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Friday, 23 October 2026

[Downtown Dharma Sangha Listserv] This Sunday: Meditating Like the Earth

Dearest Sangha,

Wishing you so well as this week nears its close. I had the good fortune of spending the past week on retreat in the Arizona desert. Held by the breathtakingly beautiful mountains of the Cochise Stronghold, it was easy to feel integrated into the earth - as if we meditators were just another boulder rooted in the landscape. What a joy!

Then the retreat ends. The phone turns back on. Ding! Buzz! Bloop! The unnerving news, the unending tasks, the infinite distractions in ten second tik toks threaten to steal all peace and fill the mind with judgmental chatter.

But what if all that could be included in our practice? What if we didn't have to disappear into nature to feel whole, but could access our innate and integrated wholeness just as we already are? This Sunday, we'll explore these ideas through the instructions the Buddha gave his son Rahula. Roughly: "Meditate like the earth, water, fire, wind and space, all of which accept the clean or unclean - even feces, urine, saliva, pus or blood - without feeling horrified, humiliated or disgusted." Cultivating this quality not only helps us develop equanimity in the face of all the dings, buzzes and bloops, but also connects us with our vast more-than-human nature.

I hope you're able to join us for meditation practice, a little dharma, and community connection.

In-person: 7pm to 8:30pm @ Yoga District — 1910 14th Street NW, 3rd Floor
- Please arrive 5-10 minutes early and register in advance here; it's the last Sunday class and listed under: "FREE (14th St.) Insight Meditation @ 1910 14th St"
Online via Zoom: Join here

With metta,

Shawn

PS Looking for more ways to connect with the earth this weekend? Join me at the US Botanic Gardens this Saturday morning to learn all about eating acorns - an easily foraged food that connects us to Indigenous lifeways. Then Sunday afternoon, we'll honor the humble toilet - which also accepts the unclean items above with equanimity - as I host the 5th annual World Toilet Day Comedy Fundraising Craptacular. Enjoy brunch, hilarious stand-ups and musical comedy, a sweet-a$$ raffle, and help raise money for the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation.

Body-positive movement classes, meditation, group facilitation and more! ShawnShafner.com

The POOP Project

Homepage! 💩❤🌈

Animated! 🎬 Profiled! 🕵 Lauded! 👏

Get my 📕, Know Your Sh!t, at Barnes & Noble or order online! Published by Cider Mill Press, distributed by Harper Collins.

Mailing list! 💌 Instagram! 📸 Twitter! 🐦 Facebook! 👪

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Saturday, 17 October 2026

[Downtown Dharma Sangha Listserv] Listening Deeply — Off the Cushion (Oct 18 meditation)

In his book The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching, Thich Nhat Hanh wrote:

“I am listening to him not only because I want to know what is inside him or to give him advice. I am listening to him just because I want to relieve his suffering.”

As one of the six guidelines in Insight Dialogue, Listening Deeply often manifests as “holding space” and not reacting to what was said. Yet outside of a mindfulness practice, listening as part of a two-way dialogue is both a necessity in daily life and critical for deepening relationships.

I’m looking forward to facilitating this session, which will explore both contemporary and mindfulness concepts of compassionate listening, and an opportunity to practice it with a peer in a safe environment.

I invite you to join us, in person or online:

· In person: Sunday, October 18, 7:00 to 8:30pm @ Yoga District — 1910 14th Street NW, 3rd Floor, Washington, DC (please try to arrive at least 10 min. early)

· Online via Zoom: Join here

With metta,

Amitabh

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Friday, 9 October 2026

[Downtown Dharma Sangha Listserv] Know an overwhelmed dad? Dad's weekend retreat - November 6-8

Hi dharma friends,

It's been ages since I've been to a Downtown Dharma sit, but this sangha was so formative for me when I lived in Mt. Pleasant. I cherish those moments of silence together and connections. Thank you for that.

I'm now a therapist and I wanted to share that I have a few open spots left for Off the Clock, a weekend retreat for dads near Annapolis, MD, November 6-8, 2026.

My retreat coleader Kyle Wehrend and I will be giving dads a weekend to take their “dad hat” off and recover parts of themselves they’ve had to hide since becoming a parent.

Attendees will get to connect with other dads about shared experiences and speak the truth about what it’s really like being a parent in today's world.

We will lead men's group processing, mindfulness practices, "parts work" sessions, and other activities to help them get closer to being the parent and partner they really want to be.

When: November 6-8, 2026
Where: Harmony Hills Retreat Center, 186 Nutwell Rd, Deale, MD 20751 (45 minutes from downtown DC, DCA airport, and BWI airport)
What’s included: Men’s group processing, mindfulness exercises, opportunities for an individual Internal Family Systems (IFS) healing circle session, time for silent reflection/relaxation, and access to indoor spaces, walking trails, and forest
Who this is for: All men with kids of any age, including cis, trans, and others who feel a sense of belonging in men’s spaces. We strongly encourage men of diverse backgrounds, identities, and sexual orientations to explore joining.
Cost: $1250-$1500 (includes lodging and all meals) or $1000 (for those staying in their own Airbnb or commuting each day, includes all meals)

Here's more info: https://jeremymohler.blog/dadsretreat2026/

Interested folks can email me at jeremy@jeremymohler.blog to set up a brief intro call and see if it'll be a good fit for them!

Jeremy Mohler

he/him

301-752-8413

Therapist | Coach | Writer

Get my email newsletter helping men and couples have healthier relationships here.

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[Downtown Dharma Sangha Listserv] This Sunday: Faith (and the Lack of Faith)

Hi friends,

This Sunday we'll explore faith.

“Don’t believe anything blindly; come and see for yourself.” It may be the Buddhist idea we’re most comfortable with. Yet many early texts also list faith as the first of the qualities that lead to freedom. What do we make of this?

Together we’ll explore the role of faith on the meditative path, including for those of us with a largely secular worldview.

I hope you're able to join us for seated meditation and dharma reflection.

In-person: 7pm to 8:30pm @ Yoga District — 1910 14th Street NW, 3rd Floor
- Please arrive 5-10 minutes early and register in advance here; it's the last Sunday class and listed under: "FREE (14th St.) Insight Meditation @ 1910 14th St"
Online via Zoom: Join here

With love,

Vince

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Sunday, 4 October 2026

[Downtown Dharma Sangha Listserv] The Aspiration for Change

Amid the challenges of daily life, work, relationships, and large structural issues like climate, economics, and political instability, we need room to work with our response in those contexts that honors both our agency and the limits of our control. But sometimes we recognize, from a place in ourselves that we actually trust, that we're the ones who need to change.

Sometimes, it really is a me-problem.

Yet with that recognition, risks abound. Shameful, self-critical patterns will quietly reassert themselves. Vowing to be different from now on can easily set the bar too high, demanding a complete and instant shift. On the other hand, we risk giving up because we've been burned one too many times by similar aspirations for change.

How can Buddhist practice support these inner course corrections without falling prey to these and other risks, in a way that is practical, wise, and truly supportive?

I hope you can join us, in person or online, as we open to practicing our way into inner change.

In-person: Tonight, 7:00 to 8:30pm @ Yoga District — 1910 14th Street NW, 3rd Floor, Washington, DC (please try to arrive at least 10 min. early)

Online via Zoom: Join here

Yours In Sangha,

Kristin

https://downtowndharmadc.org

Kristin Barker

One Earth Sangha

Pronouns she, her and hers
Supported by the Potomac River watershed, traditional lands of the Piscataway.

kristin@1earthsangha.org

No mud, no lotus.

— Thích Nhất Hạnh

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