[Downtown Dharma Sangha Listserv] Tomorrow Evening, Shoveling Snow and Melting Ice: The Practice of Making a Path

Greeings Dear Sangha,

You might have heard that our annual Refuge Ceremony where we honor the three jewels that support our practice—Buddha, Dharma and Sangha—has been postponed to next Sunday, February 1 so more can participate in-person. We hope you'll be able to join us!

Yet on what portends to be a snow-covered night in D.C., amid possible power outages, weirdly empty grocery shelves, and a deep chill in the air, we will gather tomorrow evening nonetheless, either in-person if you can make it or online, where we will ask the question: 

Why sit on our cushions when so much is at stake? 

Why meditate—of all things—when so many others are suffering, when a new crisis looms almost every day, and when action seems urgent? We'll explore meditation and Dharma practice not as retreat or bypass, but as the slow, necessary work of keeping the Way clear. For if we can melt the inner ice, making a hearth for presence and forging the heat of authentic connection with ourselves, wisdom, and one another, our work for the world can be so much more trustworthy. We'll inquire into our Dharm pursuits as a means to remain open, present and increasingly wise even when the heart so wants to freak out, lash out, numb out, or just disappear. And we'll get real about making that possibility more than just a lofty idea but an evolving, practical reality.

I hope you can join us in-person or online as your situation allows and we'll find some helpful shelter from these storms.

In-person: Sunday, 7:00 to 8:30pm @ Yoga District — 1910 14th Street NW, 3rd Floor, Washington, DC

Online via Zoom:  Join here  

Yours In Sangha,

Kristin

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[Downtown Dharma Sangha Listserv] Tricycle Magazine Discount Code

Hi everyone,

To follow up on this thread, if anyone is interested in subscribing to Tricycle (the resources Devin notes below are free and there are many other free resources) you can use coupon code TRICYCLEGROUP30 for a 30% discount on a subscription. Please feel free to email me directly if you have any trouble with using it.

Warmly,

Jennifer

On Sun, Jan 18, 2026 at 10:33 AM Devin Maroney <devinmaroney@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi friends,

In 2024 Tricycle Magazine (Also known as Tricycle: The Buddhist Review) updated their free online educational site called "Buddhism for Beginners." The title understates the breadth and depth of the content. While it is not the authoritative source of information, it is certainly an authoritative source of information and it attempts to provide a broad, thoughtful and open-minded orientation to Buddhism. 

I recommend it for anyone who might be curious to learn more about Buddhism or who wants to orient what we do at Downtown Dharma within the larger concept of Buddhism as a whole. If you want to jump right to the part about where our practice fits into the larger constellation of practices go here.

Enjoy!

Devin

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[Downtown Dharma Sangha Listserv] Musicality of Being workshop & meditative listening at the White House

Dear Friends, 

It was a joy to be with some of you on Sunday night for Insight Dialogue. If you were there, the following is more details for what I shared during the community announcements after the practice.

First, you are warmly invited to join me in Rock Creek Park, this Saturday 1/24, 10am-1pm for the Musicality of Being workshop. 

This is a nature immersion, collective walking meditation and dialogue practice. In a similar vein to Insight Dialogue, we walk the trails with a partner (who changes throughout the workshop) sharing aspects of our present moment experience. There are also periods of walking individually and an opportunity to meditate next to the creek. 

The practice invites us to gradually build up a multi-layered attunement that simultaneously encompasses our inner world, the company of our fellow hikers and the life of the park all around us, discovering a somatic sense of "what interconnectivity feels like."

If you can't make it on the 24th, the workshop will be offered again on February 7 and 21. 

Register for any of those dates here 

and/or connect on Facebook here

Second, you are also invited to join a small, but growing group of meditators who sit every Sunday at the White House, meeting up at 10am.

We sit not in protest, but as a demonstration of the power of listening and an invitation to White House visitors to bring more listening into their lives. At this moment of growing political conflict, listening is a practice that can benefit all of us, regardless of our specific views.

You can read more about the practice here 

and find a shareable Facebook event here 

If you are thinking of joining, the best thing would be to reply to me directly because we do sometimes adjust our meet-up times slightly because of weather or other circumstances. That way I can keep you in the loop!

Warm wishes to all!

Seth 

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[Downtown Dharma Sangha Listserv] A Wonderful Resource

Hi friends,

In 2024 Tricycle Magazine (Also known as Tricycle: The Buddhist Review) updated their free online educational site called "Buddhism for Beginners." The title understates the breadth and depth of the content. While it is not the authoritative source of information, it is certainly an authoritative source of information and it attempts to provide a broad, thoughtful and open-minded orientation to Buddhism. 

I recommend it for anyone who might be curious to learn more about Buddhism or who wants to orient what we do at Downtown Dharma within the larger concept of Buddhism as a whole. If you want to jump right to the part about where our practice fits into the larger constellation of practices go here.

Enjoy!

Devin

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[Downtown Dharma Sangha Listserv] Insight dialogue this Sunday

Hello Sangha,

This Sunday I'm delighted to facilitate our monthly session centered on the meditation practice of Insight Dialogue.

Together we'll experiment with breaking one of the usual rules of insight dialogue - we'll be asking questions! In Insight Dialogue we typically refrain from questioning or responding directly to what a partner has shared. Yet in daily life, responding is often necessary. This session will explore how we can bring mindfulness and care into that very human exchange.

Please join us this Sunday, 7:00–8:30 pm:

• In person: Yoga District, 1910 14th Street NW, 3rd Floor
• Online: via Zoom – Join here

If you're coming in person, it helps to sign up in advance on the Yoga District website and to arrive by 6:55 so we can settle in together.

All are welcome, whether it's your first time or you've been exploring relational meditation for years.

With metta, Nick 

 

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[Downtown Dharma Sangha Listserv] Sunday meditations in front of the White House

Dear Downtown Dharma Community, 

As the level of noise continues to rise in our increasingly fractured society, one of the most valuable skills we can practice is listening.

As some of you know, I began a meditative listening practice in front of the White House last fall, and the practice is still ongoing. A small group of meditators meets every Sunday at 10am in Lafayette Park and we listen to the way the energy is moving in this highly charged space. 

This practice is also intended as a demonstration to others of what deep listening looks like and an encouragement to all to bring more listening into our lives. We would love to have you join us, this coming Sunday or any other Sunday soon. The intention is to continue throughout 2026. 

Learn more here / Connect on Facebook

Or feel free to reply directly to this email if you'd like to meet up or get more information.

Warmly, 

Seth Dellinger

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[Downtown Dharma Sangha Listserv] Downtown Dharma Reading Group - JANUARY EVENT INFO! (1/31 @ 6pm - Adams Morgan)

MARK YOUR CALENDARS! 

Downtown Dharma will host its January reading group and vegetarian potluck on Saturday, 1/31, at 6pm in Adams Morgan. The exact address will be shared with attendees. Andy Schnitzer will host and facilitate.

READING:

Part One of Rinpoche's, In Love With the World 

ACTION NEEDED:

• Space is limited. If you'd like to attend, please RSVP here
• If attendance is full, please put your name on the waitlist, as we may get cancellations.

LOCATION INFO:

• The location is in Adams Morgan (at Columbia & Connecticut) - 12min walk from the Dupont metro station or 16min walk from Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan station (red line).
• If you have any accessibility questions, please contact Andy (andreaschnitzer@gmail.com).

Hope to see you there!

-Megan

Reading Group Coordinator

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[Downtown Dharma Sangha Listserv] Born I at Downtown Dharma Tomorrow

Dear Sangha - 

This Sunday at Downtown Dharma join us to welcome back meditation teacher, hip-hop artist and author Ofosu Jones-Quartey (Born I) for an immersive evening of meditation, sound bath and envisioning our role in the world, closing with a musical performance of contemplative hip-hop. All are welcome. 

Details:

• In-person: Sunday, January 11 from 7pm to 8:30pm @ Yoga District — 1910 14th Street NW, 3rd Floor, Washington, DC (please arrive 5-10 minutes early)

• • Please! :) Register in advance here; it's the last class listed for Sunday under the name, "FREE (14th St.) Insight Meditation @ 1910 14th St"

• Online via Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/466237117?pwd=cGxHaTJlTVhBdldVSk8weDZuSW5udz09

https://www.downtowndharmadc.org/

Warmly,

Jackie 

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_______________________________________________________

Jackie Sue Powell

LinkedIn | Instagram

jackiesuepowell@gmail.com

Pronouns: she/her/hers

cell: +1.540.718.4888

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[Downtown Dharma Sangha Listserv] join Devin + me in March: a retreat on Wise Effort

Hi friends -- 

For the past year, Devin Maroney and I have been a teaching team. We're very temperamentally different, and we trained with radically different teachers. Sometimes, when someone asks us a question in a Q&A session, we will each give opposite answers!

Practitioners seem to appreciate this. It's so important to hold polarity and paradox with a light heart -- to recognize that there's never one dogmatic answer when it comes to practice.

We're leaning into one of our favorite polarities -- effort and effortlessness -- at an upcoming retreat, The Path of the Restful Warrior, March 12-15 at Seven Oaks Retreat in Madison, Virginia. Registration is here. 

People are sometimes surprised to learn that there's room for a warrior-like approach to meditation. Buddhist literature is full of metaphors about vanquishing enemies. Sometimes in practice, I have imagined myself like someone trying to make my way through a thick and unforgiving jungle: machete in hand, clearing a path with each swing of the blade.

Of course, meditation can also offer us the clarity that there is absolutely nothing we need to do. There's no thick jungle; there's only open sky. Practice can be the place where we drop all our effort and discover the clear, luminous, undisturbed nature of this moment.  

We'll be savoring this territory together in the beautiful foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. We hope you'll consider joining us, and even bringing a friend along -- whether they're a seasoned or new meditator. Scholarships are available.

Love, 
Ellen + Devin

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[Downtown Dharma Sangha Listserv] March 21 & 22 Yoga + Meditation Retreat 25 mins from DC!

Dear Sangha,

I'm consistently delighted and in awe of the many creative and thoughtful collaborations that come from our group outside of our Sunday evening sits. In that spirit, Griffen Saul and I are delighted to invite you to a weekend-long, DC-based yoga and meditation retreat with the option to attend one or both days. We will celebrate the transition to spring and natural elements – more details and photos below/attached! The retreat will be held at The Journey Space, next to Glen Echo Park – just 25-minute drive from NW DC. This retreat is open to anyone seeking to pause and reconnect with themselves, others, and nature, offering space to reflect on the first part of the year. No prior yoga or meditation experience is required, making it ideal for those new to retreats. Please share this invite widely!

When: March 21 and 22, from 9:00am – 6:00pm

Where: Bright, cozy, and serene, The Journey Space will be our homebase for our yoga and meditation practices.  

What to Expect & Theme: Elements of Being

On Saturday we will move between Earth and Water elements. Beginning with grounding, we will share cacao, set intentions, and mindfully get to know one another. We will then move into a 90-minute yoga practice, starting close to the earth and softly transitioning into fluid movements to help us open ourselves to receiving the light of a new season. Afterwards, we will return to stillness through guided meditation and breathwork practice. Following lunch, we will continue to play with the dualities of stillness and movement on a meditative walk along the C&O on the nearby Cabin John/Chatauqua Island. This guided walk will continue to explore the qualities of the earth and water around us. We will return to the studio for an extended evening Yin Yoga practice and sound bath. We will conclude the day with individual and group reflections.

Sunday will focus on Fire and Air elements. We will begin the day in an opening circle, setting intentions, and incorporate some playful warmup exercises before moving to our mats for a 90-minute vinyasa flow that gradually heats the body. Once the body is warm and open, we will playfully explore some tricky transitions and yoga poses. Pranayama breathing practices will follow the practice and begin to introduce us to the expansive and clearing qualities of the Air element. Following lunch, we will go on an Adventure Hike nearby and play mindful games in nature. After an active day, we will return for a long, juicy restorative yoga, nidra, and crystal bowl sound bath session. We will conclude the evening with a fire ceremony and final reflections for a new season.

The cost of this retreat is $135/day or $235 for the weekend if you register by Saturday, Jan 31* and includes: 

• Full day of yoga, meditation, hiking, and mindfulness practices

• Light breakfast starting at 8:00am

• All-day snacks and tea service

• Hearty and healthy lunch with vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options

• Fully equipped yoga studio with props

• Lots of hand-on assists and guidance from two yoga teachers and meditation practitioners

• Beautiful scenery, time to pause, and moments to connect.

*Early bird pricing through January 31. On February 1 the price will increase to $175/day or $275 for both days. 

Space is limited. To reserve your spot, please Venmo @jackiesuepowell or Griffen @griffen-saul. A full refund is available until February 21, 2026 (minus $50 deposit). Please contact us for other payment options. To receive the early bird rate, full payment is due by January 31.

Travel considerations: Ultimately, participants are responsible for their own transportation to and from the retreat. However, closer to the date, we will help match ride seekers with drivers.

Please reach out to either of us with any questions!

Jackie & Griffen

--

_______________________________________________________

Jackie Sue Powell

LinkedIn | Instagram

jackiesuepowell@gmail.com

Pronouns: she/her/hers

cell: +1.540.718.4888

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[Downtown Dharma Sangha Listserv] My book: Sometimes You Should Be Late! 🦥

Hey DD friends,

I'm over my embarrassment and deeply appreciating Jennifer and Devin inviting me to share more about my book last night! Thank you <3

Sometimes You Should Be Late honors slowing down—including our quiet rebellion every Sunday at 7pm—not for its own sake, but to help us move intentionally through time. Just as meditation steadies us and helps us see more clearly, slowing down helps us remember what matters and choose kindness toward ourselves and others, even when everything feels "urgent."

Sometimes You Should Be Late comes out this summer *and* it would mean a lot to me if you'd consider pre-ordering. The pre-orders are huge in helping me share these ideas more broadly. More info here & Amazon

Be well,

Alex

Slowmindfulness.com | Writing | Instagram

Learn more about and pre-order my book Sometimes You Should Be Late

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[Downtown Dharma Sangha Listserv] Practicing Together: An Introduction to Insight Dialogue with Sue Brown

Happy New Year, Dharma friends!

Just a quick note to let you know that Sue Brown will be offering an online Introduction to Insight Dialogue class from February 4th–March 4th at 7-8:30pm at the Center for Mindful Living.

Sue is a deeply experienced and respected Insight Dialogue teacher, known for her warmth, clarity, and ability to create a safe and spacious learning environment.  Insight Dialogue is a relational meditation practice that brings mindfulness, wisdom, and compassion into the experience of speaking and listening together. Sue's teaching supports both new and seasoned practitioners in bringing presence and awareness alive in relationships.

Learn more & register: https://living-mindfully.org/insight-dialogue

wishing you much love and well-being in the new year,

Michele

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[Downtown Dharma Sangha Listserv] Tonight at Downtown Dharma

Hi everyone,

Please join me this evening from 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM at Yoga District on 14th St. to meditate, explore the dharma, and connect with each other. 

As we look to the year ahead, we will explore the Buddha's teachings on speech. The Buddha saw that words have the power to help us and the people around us live in harmony, feel better, and see clearly, and he encouraged his followers to speak with care, wisdom, and the best of intentions. We will take time to consider this guidance and how it resonates within us and this moment in our lives. 

Details:

• In-person: Sunday, January 4 from 7pm to 8:30pm @ Yoga District — 1910 14th Street NW, 3rd Floor, Washington, DC (please arrive 5-10 minutes early)

• • Please! :) Register in advance here; it's the last class listed for Sunday under the name, "FREE (14th St.) Insight Meditation @ 1910 14th St"

• Online via Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/466237117?pwd=cGxHaTJlTVhBdldVSk8weDZuSW5udz09

https://www.downtowndharmadc.org/

With love,

Devin 

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