Friends,

Welcoming Eastside folks, or anyone, to a daylong meditation retreat this Saturday, Nov. 13.

The subject will be the five aspects of our experience that make up our sense of self. The more aware we can be of these five as they arise and pass, the freer we’ll be, the less in their thrall.

Some of you may know these five by various names: skandhas (Sanskrit), khandhas (Pali), or aggregates. The English term alludes to the way these five can set a sense of self as stiff as concrete, until we loosen this with mindfulness.

The daylong will be online and in-person, so take your pick. The in-person gathering will be in the sanctuary of Northlake Unitarian Universalist Church, in Kirkland. The online gathering will be via Zoom, and they’ll be laced together into a hybrid format.

For either approach please register via the Seattle Insight Meditation Society website. There is further information there including directions to the site, plus you need to register to get the link for the retreat. Please also look there for Covid protocols.

https://seattleinsight.org/event/aggregates-unpacking-the-self-111321/

The retreat will be from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and please plan to be there a few minutes early. If you’re planning to be in-person, please bring something warm like a shawl or blanket for inside, because windows will be open and fans will be running, and also rain gear for walking outside. And maybe lunch.

We won’t be serving coffee or tea, so please bring either in a thermos, to drink outside the hall.

The teachings will be offered by Lyndal Johnson and Steve Wilhelm

There is no requested donation for the event itself, because Northlake is considering the event a boon for church members as well as the larger community, and is offering the space.

There will be opportunities for you to express generosity back by offering support to Northlake; to Seattle Insight Meditation Society, which has provided lots of background support; and to the teachers.

If you have any questions please email Steve Wilhelm at stevellen95@comcast.net.

May this gathering be fruitful for all. We hope to see you there!