The Open Heart Project

Start Here Now: An Open-Hearted Guide To The Path & Practice of Meditation
2016-06-17 - 2016-06-19 | Omega Institute, 150 Lake Drive, Rhinebeck, NY, 12572, United States
More and more people are meditating these days, and research is proving meditation is good for everything from insomnia to stress. But what is it, exactly? Where do you begin if you want to learn to meditate, and what can you expect?
Meditation doesn’t need to be mysterious. Susan Piver, author of Start Here Now: An Open-Hearted Guide to the Path and Practice of Meditation , shows you how to begin. Through discussion, periods of meditation, contemplative exercises, and partner work, you explore the basics of this ancient practice. You learn how to avoid the most common obstacles and create a practice that you can sustain at home.
As you experience meditation, you come to understand the benefits reach beyond improved health to include greater kindness, patience, discernment, wisdom, and joy. It naturally opens your heart and allows you to live with grace and confidence.
This retreat is designed for beginners, but anyone looking to jump-start a flagging meditation practice is welcome.

Daily Dharma Gathering
2016-06-17 20:00 - 20:30, 2016-06-18 12:00 - 12:30, 2016-06-19 12:00 - 12:30, 2016-06-20 20:00 - 20:30, 2016-06-21 20:00 - 20:30, 2016-06-22 20:00 - 20:30, 2016-06-23 20:00 - 20:30, 2016-06-24 20:00 - 20:30 (America/New_York) and 15 more dates
The Open Heart Project is so proud to offer you a chance to:
Practice meditation every single day
Meet and converse daily with a brilliant Buddhist teacher
Get answers to important questions about your practice and your path
Become part of a group of smart, fun, sincere independent thinkers
Join a private Facebook forum to continue the conversation
Daily Dharma Gathering sessions are from 8:00p to 8:30pm. EDT on Mondays through Fridays and 12:00p to 12:30p.m. EDT on Saturdays and Sundays. All you have to do is log on using the link you’ll receive upon registration. Each session begins with a short talk before moving into a guided meditation practice with time for a q&a at the end.
Each session is recorded and made available for 24 hours or until it is replaced with the next day’s session. So if you can’t join live, don’t worry!
Teachers range from your hosts, Susan and Lodro (who are trained in the Shambhala Buddhist lineage) to Vipassana teachers such as Kate Lila Wheeler and Emily Horn, Zen teachers such as Sokuzan and angel Kyodo williams, and ordained Tibetan Buddhist monastics such as Khenpo Gawang and Thubten Chodron.
We cannot overstate the amazing-ness of these teachers! So many Buddhist traditions are represented in this special group. Our teachers include men and women, are white, black, and Asian, and range in age from twenties to seventies. In all, they represent an incomparable cross-section of Buddhism in the West.
The cost is $20 a month. Once you register, your account will be charged automatically every 30 days, unless or until you cancel.
(Please note: no partial refunds.)
REMINDER: Open Heart Project Sangha members can participate for free.
NOTE: Your registration in this program comes with a free subscription to the Open Heart Project newsletter.
We look forward to taking this journey with you!
Love, Susan
Questions? Please email Michele

Mommy Sangha
2016-06-22 13:30 - 14:00, 2016-06-29 13:30 - 14:00, 2016-07-06 13:30 - 14:00
The Open Heart Project Mommy Sangha: A supportive gathering of moms, stepmoms, and grandmothers to practice meditation together and share our wisdom
Are you a mom (or stepmother or grandmother) who longs to practice meditation but can’t find time amidst the demands–and joys and difficulties–of caring for young children?
Parenting, no matter how desired (and enjoyed), may come with fatigue, self-doubt, and the natural question: who the hell am I now? Meditation can help by offering space to breathe. Sangha (Sanskrit for community) helps by assuring you that you are most definitely not alone. Together, meditation and Sangha can help you to remain present during the long days and short years of caring for your little ones.
Whether you have a meditation practice (or used to have one) or are a brand new beginner, you are warmly invited to join the Mommy Sangha. During this weekly 30-minute gathering, you will be guided in a short meditation practice followed by a chance to connect with other mothers. We will also meet quarterly for a longer practice session and a special talk on how to apply Buddhist mindfulness principles to motherhood.
The Mommy Sangha will exist as a continuous presence for you to participate in as you are interested and able. And, while we will be emphasizing the experiences of caring for younger children, all mothers are welcome.
We promise to:

Provide meditation instruction
Answer questions about meditation
Moderate the dialog to keep it meaningful and on point
Foster kindness
Keep it short!

Where: In the comfort of your own home via the Zoom meeting platform. Each session will be recorded so you can practice with the Mommy Sangha even if you can’t attend the live gathering.

About Jenna Hollenstein
New mom, mindfulness teacher, and Founder and Nutrition Therapist at Eat to Love, Jenna aims to bring the gentle sanity of Buddhist principles to every aspect of her personal and professional life. She is excited to support Mommy Sangha members to create and sustain a meditation practice that creates awareness, lovingkindness, and self-compassion. Her greatest teachers include Susan, her partner Andrea, and her son Mimmo.
About the Open Heart Project
Created by meditation teacher and writer Susan Piver, the OHP is an online meditation center. It shares all the qualities of a traditional dharma center: A shared practice. Workshops. Advanced courses. Retreats. Guest teachers. Community gatherings—all online and available to you 24/7. Currently, there are close to 20000 members all over the world who are practicing meditation to recover a sense of balance, cultivate fearlessness, sharpen our minds, and soften our hearts. While each may practice alone, we also practice together to create a network of sanity and kindness. More information about the Open Heart Project can be found here.
Once you register, your account will be charged automatically every 30 days, unless or until you cancel.
Questions? Please email Michele

Dharma of Writing Group
2016-06-22 18:00 - 20:00
In short, writing is very powerful. Yet, it is so difficult to begin! This is common and natural.
The Dharma of Writing is an ongoing two-hour online monthly gathering designed to help you enter your own writing with the support and companionship of other writers. It will be co-hosted by myself and Kate Lila Wheeler, a novelist who is also an acclaimed Buddhist teacher. During the months that I host, we will gather from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. ET and when Kate hosts, it will be from 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. ET. (We will alternate months.) This will give people in various time zones a chance to participate.
At each session, we will practice meditation together and then actually write. Each person will work on his or her own project with the quiet, supportive companionship of writers all over the world. We will convene using the video conference platform, Zoom. Sessions will be recorded and links sent to all, so if you can’t join live you can still participate.
The schedule for each session is:

Guided mindfulness practice: 15 minutes
Journaling exercise (“free writing”): 15 minutes
Writing period: 80 minutes
Check-in and close: 10 minutes

No work will be shared during the class, but the group will have a private forum on our site for anyone who would like to post their writing.
Open to writers of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, screenplays, and song—and anyone who would simply like to explore writing as a practice.
Subsequent sessions will be announced.

This program is for you if you are looking for some gentle accountability and dedicated time for your writing.

The cost is $15 per month or $7.50 per month for Sangha members. (Please click here to learn more about the Sangha.)
Once you register, your account will be charged automatically every 30 days, unless or until you cancel. (Please note: no partial refunds.)
If you are a Sangha member and would like the Sangha link to join please email Michele.

Questions? Please email Michele.

Sangha monthly check-in
2016-06-30 15:00 - 16:00
For all registered Sangha members
Every month OHP Sangha members will be able to gather online to share thoughts on their practice, past and upcoming programs and other Sangha community news.
A special event link is sent to each member prior to the gathering and these check-ins are recorded for those unable to attend or for members wishing to watch the chat again.

Open Heart Project Annual Online Retreat
2016-07-10 11:00 - 17:00
Please join me and the Open Heart Project community for a day-long online retreat of meditation and exploration of your unique spiritual path.

It will take place on July 10 from 11a.m. EDT to 5p.m. EDT and will include meditation, contemplation, dialogue, and instruction in a 3-step practice that you can do whenever you like to reestablish your seat (since we all fall off the cushion now and then).
The retreat will be recorded and a link made available, for 60 days, to all who register. This way, you can repeat the program whenever you like or, if you can’t attend on the 10th, simply begin the program on any day that works for you.
Full enjoyment of the program is predicated on turning off all electronics and letting go of responsibilities for this time period! No phones, no TV, no internet, no icky chores.
THE SCHEDULE
11:00a – 11:30a Talk from Susan
Why do we practice?
How can we sustain our practice?
What can we really expect from our practice?
Discussion
11:30a – 12:30p Meditation practice and q&a
A chance to sit for a longer period and ask questions about your practice
12:30p – 2:00p Contemplative break
You can have a meal or a snack (depending on your time zone) or simply rest. The idea for this time period is to only do what you feel like doing that is NOT work, email, or an unpleasant chore. Read, have a cup of coffee, take a walk or a nap, do some enjoyable household task you’ve been wanting to get to; just relax.
2:00p – 2:30p Meditation practice
2:30p – 3:30p The 10×10 Method Daily Practice
A simple daily practice that involves 10 minutes of meditation, 10 minutes of contemplation, and 10 minutes of journaling to help keep you on your path
3:30p – 4:30p Contemplative break
Relax some more! Hang out with yourself!
4:30p – 5:00p Closing meditation practice and discussion
Cost: $50 for the day (includes a free PDF e-book, “How to do a Meditation Retreat at Home” by Susan explains how to extend this experience into an entire weekend)
50% for Open Heart Project Sangha Click here to join the Sangha and receive 50% off this and many other wonderful programs that are included in membership.
SPACE IS LIMITED!! Please register now to reserve your spot.
No cancellations.
Questions?, please email Michele
