At Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, New York

To register call 800-944-1001 or visit online at eomega.org

October 8-10, 2010
Memoir as Buddhist Practice:
Articulating the Awakened Heart

James Kullander and Rikki Asher

Memoir is not a traditional form in Buddhist literature. But in today’s world it is becoming a powerful tool for empathy and understanding.

Buddhism is really more lived than practiced—more heart than mind—and its wisdom can help us negotiate the unsettling terrain of our most trying times.

If we long to articulate our deepest thoughts and feelings that can occur during such times, then we need to step aside from what we want to think and feel—and don’t want to think and feel—and let the words rise to our consciousness as effortlessly as goldfish rise to the surface of water to feed.

Through short lectures, writing exercises, and meditation sessions that quiet the mind so the heart can have its say, we integrate Buddhist wisdom with writing that seeks to understand the world as it is given to us, that expresses how it shapes us, and that helps us grow into people who are more understanding and compassionate—toward ourself as well as others.

No experience in writing or Buddhism is necessary.

Please bring three photos of yourself at important times in your life.

James Kullander, MDiv, is a program developer and editor at Omega. He has written for a variety of publications, including his monthly Here & There column for the eOmega News. His essay “My Martial Status”, originally published in The Sun magazine, has been anthologized in The Best Buddhist Writing 2008 and The Mysterious Life of the Heart. jameskullander.com

Rikki Asher, EdD, has been practicing Chan (Zen) meditation and yoga since 1979, when she first met her spiritual teacher, Master Sheng Yen. An assistant professor of art education at Queens College in New York City, she uses meditation and yoga in her classes, as well as in her work with inner-city teenagers and a variety of adult and senior groups.