Spring Equinox and the Menu of Meditation

Objectives

This event was held on March 28, 2023

One objective was to provide a delicious menu of 5 different meditation techniques so that people could customize and personalize their own spiritual toolkit.  Because each person is uniquely different and no one meditation technique will work for everyone, experiencing many different styles is important. 

The other objective was to celebrate the Spring Equinox and this date was chosen because it thematically expresses equality (between night and day) and balance which are important for self transformation. After the event I harvested my winter beard. 

Schedule

1:15-1:30pm - Talking and Chill'n

1:30pm-2:00pm - Deep Sharing 

• To build a feeling of community and connection, we all shared something deep, such as a precious memory or a meaningful meditation experience or our hopes and dreams.

2:00pm-3:00+pm - 5 different techniques 

• Rita Pandey gave an overview of Vipassana and her experiences

• Sid Joshi lead the group in Pranayama which is a yogic breathing technique.

• Matt Carriker lead the group in Love and Kindness Meditation

• Avijit Bakshi described his own type of meditation that gave him meaningful experiences.

• Kimberly Redd led a chakra activation exercize through vocalization

1. Introductory Remarks (Vivekanand Pandey Vimal)

I provide a quick overview of the event including the objectives

2. Vipassana (Rita Pandey)

My mother gives an Introduction into Vipassana meditation and then shares how it affected her journey of life.  See below for more details. 

0:00 About the Course

1:56 What is Vipassana?

3:16 Nature of Mind

5:51 Samskar

8:14 The Technique 

9:30 At the Center

11:07 Days 1-3

12:34 Days 4-10

13:53 Points of Practice

15:26 Matri Meditation

16:47 My Journey and Experience

To learn more about Rita Pandey, you can visit:

https://sites.google.com/view/ritapandeyportfolio

3. Pranayama (Sid Joshi)

Sid first provides an introduction to Pranayama (yogic breathing) and then leads people through one method.

0:00 Introduction

8:25 Practice

To learn more about Sid you can visit his website:

www.mowglilion.com

4. Love and Kindness Meditation (Matt Carriker)

Matt brings us through a Love and Kindness Meditation

0:00 Introduction

4:35 Love and Kindness Meditation

Matt is a Pastor and Spiritual Director and to learn more visit: www.AgapeWaltham.org

5. Avi's Method (Avijit Bakshi)

Avi shares a meditation that he developed and personalized for his life journey. 

6. Chakra activation (Kimberly Redd)

Kimberly teaches us to activate our chakras through vocalization

To learn more about Kimberly you can visit her website:

https://www.yogattune.com/