Meditation: An Ethical Practice

We will begin hosting regular neighborhood meditation sessions in April as an experiment, so this Sunday, one of our Leaders, Jone Johnson Lewis, will introduce some simple meditation practices you can practice by yourself or in the community.

There are many different meditation practices.  Some are associated with particular religions or traditions.  Some are more general.  Some are less structured; some are more structured.  What most have in common is being mindful.  Jon Kabat-Zinn, whose meditation practices are widely used in health care settings, defines mindfulness as “awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgementally….”

Mindfulness has been shown to have significant health benefits.  Meditation can help us handle our emotions better, develop self-understanding and natural wisdom, relieve stress, get in touch with nature, gain perspective, experience calmness, or increase a capacity for compassion.

If you’ve never meditated and would like to try it, if you’d like to try some fresh forms of meditation, or if you want to spend an hour with others meditating, this Sunday is for you.  Bring a friend!  Dress comfortably.  Weather permitting, we may be outside for part of the time.

This will be a participative program in person.  If you watch it streamed via Zoom or Facebook, you can practice along, but participation is limited to comments in the chat, which go to others watching the stream.

We begin the program promptly at 10:30 am ET, gathering time from 10:15, in-person and on Zoom.  We will try to end by 11:30-11:45. In-person social hour follows.  Consider bringing some snacks to share.  Parking directions are below.

Ethics for Children: Our in-person children’s program has resumed as of September 2022 and begins on Sundays at 10:30 a.m.  This Sunday, the children will start downstairs.

Streaming and Zoom: We will stream to Zoom and, we hope, YouTube as well, for those who cannot.  (We may adapt plans depending on the COVID-19 pandemic risk levels for hospital patients with COVID.)  Join the Zoom link at or after 10:15 a.m.

COVID-19 Protocols: Refrain from attending any in-person meeting if you have symptoms of COVID-19 or are testing positive. We welcome but do not require a mask.  Please respect the needs of others and yourself for social distance. We ask that you sanitize your hands before handling any shared food or drink.

Sunday Sharing: Contributions to "Sunday Sharing" are shared between RYSEC and this month's sharing partner as we try to contribute to making a more humane world.  This week we help youth affected by a book ban in their schools to get the books that help them learn more about racial justice and LGBTQIA+ issues.

Parking: A few spots for parking are available in front of the building.  Parking is available this Sunday at the Fieldston School parking lot across the street and about a block’s walk.  The red arrow below shows the entrance to the lot.  Let the attendant know you’re there for a program at the Ethical Society.

A red arrow marks the entrance to the parking lot.