dharma talking at tricia's house

it looked gorgeous before we massacred it!

on sunday, october 5, we welcomed several new members to a meeting at tricia's lovely pad in park slope for a delicious brunch spread (thanks again to everyone who brought something!) and some guided meditation.

regina led the meditation session, with an awesome dharma talk from tara brach (more info at http://www.imcw.org/tara-brach). it was an amazing morning - thanks ladies for making it out that early, and for sharing the things you love with each other!

we made plans to meet again for a hike - selma suggested some locations accessible via metro north, and we are trying to firm up sunday, november 2 as our hiking date. we will also need to coordinate a meet-up based on the train schedule, and we'll need to organize provisions (you know i'm always thinking about the food angle!).

until next time, we will leave you with the mission statement of the IMCW:

may you be held in the heart of lovingkindness

may you be free from inner and outer harm

may you be well

may you have ease of well being

may your life be of service to all beings

may you come to know great and natural peace

may you awaken and be free

swirling monks

the rubin museum is presenting an awesome program of RITUAL DEMON SUBJUGATION DANCES by monks from bhutan. the program began on september 13th, and is only going on through the 21st. oh, and it's FREE!

we are having a hard time coordinating a group outing to watch, but check out the schedule (thanks for the link, regina!) and see if you can make it individually - there are a bunch of performances all over the city.

here's your chance to subjugate your own demons - ENJOY!

more ideas!

on the evening of sunday, september 7th, we held another gathering at megan's apartment in the east village.

after settling in with some spanikopeta, eggplant wraps, and a couple of bottles of red wine to get the creative juices flowing, we brainstormed and came up with some great ideas for future women's circle meetings.

in terms of semi-formal presentations, we discussed different members' areas of expertise/passion:

• iris: salsa, bartending (perhaps a fun drink mixing tutorial?)
• tricia: readings of poetry and literature
• megan: knitting, hapkido demonstration?
• regina: buddhism, meditation, dharma talks (and podcasts), writing/poetry workshops

we also came up with awesome ideas for future events:

• museum visits - using megan's membership at MoMA, visiting the tibetan collections at the rubin and newark museums, visiting the sex museum, madam tussaud's, and the film & television museum
• sensory deprivation, turkish/russian baths, spa in queens
• sky diving!!!  (conquering our fears - and in doing so, strengthening our supportive bond - together!)
• community service/volunteer work - BARK (no-kill animal shelter in brooklyn which will allow us to walk dogs), UNICEF (free-style fundraising), habitat for humanity, perhaps an annual trip (e.g. camp hope) for service abroad (e.g. in costa rica)
• indoor rock climbing
• adventures in global cuisine tasting!
• composting and gardening
• couple's outing
• visit to an astrologist
• having PARTIES! - e.g. for halloween ("come as your madness"?), for fundraising

in the coming weeks we will be planning our next event, hosted by tricia in park slope, brooklyn.  please be on the look-out for a "save the date" email, and please plan on bringing your own ideas to the next meeting!

first meeting!

on july 18 (which was a FULL MOON!), regina hosted our first meeting in the backyard of her lovely apartment in williamsburg.  

we introduced ourselves, did an ice-breaker ("what's in your wallet that tells us about you?"), and perhaps most importantly, went over some of the GROUND RULES:

• no cross-talking (we must respect the person who has the floor)
• confidentiality - it's imperative that we be able to trust each other with things we reveal about ourselves and our lives
• no gossiping about each other 

with these basic rules - designed to foster respect and intimacy - in mind, we enjoyed the wine, food, and summer air, and planned our next meeting!