Tonglen means “Giving and Taking” in Tibetan. It is a gentle practice where we visualize transforming negativity into light, releasing this light back out lovingly to the world around us. In the West, we might call the practice Ecstatic Prayer.
Tonglen practice involves transforming our own negativity first, followed by any darkness we perceive in our homes, neighborhoods, cities, and in the world.
Each session is as follows:
5:55-6:00pm: Arrival. Please arrive on time.
6:00-6:10pm: Greetings, Check-Ins. This helps everyone settle into the practice.
6:10-6:20: Introduction to the practice.
6:20-7:00pm: Tonglen Guided meditation.
7:00-7:15pm (optional): Group share, Q&A.
We offer an extra 10 minutes of introduction to the practice on the second Wednesday of each month.
The Practice:
To understand Tonglen, first visualize a cup of pristine water that you really want to keep clean. Perhaps you cover it with your hand to keep dust out–but somehow, at the end of the day, there’s a bug floating in it! This is how many of us are taught– to keep negativity as far away as possible. But the negativity around us affects us anyway!
Now visualize a pristine waterfall. Take that same cup with the bug in it and place it in the waterfall. The cup overflows with pristine water, and the cup is clean again. We can even fill the cup with mud, and in seconds, the pure water washes it clean, sending pristine water down the mountain for the communities below.
In Tonglen and Ecstatic Prayer, we connect with the waterfall. First clearing ourselves, then our homes, then our communities–transforming any negativity we see, and offering radiant, abundant love to the world around us.
It is a very uplifting, soothing practice and I hope you will join us!
Your host for this event is dream alchemist Benjamin Whitehurst, M.A., founder of the Durham-based Alchemical Dreamers’ Guild (DreamCircling.Com). Benjamin holds a Masters of Transpersonal Counseling Psychology from Naropa University along with certification in Integral Circling from the Integral Center in Boulder, Colorado.
Reciprocity:
We believe reciprocity creates the best experience for all involved. Please contribute $15 for this session or $50 for the series via Paypal (https://www.paypal.me/benjaminwhitehurst/50), knowing your contribution makes a difference. If you are unemployed, please find a way to give back 1 full hour of your time in exchange as a work-study–referring friends for 1-on-1 sleep coaching or helping us get invited to speak about sleep & dreams for other organizations you’re a part of are great ways to help!
Payment is via PayPal to: http://paypal.me/benjaminwhitehurst/50
After you have paid, the link to join us each week is here (the room will open at around 5:50pm, to begin at 6pm sharp): Click for Zoom Meeting!
Interested in mentoring with us? These sessions are included as part of the Alchemical Dreamers’ Guild’s Sleep & Dream Mastery Coaching Program. Click the button below to learn more about long-term study with the Alchemical Dreamers’ Guild:
Making resolutions for a wonderful year? We offer sleep coaching & long-term personal development coaching. Please consider offering the gift of sleep & dreams! It’s the perfect gift for someone who has everything but sleep. If you or a loved one is experiencing nightmares, insomnia, unusual dreams, or other nighttime challenges, we would love to explore this with you!
Check out our personal development coaching here:
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Notes & Disclaimers: This event does not involve psychotherapy or any other form of healing intent. Instead, the intent of this Tonglen & Ecstatic Prayer experience is educational and spiritual. Please be aware that Tonglen can be emotionally intense for some people–participate at your own risk. May this event be in service of the well-being of our community. This event is a professional offering organized through the Alchemical Dreamers’ Guild / Navigate Change, LLC.
