Mindfulness Book Club XV noon: Selfless: The Social Creation of "You"

2 sessions, noon & 6:30 PM 6 Mondays from Oct.- Dec. 16. We will need your e-mail to send you the Zoom links. Facebook will not let us show all these dates. You can message us with that or -mail [email protected]. We'll send the links to everyone who's signed up c. Oct. 25.
Mr. Lowery is definitive in his denial that there is any permanent or separate self, & he offers sociological, psychological, & historical evidence for continuous construction of & efforts to maintain a self-identity which is not only in a constant state of flux but expanded or shrunk or modified by every social contact we have face to face or via impersonal information every single day. He never discusses Zen per se nor uses its terminology, but he is perhaps harder core on the depth of Interbeing than is Thich Nhat Hanh, the founder of the Order of Interbeing. He describes an emptiness of identity without using the term. Another word which may describe part of the continuous process he lays out is Zulu ubuntu, which he does use in one chapter. He discusses the power of stories we share to maintain identity but notes that no adopted part of identity is cost-free. At the end, however, he argues that hope for humanity & society lies in recognizing how we benefit from our construction of each other. Pro-tip: It really does matter who your friends are.
Sessions of the MBC will observe Thich Nhat Hanh's 4th Mindfulness Training on Loving Speech & Deep Listening. "Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful speech and the inability to listen to others, I am committed to cultivating loving speech and compassionate listening in order to relieve suffering and to promote reconciliation and peace in myself and among other people, ethnic and religious groups, and nations." In action, that will encompass such standard practices as refraining from repeated speech until at least a few others have spoken, addressing the whole group & not a single person, using "I" language, etc. We will also have opening & closing words & ring a bell pausing for 3 breaths at opening & closing. You are invited to bring opening & closing words from what we are reading or something related. Zen Peacemaker Council Practices are also a good guide (based as they are on Thich Nhat Hanh's practice!)