A Message from our Guiding Teacher with Community Reflections.
Greetings Dear Friends,
On May 3rd, we celebrated Insight Community of the Desert’s third Anniversary. As part of that gathering, community members were asked to share reflections on why they attend ICD. Please see the moving and heartfelt messages below. As Guiding Teacher I was truly heartened and inspired by these reflections.
Please know that whether you have attended once or many times, you are part of something. We practice together, to support each other and in doing so we make the community and the world more peaceful. The fact that in what is really such a short time, we are taking active steps to move into our own space, speaks to your commitment to your selves and to the community as a whole.
I invite you to join us as we move forward to co-create this “Next Buddha” in our own home, perhaps thinking about; “What would I like it to look and feel like? And what would I be willing to do to make that happen?”
Deep bows of gratitude for your practice and I hope to see you soon!
Beth Mulligan
Our Reflections!
To sit with people and to breathe.
To explore the causes of my suffering
Sunday is my anchor. I feel more open here – a safe environment
I appreciate the teachings and the time the teachers put into them
I come because I’m learning to love myself and this is a kindness I do for myself by sitting with other kind people.
I keep on coming back because I feel safe, a place where I can feel everything without having to assess, react.
It gives me a sense of belonging and being connected to others.
I feel nurtured here.
I come to ICD for my weekly, much needed kindness and compassion tune-up.
I find spiritual comfort. I feel centered here and want to learn more.
The teachings and group meditations strengthen my own practice, which in turn makes me happier and more efficient in the world.
I come for safety, love, discipline and inspiration.
It’s my reset button. I feel more grounded and my petty emotional trials and tribulations are placed in their proper trash can.
It reduces my suffering, makes me a better, happier person and makes life seem more sensible.
It calms me.
I come for the loving wisdom. I feel better when I leave.
I come for the sense of belonging and also to hear the dharma live from our engaged teachers.
It’s a safe and peaceful place that accepts me for who I am and what I am.
