The Barre UU Church
Meditation Circle

We practice an open non-creedal approach to meditation for everyone. Anyone with an openness to meditation and compassion toward those who practice is welcome to join regardless of religious or spiritual background. We meet in the sanctuary space upstairs in the church Sunday evenings at 6 PM.

Standard Procedure

1. Introduction

2. Guided meditation

3. Silent meditation

4. Comments and insights

5. An affirmation for the benefit of all beings

What You Will Need

• Wear comfortable loose clothing

• A mat or pillow for sitting (preferably a zafu, if you have one)

• Water

• A journal (optional)

The Instructor

Rev. Seiso Paul Cooper, Sensei, is an Ordained Soto Zen priest, transmitted teacher and retreat leader. He is the Founder and Former Guiding Teacher of the Two Rivers Zen Community in Narrowsburg, New York and the Lincoln Zen Center in Lincoln, Nebraska. He is also the Founder of the Zen & Psychoanalysis Realizational Practice Study Group and Author of The Zen Impulse and the Psychoanalytic Encounter, Zen Insight, Psychoanalytic Action; Still Standing: Three Stones Haiku, Solitary Moon: Contemporary Waka. Rev. Seiso practices psychotherapy, couples counseling and contemplative therapy via Zoom and in Montpelier, Vermont. His web page for the meditation circle is here.