Falling Back in Love with Mother Earth

 

This article is an interview with Thich Nhat Hạnh on how we can practice with, and relate to, insights arising from contemplating the Earth as our Mother. The article, which appeared in The Mindfulness Bell on Nov. 10 2023, is about an earlier interview. It contains guidance and understanding that may be helpful in this difficult time. 

Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address

The Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address is an ancient message of peace and appreciation of Mother Earth and her inhabitants. The children learn that, according to Native American tradition, people everywhere are embraced as family. Our diversity, like all wonders of Nature, is truly a gift for which we are thankful. 

When one recites the Thanksgiving Address the Natural World is thanked, and in thanking each life-sustaining force, one becomes spiritually tied to each of the forces of the Natural and Spiritual World. The Thanksgiving Address teaches mutual respect, conservation, love, generosity, and the responsibility to understand that what is done to one part of the Web of Life, we do to ourselves. 

To read the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address, please visit the Wabanaki REACH website, from which the above paragraphs are taken.

Happy Thanksgiving!

25th Year Anniversary Gathering-Nov. 6, 2023

We are celebrating! Still Water Sangha started practicing together in 1998. It has been an amazing journey of friends on the path coming together for sangha connection...

Church of Universal Fellowship

82 Maine St. Orono, ME

November 6, 2023

5:30-7 pm weekly sangha gathering

7-8 pm social gathering

We have the good fortune of Daryne's support with harp music

Please come! If you can email stillwatersangha@gmail.com to let us know you are coming, that's helpful, but not necessary.

 

 

No In-Person Meeting on Labor Day, Sept. 4, 2023

Stillwater Sangha has been meeting for 25 years every Monday with few exceptions. We welcome new participants. However, we will not meet in person on Labor Day, Sept. 4, 2023. Perhaps you will be gathering with friends and family and recalling the many contributions workers have make to our country's strength, prosperity and well-being on this day.

Still Water Sangha Welcomes New or Experienced Meditators

Discover or rediscover the joys and benefits of practicing meditation in person with a group of fellow practitioners by visiting Still Water Sangha at the Church of Universal Fellowship in Orono on Mondays at 5:30 pm. (Note: no in person meditation on Labor Day, Sept. 4, 2023)

The following is a quote from sangha member Steve.

“I have long felt that Buddhist teachings offer much that is true and valuable, and that mindfulness meditation practice is essential in coming to understand the teachings. The sangha has been very important for me, offering a chance to meet regularly with others exploring this path, meditating and discussing our ideas and experiences.”  

No In-Person Meeting on Labor Day, Sept. 4, 2023

Stillwater Sangha has been meeting for 25 years every Monday with few exceptions. We welcome new participants. However, we will not meet in person on Labor Day, Sept. 4, 2023. Perhaps you will be gathering with friends and family and recalling the many contributions workers have make to our country's strength, prosperity and well-being on this day.

  25 Years for Stillwater Sangha

June, 2023 marks 25 years of Stillwater Sangha meeting every Monday night with few exceptions. For almost 15 years, we have met at the Church of Universal Fellowship in Orono. Earlier meetings were in Bangor. We plan to host a celebratory meeting sometime in the fall; details will follow.

Post-pandemic, we typically have 3-6 participants each week, with pre-pandemic numbers about 6 to 8. We often have participants who are new to the area or new to meditation or both. We warmly welcome all levels of experience with meditation and with Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings.

Spring relaxation routine with Brother Insight

 

This 10-mintute qigong routine by Thich Man Tue (Brother Insight) of Deer Park Monastery will help you enjoy the change of seasons as you relax your neck, lower back, and hips.

Five Mindfulness Trainings to be shared March 6

 

       https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/the-5-mindfulness-trainings/ 

As is our custom, we will be reading the Five Mindfulness Trainings during our March 6^th sangha meeting, which is close to the time of the full moon. There will also be time for Dharma discussion. Copies of the mindfulness trainings will be available, and all are welcome. 

Recording available for Theodate’s recent talk

 

https://plumvillage.org/library/sutras/discourse-on-love/

                  

          Our sangha sister and “County girl”, Theodate Lawlor, gave a presentation at the Church of Universal Fellowship on Feb. 19^th. You can view her talk on the Discourse on Love sutra here. Theodate’s talk begins around minute 35. You’re invited to listen to and watch this beautiful presentation on a Buddhist understanding of loving kindness.

Theodate's sermon on Feb. 19th, 2023

 

https://www.parallax.org/mindfulnessbell/article/welcome-dharma-teachers/

                          On Feb. 19^th, 2023 our sangha sister, Theodate Lawlor, will provide a short sermon as part of the worship service at the Church of Universal Fellowship, 82 Main St, Orono. Last October, Theodate ordained as a dharma teacher in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh. The above photograph was taken during the ordination ceremony. Her sermon will discuss the Discourse on Love sutra. The service begins at 10 a.m. All are welcome.

Updating Stillwater Sangha email list

   We are updating our email list. If you would like to be kept on, or added to, the Stillwater Sangha email list, please send an email to stillwatersangha@gmail.com before Feb. 10, 2023 letting us know of your interest.

     

Appreciating the Beginning Anew ceremony

         

On Jan. 30^th 2023, the Beginning Anew ceremony brought together first-time and long-time Stillwater Sangha participants at the Church of Universal Fellowship. We recited the Beginning Anew prayer in turn and lighted candles of forgiveness at the altar. The ceremony was an opportunity to offer forgiveness, to the best of our ability, to those who might have harmed us with words or deeds, either intentionally or inadvertently; to request forgiveness from those we might have harmed similarly; and to forgive ourselves for causing harm to ourselves. At Stillwater Sangha we enjoy this practice early in each new year.