Bi-Weekly Meditation Sessions, Courses & Retreats
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Bi-Weekly Meditation Sessions
Open Meditation:
- 1st and 3rd Thursday evenings – except holidays
- 7:15-8:30pm
- Programs include instruction, chanting and meditation
- Anam Cara Meditation via Zoom
- No registration necessary.
- Fee: by donation
- First Thursday of the month: dharma talk
- Third Thursday: chanting
Everyone is welcome!
Led by Lawrence Edwards, PhD, Founder & Director
Swatantriya Meditation – the meditation of absolute freedom. This is the form of meditation taught by Lawrence and includes practices from all traditions. Swatantriya Meditation is based on the inner power of Consciousness called Kundalini in the yogic tradition. It embraces and empowers all meditation techniques to take you beyond the confines of the ordinary mind.
We offer an ongoing nondenominational meditation class that meets on the first and third Thursday evenings each month, except for holidays. People can come as frequently as they like. There’s no need to sign up for a series of sessions. We offer these meditation sessions to support people in their ongoing meditation practices. Enjoy!
Fee: All donations gratefully accepted ($20 suggested donation per session).
Beginners are welcome, along with experienced meditators. A wide variety of techniques and practices are taught, including chanting, mantra and mindfulness meditation.
If the group is going to be canceled on any evening due to bad weather or some other circumstance, then a message on 914-219-8600 will state that the group is canceled for that evening, otherwise we meet as scheduled.
Meditation Courses
January 2021 – Postponed, new dates to be announced
Mindfulness Meditation For Everyone
A 6 Week Mindfulness Meditation Course
Wednesdays evenings
Registration fee: $180
7:15-8:45pm, Anam Cara Meditation Foundation, 2 Byram Brook Pl., Suite 2, Armonk, NY 10504
Advance registration with 50% deposit or payment in full is required.
Learn all you need to establish a meditation practice at home. There is amazing scientific research showing the numerous health benefits of mindfulness meditation. It is effective in a broad range of applications, from reducing stress, blood pressure and cholesterol levels to increasing peak performance and focus. Mindfulness meditation calms and eases the mind, transforming everyday life. This 6 week course will give you the foundation to continue practicing meditation and expanding the benefits you experience for years to come. Taught by Lawrence Edwards, PhD, who has trained over 15,000 meditators in the US, Canada and India. He has been practicing meditation for over 45 years and trained as a monk in India.
Fee: $180
April 2021
Buddhist Wisdom Treasures I
For Non-Buddhists
4 week course
Wednesday Evenings 7:15-8:45pm
Dates To Be Announced
The Buddhist tradition offers great insights into the workings of the mind and how we can be free not only of the mind, but of all suffering. One doesn’t have to be a Buddhist to gain the tremendous benefits from the wisdom that this ancient tradition offers. Priests, nuns, rabbis, ministers, scientists, business leaders and people from all walks of life have found the teachings of the Buddha enhanced their everyday lives and their spiritual practices.
During this course we will explore the foundational teachings and practices that the Buddha offered to anyone who was interested in gaining greater freedom from suffering and gaining access to unwavering joy.
Pre-registration Required
To register contact Lawrence Edwards, Ph.D. at 914-219-8600
April 2021
ABIDING IN STILLNESS
Like a broken gong be still, be silent.
Know the stillness of freedom
Where there is no more striving.
Buddha
Silent Meditation Retreat
Led by Lawrence Edwards, PhD
Dates To Be Announced
Saturday 9:00am-4:00pm
Anam Cara Meditation Foundation
Fee: $90
To register call 914-219-8600
Dive into the depths of meditation by living in silence, even for this brief span of time the effects are powerful. Deepen and expand your meditation practice by nurturing it with the time and attention it deserves. The Buddha said, “Better than a hundred years of ignorance is one day spent in reflection. Better than a hundred years of idleness is one day spent in determination.”
All are welcome!
Anam Cara Meditation Foundation
Preregistration required
Call 914-219-8600
Register early.
May 2018
Buddhist Wisdom Treasures III
Living Dharma
4 week course
Wed. evenings 7:15-8:45pm, dates to be announced.
Many people have been asking for a continuation of the Buddhist Wisdom Treasures for Non-Buddhists initial courses and here it is! You don’t have to have taken the first 2 courses, though it will be helpful, and of course you don’t have to become a Buddhist to enjoy and benefit from the insights and wisdom of this great tradition!
Pre-registration required.
Fee: $120
Refund Policy:
Full refund of course fees are given if cancellation is received 8 weeks prior to the program or if the program has to be canceled for any reason. 50% refund given if canceled 4-8 weeks in advance. If you cancel within 2-4 weeks of the program no refund is given and 50% may be applied to a future program. The balance will be received as a tax deductible gift to Anam Cara. Last minute cancellations are non-refundable. If we have to cancel a program your paid registration fees will be refunded in full.
Retreats
Living Through Dying Retreat
Dates and location to be announced
Friday evening 6pm- Sunday 12pm
Led by Lawrence Edwards, PhD, poet, author, mentor and teacher.
Fee: $225 plus accommodations – Garrison Institute combines the program fee and accommodations fees together for one total registration fee when you register.
Living Through Dying will take participants into the practices and teachings found at the deepest levels of the great spiritual traditions. You will learn meditative and spiritual practices that empower you to understand and move through the many forms that death takes in life – the death of relationships, loved ones, hopes and dreams, and ultimately oneself. Death opens the way for new life and expanded consciousness when we are prepared to journey through it.
Themes of birth and death, the nature of the eternal and the ephemeral, death and resurrection, dying to the ego, dying in the depths of meditation, and the transcendent way beyond suffering into pure rapture, appear in our spiritual traditions as ways of approaching the mystery of what lies beyond the ordinary mind and everyday life. We often intuit that there’s greater meaning and greater depth to life than what we’ve experienced. That intuition and the longing to go beyond what our culture and religions may have given us is part of awakening to the deeper truths of who and what we are and why we walk this earth. At the heart every human being is a mystic capable of directly knowing the profound meaning and deep truths of life, the link between womb and tomb, birth and death, and creation and dissolution.
Through teachings and practices from the Tibetan book of the Dead, the Grail legend, the Heart Sutra, and non-dual teachings of Kashmir Shaivism and Vedanta we will explore the Way beyond the way. We will also consider near-death and past life experiences and what they may reveal to us about living through dying. The program will include meditation, chanting, and mantras, in addition to teachings and discussions. Participants will also learn the great “death-defying mantra” of Shiva! Join us for this extraordinary opportunity to deepen your appreciation of your soul’s journey through life and death.
Kundalini awakening empowers us to directly know the undying nature of our of true nature, beyond the mind and body. Shaktipat diksha and practices for awakening and unfolding Kundalini are incorporated in this retreat. The very powerful Maha Kali Yantra practices will also be taught.
Lawrence Edwards, PhD, LMHC, BCN has been teaching and practicing meditation for over 45 years and trained as a monk in India. He’s also trained in Tibetan Buddhist practices, Jungian psychology, and neurotherapy. He is a licensed psychotherapist in Armonk, NY. He is the founder and director of the Anam Cara Meditation Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to making meditation practices available to everyone. He has done meditation training with hospice staff as well as physicians, nurses and people from all walks of life. He has been on the faculty of New York Medical College since 1998. He is the author of The Soul’s Journey: Guidance From The Divine Within, Kali’s Bazaar – a collection of poetry, and other works on mystic visions and Kundalini.
This retreat has limited openings to facilitate optimum learning. Please register early.