Friends,

Happy to share that the return of evening tea break at Eastside Insight went very well on Nov. 3, so we’ll be doing it again this Nov. 17. There’s nothing like a warm cup of tea on a cold autumn evening, as a way to relax and get to know each other.

For November we’re exploring the wholesome and unwholesome mental qualities, and what we can do to cultivate the wholesome, and reduce the unwholesome. This is an important doorway onto the path, because our states of mind dictate how we understand the world, ourselves and each other.

Here’s one link with some perspectives on these teachings.

For this upcoming Thursday, Nov. 17 sit, we’ll explore cultivating the wholesome mental states, and how this can be a boon in our lives and our practice.

We’ll be sitting at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17, finishing at 9 p.m.

If you wish to attend by Zoom, the URL will be https://tinyurl.com/Eastside-Insight-9-1-2021
If you’ll be attending in person, we’ll be sitting in the Northlake Unitarian Universalist Church chapel, in Kirkland. The address is 315 3rd Ave S., Kirkland, WA 98033.

For tea we’ll bring over a toter with cups, tea and water heater…we just need a team to make it happen.
Please sign up on the link below, and my current thinking is I’ll only bring over the tea if at least one person steps forward. Otherwise it’s too much to set up the hybrid gear and the tea.

This is an opportunity for one or two of you to support the sangha, generate merit, and have some fall fun…all at once! : )

https://docs.google.com/document/d/18OKEUO7ubunOG_q9r8MaBFWXqmWScOm4LIsv8MdnBU8/edit

Looking ahead, here are four things for your calendars:

1. On Tuesday, Nov. 15, a small group will be gathering for a last volunteer hour of the year at Tibetan Nuns Project, in the International District. If you can be there at noon for an hour, you can join the team preparing prayer flags and malas, blessed by the nuns, to be sent to people around the world.
Truly it’s a delightful moment, just one hour, and can be of immense help to the nuns. If you’re interested please email Steve Wilhelm.

2- On Saturday, Nov. 19, four of the Seattle Insight Meditation Society Local Dharma Leaders will offer a daylong online retreat on the Brahma Viharas, also called the Divine Abodes. There are four inner qualities – loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity – that we can cultivate in our practice.

It will be a delight to see you there, and it should be a fruitful day.
https://seattleinsight.org/event/daylong-retreat-brahma-viharas-2022/

3 - On Tuesday, Dec. 6, Ven. Thubten Chodron will offer a talk entitled “Transforming Anxiety and Depression in a Rapidly Changing World.” Ven. Chodron is a Western nun in Tibetan tradition, and a very spirited and deep presenter. The 7:30 p.m. talk will be in person, at the American Evergreen Buddhist Association, a Taiwanese nunnery in Kirkland.

Here’s a link - https://dharmafriendship.org/transforming-anxiety-and-depression-in-a-rapidly-changing-world-with-venerable-thubten-chodron/

4 - Starting 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 4, I’ll be teaching a six-week series on insight practice, the same as mindfulness meditation. This is a beautiful six weeks, as a community of people forms while learning how to do this practice, while supporting one another on the path.

This time the series will be hybrid, thus in-person and online, from the familiar chapel at Northlake Unitarian church. It will include people from the Eastside and from farther away, and will conclude with a day of mindfulness Saturday, Feb. 11.

One thing that we need for these January intro classes, which we’ve offered on the Eastside for many years, is at least a pair of volunteers. It’s a wonderful opportunity to help others on the path, and to get to know each other better as we create a positive environment together.

If you think you might be able to volunteer please email me, and let’s talk about it. Thank you in advance.
If you wish to make a dana offering to the teacher, or to Northlake, that would be welcomed, helpful and appropriate.

https://tinyurl.com/NorthlakeUU-Paypal2022

paypal.me/SteveWilhelm48

Steve Wilhelm
7510 117th Ave. NE
Kirkland, WA 98033

May you be well, and see you on Thursday!
With bows and appreciation,
Steve