Intermediate 8-Week Mindfulness Course
"Verily, from meditation arises wisdom.
Without meditation, wisdom wanes.
Knowing this twofold path of gain and loss,
Let one so conduct oneself that wisdom may increase."
-Dhammapada
Without meditation, wisdom wanes.
Knowing this twofold path of gain and loss,
Let one so conduct oneself that wisdom may increase."
-Dhammapada
Dates, Time & CostThursdays, 7:00 - 9:00pm
May 25; June 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 July 6 & 13 Cost: $495 |
RegistrationThis course is only open to those who have taken the MBSR course, Cory's 4 or 6-week course, or one of Cory's retreats. Exceptions can be made for those with equivalent mindfulness and meditation experience.
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LocationUUGSB (Old Sayville Library) 11 Collins Avenue Sayville, NY 11782 |
About this course
You have most likely heard me speak about my time in Burma. Of all my various mindfulness trainings and credentials (and I've gone through MANY), this 6-month silent meditation retreat in Burma informs my teachings more than anything else. It dug the well from which I draw water when I teach. I am eternally grateful for that experience and my teachers there, for I would not be able to share this work in the way that I have without it and them.
However, due to the confines of various curriculums that I teach (most of which are based off the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program) I'm often limited in what I can and cannot teach during a multi-week course or retreat. And, of course, these curriculums are spectacular and provide a very necessary foundation for understanding mindfulness and integrating it into your life in a meaningful way. I'm truly grateful for what these curriculums can offer. However, I believe there's more. Well, I know there's more. And having taken one of these programs, you're ready to go deeper.
In this 8-week course, we build on the foundation of mindfulness and meditation you have already laid, and I offer you what I consider to be the next steps to really deepen your practice. We will engage in a different kind of meditation practice, that involves "noting" your experience, i.e. making mental labels on whatever arises. For example, if you notice a thought, you would note "thinking." If you notice anger, you would note "anger" and so on. This seems straight forward, but is actually a very deep practice with many layers and nuances. It's the form of meditation I did in Burma, and is the form of meditation I believe can take a person's meditation practice, mindfulness and self-awareness to a much deeper level, as we learn to observe what is the true nature of our experience and not identify so strongly. This is where the deepest peace arises.
We will discuss things like:
We will also integrate a number of practices that I learned and created in Burma:
There will also be weekly assignments, with specific agendas:
Overall, this course is designed to give you the best of what I know to take your practice a level deeper. It will require a daily meditation practice, in the same way that the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction course does, as well as weekly exercises and activities to deepen the integration of these practices into your life in the most meaningful way.
In the future, I plan to run an advanced 8-12 week curriculum, and this intermediate course will be a prerequisite to that. Also, as the Long Island Center for Mindfulness continues to grow, I plan to put together a teacher training program for those interested in being a part of this movement and assuming a teaching role. This will be application-based, but those who have attended this workshop will be given deeper consideration, as you'll already have a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of this work, which is imperative when moving into a teacher role. This should not be the determining factor in your decision to take this course, but it's an element to consider.
I imagine this course will fill up quickly, so if you're interested, be sure to register soon! I welcome the opportunity to work with you again on a deeper level.
However, due to the confines of various curriculums that I teach (most of which are based off the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program) I'm often limited in what I can and cannot teach during a multi-week course or retreat. And, of course, these curriculums are spectacular and provide a very necessary foundation for understanding mindfulness and integrating it into your life in a meaningful way. I'm truly grateful for what these curriculums can offer. However, I believe there's more. Well, I know there's more. And having taken one of these programs, you're ready to go deeper.
In this 8-week course, we build on the foundation of mindfulness and meditation you have already laid, and I offer you what I consider to be the next steps to really deepen your practice. We will engage in a different kind of meditation practice, that involves "noting" your experience, i.e. making mental labels on whatever arises. For example, if you notice a thought, you would note "thinking." If you notice anger, you would note "anger" and so on. This seems straight forward, but is actually a very deep practice with many layers and nuances. It's the form of meditation I did in Burma, and is the form of meditation I believe can take a person's meditation practice, mindfulness and self-awareness to a much deeper level, as we learn to observe what is the true nature of our experience and not identify so strongly. This is where the deepest peace arises.
We will discuss things like:
- What does true freedom and liberation look like?
- The importance of first cultivating concentration before cultivating insight and wisdom
- What is the nature of the "self" and its role in perpetuating distress and suffering in life
- Connecting with people beneath the cognitive / thought level
- Shifting from 5th gear to neutral, and how to do that when necessary
We will also integrate a number of practices that I learned and created in Burma:
- Finger tapping concentration exercise to stop rumination
- Rapid fire breathing exercise to deepen concentration and embodiment
- Tonglen Meditation to shift painful experiences to meaningful ones, negative to positive
- Cast net of awareness technique to stop a thought or emotion from hijacking you
- 3-Minute Breathing Strategy to use when stressed and emotionally hijacked
There will also be weekly assignments, with specific agendas:
- Be aware of and "note" a painful experience until it disappears
- Various gratitude exercises to deepen savoring and appreciation
- Practices that help cultivate a mind that can "let go and let be"
- Reflections and worksheets to utilize throughout your week to take your practice deeper
Overall, this course is designed to give you the best of what I know to take your practice a level deeper. It will require a daily meditation practice, in the same way that the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction course does, as well as weekly exercises and activities to deepen the integration of these practices into your life in the most meaningful way.
In the future, I plan to run an advanced 8-12 week curriculum, and this intermediate course will be a prerequisite to that. Also, as the Long Island Center for Mindfulness continues to grow, I plan to put together a teacher training program for those interested in being a part of this movement and assuming a teaching role. This will be application-based, but those who have attended this workshop will be given deeper consideration, as you'll already have a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of this work, which is imperative when moving into a teacher role. This should not be the determining factor in your decision to take this course, but it's an element to consider.
I imagine this course will fill up quickly, so if you're interested, be sure to register soon! I welcome the opportunity to work with you again on a deeper level.
[Happiness is] a state of flourishing that arises from mental balance and insight into the nature of reality. Rather than a fleeting emotion or mood aroused by sensory and conceptual stimuli, this form of happiness is an enduring trait that arises from a state of mental balance. It entails a conceptually unstructured and unfiltered awareness of the true nature of reality."
-Ekman, Davidson, Ricard, and Wallace (2005)
-Ekman, Davidson, Ricard, and Wallace (2005)
DATES, TIME & COSTThursdays, 7:00 - 9:00pm
May 25; June 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 July 6 & 13 Cost: $495 |
RegistrationThis course is only open to those who have taken the MBSR course, Cory's 4 or 6-week course, or one of Cory's retreats. Exceptions can be made for those with equivalent mindfulness and meditation experience.
|
LocationUUGSB (Old Sayville Library) 11 Collins Avenue Sayville, NY 11782 |
About Cory Muscara
Cory is the founder of the Long Island Center for Mindfulness. He has extensive professional training in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Mindful Schools, Search Inside Yourself, and Breathworks Chronic Pain, and in 2012 spent six months in silent meditation living as a Buddhist monk in Burma. He is a certified hatha yoga instructor and an Integrative Health Coach trained through Duke Integrative Medicine.
Cory currently serves as faculty at Columbia Teachers College where he teaches mindfulness to school leaders and principals, and is an assistant instructor for the Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) at the University of Pennsylvania. He has lectured and taught mindfulness for a number of Fortune 500 Companies such as Prudential, Travelers, Johnson & Johnson, and Colgate; Universities such as NYU, Wharton Business School, Columbia and Dartmouth; and many different schools and hospitals. Cory regularly appears on the Dr. Oz show as a guest expert in the topic of mindfulness meditation.
Cory currently serves as faculty at Columbia Teachers College where he teaches mindfulness to school leaders and principals, and is an assistant instructor for the Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) at the University of Pennsylvania. He has lectured and taught mindfulness for a number of Fortune 500 Companies such as Prudential, Travelers, Johnson & Johnson, and Colgate; Universities such as NYU, Wharton Business School, Columbia and Dartmouth; and many different schools and hospitals. Cory regularly appears on the Dr. Oz show as a guest expert in the topic of mindfulness meditation.
"Cory Muscara is one of the nation's leading experts in mindfulness meditation.”
-Dr. Oz
-Dr. Oz