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"Wait, I Don't Have to Suffer?": A Playful Introduction to Buddhist Teaching

"Wait, I Don't Have to Suffer?": A Playful Introduction to Buddhist Teaching

Most secular mindfulness practice today leans heavily on insights and practices from the Buddhist tradition. Learning those insights and engaging with them adds a depth and an important ethical ground for one's personal practice.

In this six-week course, we'll explore the primary Buddhist teachings of the
Four Noble Truths--identifying suffering and the way to escape from it--and the "dharma seals" of anatta (non-self) and anicca (impermanence).

More specifically, students will learn about:

* the truth of our suffering--and that that's not all there is!
* how we participate in creating our own suffering
* the promise of freeing ourselves from such patterns
* a practical path to wisdom, compassion, and liberation
* how our "self" interconnects with the world
* the nature of change and how to relate to it more gracefully.

Per usual with Ted's classes, we will mix in elements of play and interpersonal engagement. Folks who have taken part in Playful Mindfulness, Finding and Freeing the Voice, or Mindful Communication might have a leg up on understanding our process, but newcomers will find a warm welcome, easy access, and valuable insight for beginning or continuing their own mindfulness practice.

Though this class is not graded, students are expected to commit to at least twenty minutes of daily practice at home for the duration of the course.

Day(s): Tuesday
Duration: 6 weeks
Location: Woodside Village Church, 3154 Woodside Rd., Woodside, CA 94062 (just off I-280)
Date(s): Tuesday eves, May 28 through July 3rd, 2019 (final class on Wednesday, July 3rd)
Time: 6:45 pm 9:00 pm
Tuition: $397

After completing his graduate work at Stanford (MBA) and Harvard (Masters of Theology), Ted DesMaisons taught Religious Studies and Philosophy at Northfield Mount Hermon, a New England boarding school, for 12 years. He has studied, performed, and taught improvisation internationally, including with Patricia Ryan Madson, the Stanford Improvisors, and BATS Improv of San Francisco. He is the founder and principal of ANIMA Learning and a trained Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) instructor. Ted also serves as the US Partner for the UK-based Mindfulness in Schools Project and is a registered Patsy Rodenburg Trainer. He co-hosts the Monster Baby Podcast ("a curious romp through the worlds of mindfulness and improvisation") and recently released his first book, Playful Mindfulness (www.playfulmindfulness.info).