Insight Meditation Modesto will be offering a daylong with Carla Brennan on Saturday, March 12th, from 10am to 4:30pm at Doctors Medical Center, 1441 Florida Ave., Conference Center, room 1, Modesto, CA (the Conference Center is the building between the parking structure and the emergency department) on:

DON’T WASTE YOUR PAIN: 
A Mindfulness Retreat on Working with Suffering

To be alive means that we sometimes experience pain and discomfort. Learning to meet this discomfort with presence, non-reactivity and open-heartedness is one of the most important lessons of being human. We can discover how it is possible to find freedom and peace in the face of difficult, challenging circumstances.

This retreat will explore mindfulness practice and its skillful use in working with physical and emotional pain. The day will flow between silent sitting and moving meditation periods as well as teaching sessions with reflection exercises. For both experienced and beginning meditators.

Carla Brennan, M.Ed., teaches regular meditation classes, daylong retreats, residential retreats, nature-based retreats and other programs in the Santa Cruz area and beyond. Carla is particularly interested in teachings that can be easily integrated into daily life situations.  Her sangha is called, “Bloom of the Present” (www.bloomofthepresent.com) and meets weekly for dharma talk and meditation in Felton, CA.  Practicing Buddhist meditation since 1975, she has been trained in the Theravadan, Zen and Tibetan traditions and was a primary teacher with Vipassana Santa Cruz for five years. In 2009, Carla was approved by the Spirit Rock Teachers Council to be a Vipassana teacher. She has also been a Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teacher for 18 years, is an artist and former psychotherapist.

This day is offered by Insight Meditation Modesto and Carla Brennan. Donations for Carla and Insight Meditation Modesto are gladly accepted. Please bring a vegetarian potluck dish to share for lunch.  If you wish to sit on the floor and have a zabuton and/or meditation cushion, please bring it.  Chairs will be available.