This dharma talk includes a guided forgiveness meditation at the end of the track.
Cultivating Lovingkindness, Compassion and Equanimity
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Tag Archives: Lisa Ernst
Dedicated Practitioner Summer Class
5 Session Course Starting June 18, 2015
Thursdays, 7 – 8:30 p.m. at 12 South Dharma Center
Led by Lisa Ernst
This five week practice and study course is designed for committed practitioners and will allow for deeper exploration of the process and practices of meditation and awakening. Patterned on Sprit Rock’s Dedicated Practitioner Program and led by Lisa Ernst, the class will offer specific teaching and practice approaches based on the Noble Eightfold Path. There will be plenty of time for group discussion and interaction. The basic requirements are that everyone attending has an established daily meditation practice, or will re-commit to one, and has attended at least one daylong or longer meditation retreat. Meetings will be held Thursday evenings at the 12 South Dharma Center, 7 – 8:30 p.m.
The class fee is offered on a sliding scale of $125 – $150. Anything you pay above $125 will help toward our scholarship fund. Two reduced fee spots are available in the case of financial need. A deposit of $35 reserves your spot with the balance due by June 11. To pay by paypal go here. Instructions on paying by check are also available at this link. Please include your email address. Please note that we will not meet on Thursday, July 2 due to the 4th of July Holiday. For additional information contact ernst.lisa@gmail.com.
June Daylong Meditation Retreat
Stilling Mind and Heart with Mindfulness and Lovingkindness
Saturday, June 13, 2015
9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., Nashville Friends House
Led by Lisa Ernst
During the busyness and activity that often accompany our daily lives, this meditation retreat will offer a quiet time to slow down, mindfully connect with our bodies and extend kindness and compassion to ourselves and others. Slowly, in the simplicity and silence of the day, we will learn to let go of distractions and touch our experience with a kind and open heart.
Led by meditation teacher Lisa Ernst, this silent retreat is suitable for newer and more experienced meditators. It will include periods of sitting and walking meditation, practice instructions and dharma talk.
Retreat fee is $50. A reduced fee spot is available, please inquire to the email below. Paypal is here. If paying by check, you can find instructions on where to send it at this link. Be sure to include your email address. There will be a separate opportunity at the retreat to make a dana offering (donation) to the teacher.
For questions, contact onedharmaretreat@gmail.com.
2015 Spring Renewal Meditation Retreat Recap
One Dharma just completed our fourth Spring Renewal Residential Retreat at Bethany Hills. Each April I especially enjoy our time in this beautiful and natural setting where our hearts can open in tandem with the flowers and leaves after spring rains.
Ferns by the Pond at Bethany Hills
Altar Flowers by Frankie Fachilla
I appreciate all of nature’s seasons but spring is my favorite. In my twenties, during some of the darkest, loneliest years of my life, immersing myself in spring each year gave me a sense of possibility that my life could be more than the sadness and grief I lived with daily. As I witnessed newly leafed trees growing greener each day, purple wild iris opening along the water’s edge, and birds breaking into a melodious but raucous symphony every morning as the sun rose, I allowed my heart to open completely, to release my armor and touch the warmth and vulnerability of new life. This tenderness of heart nourished and fortified me through this otherwise long and lonely season of my life. Slowly, as the years passed and I reached my 30’s, the possibility of renewal that had once seemed so removed from the rest of my life blossomed at last. This awakening enabled me to live my life more fully, to move through my grief and find friends and love again. Thank you spring for sustaining and warming my heart when I had no other way to touch this moment with love and gratitude.
Double Web
These two lovely poems, speak to the retreat experience of opening heart and mind in this moment. Both were written by attendees at our spring retreat.
Water Meditation
Water extinguishes fire
Takes away the angry,
burning desire to eat
everything in its path.
Be water,
drown in this moment.
Watch the world and its stories
pass like waves.
They aren’t yours to grab.
Try to grab them and
they disappear like
scattered stars,
reforming later, still
constellations of emptiness.
Instead, let the waves
crash over you,
their powerful fingers
tear at you then recede
into foamy nothing.
Crash and recede, crash and recede.
Nothing to do
but feel the sun.
– Andrea Hewitt
Cattails by Pond
The retreat ended, rain stopped.
The geese have landed at the lake,
Sun shining thru clouds, I see clearly.
– Jeff Miller
Clear Skies Reflected in Pond
Residential Retreat: Awakening a Spacious Heart through Lovingkindness Meditation
I’m excited to be leading this residential retreat at the beautiful Flowering Lotus Retreat Center in Magnolia Mississippi, May 15 – 17. I hope you’ll join me!
With an emphasis on lovingkindness, this silent retreat will focus on cultivating what the Buddha called “the immeasurable states of heart and mind” – the Brahma Viharas or Divine Abodes. These are the qualities of love, compassion, joy and equanimity that reside in us all.
Our innate lovingkindness will be strengthened and enhanced through learning the formal practice of metta, along with brahma vihara instructions, sitting and walking meditation and dharma talks. As our hearts awaken through lovingkindness, we will discover a deeper sense of self-acceptance, self-confidence, openness and interconnection with all of life.
For more information and to register go here.
Inspiration: Zen Garden and Meditation at Vanderbilt
Zen Garden at Vanderbilt
A few weeks ago I received an invitation from a Vanderbilt University student to lead an hour long meditation workshop designed to coincide with the opening of their Zen Garden. The new garden is just outside of the Office of Religious Studies on campus. I accepted the invite even though it was short notice, and I’m very glad I did. It was an inspiring hour and I believe what I experienced bodes well for the future of Buddhist meditation in this country.
At the Zen Garden, a cherry tree was in full bloom, a perfect compliment to the serene and simple garden. We started with a dedication and went inside for a 20 minute guided meditation. The organizer had set up a Facebook event for the workshop not long before and 60 people RSVP’d. She was concerned that there wouldn’t be enough room and hoped closer to 20 would show up instead! As we gathered to meditate, about forty people joined in the circle. We all fit at close quarters without a problem. From the silence and stillness in the room, I could tell that many of the students had meditation experience.
After the meditation we had refreshments and an open discussion. I was truly inspired by the quality and depth of the questions. Meditation wasn’t a passing curiosity for many of these students. Their interest went beyond stress reduction or secular mindfulness; they wanted to know more about Buddhist mediation and how to deepen their practice, which most had already started. What inspired me the most is that a number of the students were clearly looking beyond the benefits they would personally accrue through meditation. They were interested in how the practice can help alleviate suffering for humanity as a whole. This is truly a wonderful intention that can be realized directly; our practice will ripple outward and positively impact those near and far.
May many of these students become life long meditators and help bring the dharma to future generations.
Two Spring Exhibits
I rarely post here about my art, but I have two exhibits happening this spring to share. If you’re in the Middle Tennessee area, I hope you can make my April 9 reception.
Art at Parks Exhibit and Opening Reception
Please join me, Susan McGrew, Penny Felts and Grace Goad on April 9 for our exhibit at Parks Realty in the Hill Center in Green Hills. Reception hours are 5 – 7 p.m.
For more information email me at ernst.lisa@gmail.com
Golden Afternoon at Reelfoot Lake, 30″ x 48″
Plumeria, 36″ x 48″ acrylic on canvas
Customs House Museum Exhibit
Two of my paintings are included in the Customs House Museum’s current exhibit for Women’s History Month. This exhibit is on display until May 10. Information is here.
Red Hibiscus 30″ x 40″ acrylic on canvas
Tomato Stack, 36″ x 18″ acrylic on canvas
Three Week Basics of Meditation Course
Sponsored by One Dharma Nashville
Thursdays April 30, May 7 & 14
7 – 8:30 p.m.
12 South Dharma Center
This 3 Week course is appropriate for beginners as well as more experienced meditators who want to refresh the fundamentals of their practice. In a step-by-step process you will learn the basics of insight meditation and mindfulness practices. You will learn to be more in touch with your body, emotions and mind. You will complete the class with tools to establish an effective and ongoing practice. These practices will help you reduce stress and expand your capacity for well-being and compassion. The class will also provide a supportive environment with plenty of time for discussion and Q&A.
Led by senior meditator and One Dharma co-founder Patsy Cutillo, with guidance from founding teacher Lisa Ernst. Patsy has been meditating for 15+ years and has attended numerous daylong and residential meditation retreats. She is also certified as a Medical QiGong therapist.
Course fee is $60 and can be paid through Paypal here. A reduced fee spot is available in the case of financial need. Please inquire. For information or to reserve your spot, email pccutillo@yahoo.com.
Spring Renewal Residential Meditation Retreat
Intimate With Life
Bethany Hills Retreat Center, Kingston Springs TN
Thursday Evening, April 16 – Sunday Noon April 19
Led by Lisa Ernst
“Enlightenment is Intimacy With All Things” – Dogen
Each spring the earth awakens from its winter slumber as the days grow warmer and longer. Surrounded by newly leafed trees and rolling hills, we will renew our minds and hearts in the simple yet profound practice of sitting and walking meditation. Gradually this practice will lead us to intimacy with all of life as we touch the present moment with a kind and open heart.
This silent retreat will be held at Bethany Hills Retreat Center, Kingston Springs, TN. It will include sitting and walking meditaiton, instruction, dharma talks and private meetings with the teacher. Retreat cost is $225. Participation for all three days is required. Fee covers lodging and all meals. There will be a separate opportunity at the retreat to make a *dana offering (donation) to the teacher. Two sliding scale spots are available for those who need financial assistance. Paypal is available here. If paying by check, information and address are available at this link. Please include your email address.
Lisa Ernst is a meditation teacher and founder of One Dharma Nashville. She has been meditating for 25 years and received dharma teaching authorization in the Thai Forest lineage of Ajahn Chah, Jack Kornfield and Trudy Goodman. In her teaching, Lisa emphasizes both transformational insight and everyday awakening as an invitation to embrace all of the path’s possibilities.
*Dana: According to the Buddha, generosity, or sharing what we have, is one of the central pillars of a spiritual life. In the act of giving we develop our ability to let go, cultivate a spirit of caring, and acknowledge the inter-connectedness that we all share.
Please contact onedharmaretreat@gmail.com for questions or to reserve your spot.
Mindfulness and Lovingkindness in Huntsville
The Power of Presence: A Mindfulness and Lovingkindess Workshop
Saturday, March 14, 1 – 4 p.m.
Yoga Center of Huntsville
Led by Lisa Ernst
Learn to rest your heart and mind in ease and presence. We will tune in more fully to our present moment experience, drawing on the practices of mindfulness and lovingkindness. These transformational practices help us expand our capacity for well being, compassion and joy.
Suitable for beginning as well as more experienced meditators, the workshop will include instructions in mindfulness and lovingkindness practices, sitting and walking meditation and group discussion. Cost is $50 if registered by March 6. This workshop will be hosted by The Yoga Center of Huntsville.
Lisa Ernst is a meditation teacher, artist and founder of One Dharma Nashville. In her teaching, Lisa emphasizes both transformational insight and everyday awakening as an invitation to embrace all of the path’s possibilities. She has been meditating for over 25 years and leads classes and retreats nationally.
For more information or to register, call 256-533-7975
The Lotus Blooms in The Mud 