Intensive Study Groups starting in JanuaryTopic: Beyond Distraction-Five Practical Ways to Focus the Mind by Shaila Catherine

The Orlando Insight Meditation Group’s teacher, Peter Carlson, has been facilitating Intensive Study Groups for several years with the following format: Eight meetings, 90 minutes each to discuss an area of interest regarding Buddhist concepts and practices * Seminar format-Peter has individual interview with each member followed by a brief question and answer as time permits * Each group will begin when there are at least seven committed participants * Participants commit to meditate for 45 minutes daily, or, if that is difficult, commit to the intention of increasing time towards 45 minutes. There will be no meditation during the meetings in order to maximize the opportunities to talk about the topics. * Meetings are held via Zoom (The Zoom format increases the opportunities for participation beyond the immediate Orlando area and saves driving time, gas and the environment!) * Two groups-Saturday from 3pm-4:30pm and Sunday from 3pm-4:30pm* (If number of participants warrants two groups. Please designate which day or days you can participate. Please understand the group you are assigned may be designated based on numbers between the groups. It is helpful if you can accept either day. If there are not enough participants, one day will be designated.) * Voluntary donation of $160 to the Orlando Insight Meditation Group via check or PayPal; the funds are used to support scholarships and to keep costs low for annual one-week residential retreats. If this amount is not workable for your budget, a lesser amount is acceptable. Donations should be made using the donate button to the right. Checks can be made out to Orlando Insight Meditation Group and sent to Peter Carlson at 1818 Carrigan Avenue, Winter Park, FL, 32789.

For this series of meetings, the primary study resource will be the bookBeyond Distraction-Five Practical Ways to Focus the Mind by Shaila Catherine. Readings and discussions will be subdivided in workable ways among the chapters of the book.

This is not group therapy, but because it is intended to be about how one lives, not philosophy, it is requested that what is discussed in the meetings remain confidential.

For more information and/or to sign up, please email Peter at Peter@OrlandoInsightMeditation.org. Please also indicate your phone number so that Peter can contact you in case a meeting has to be cancelled. (Please note that Peter will be on retreat from December 16-30 and unavailable to respond to any questions during that time. If you email your commitment while he is on retreat, he will respond after December 30.)

Please respond as soon as possible. The target start date to begin is the weekend of January 7, 2023, and meet through the weekend of March 11, 2023, with a break the weekend of February 3, 2023. It is understood that there may be times when your schedule requires you to miss a meeting, so don’t let that prevent you from committing. Once the start dates are finalized, an email will be provided describing the sequence of readings in the book recommended during the eight weeks.