Ann Arbor Sangha Activities Jan – April 2025
LOVING KINDNESS CRAFTERS – Monthly Sundays, 1:00pm
DATES: January 26, March 23, April 27, May 18 – No session February 23 due to Winter Retreat.
Interested in knitting, sewing, quilting, baking or other crafts? No knowledge necessary, beginners and experts and all between are welcome. The Loving Kindness Crafters have recently been creating patient blankets and blankets for homeless children – simply cutting cloth edges and tying. Update: On March 23 and April 27 – We hope to complete 2 more Polarfleece Tie Blankets. On May 18, the monthly project will shift to making felted beads for jewelry, using wool fiber, olive oil soap and water. Materials and instructions will be provided.
TAI CHI – Sundays Weekly, 4:00 – 5:00pm
Learn and practice Wu Style Tai Chi Chan with instructor Marilyn Feingold.
COST: Drop-in, $5 per session at the door. No sessions February 16 and 23 due to Winter Retreat, all of March and April 13.
OPEN MIC@JEWEL HEART – Second Sunday Monthly, 6:00pm Sign-up 5:30pm.
DATES: January 12, February 9, March 9, April 13, May 11
All welcome. Email [email protected]. Donations welcome.
LOCATION: 1129 Oak Valley Drive, Ann Arbor, 48108
HATHA YOGA WITH SAMANTHA LIEBERMAN – Thursdays Weekly, 9:15 – 10:15am – No session February 20
COST: Drop-in $18 per session, Cash or Venmo at door. Seniors receive 10% discount. Discounted packages available. Bring your own mats.
Sam Lieberman has been practicing yoga since 1988. She received teacher trainings in Yoga Fit and Yoga Medics. Yoga Medics is a medical model approach with emphasis on alignment and therapeutic needs.
NEW STRETCH WITH SAMANTHA LIEBERMAN – Fridays Weekly, 9:15 – 10:15am, No session February 21 and March 14 – Try and see.
Come educate yourself on how, why and the importance of stretching! Bring your own mat. $18 per session/Venmo or cash the door. 10% senior discount.
FREE FILM AND DISCUSSION – Fridays Monthly, 7:00pm
Bring friends and enjoy a free film & follow up group discussion onsite. Free concessions available.
LOCATION: 1129 Oak Valley Drive, Ann Arbor 48108
January 10 – After Sun (2022) – Sophie reflects on the shared joy and private melancholy of a holiday she took with her father twenty years earlier. Memories real and imagined fill the gaps between, as she tries to reconcile the father, she knew with the man she didn’t…
February 14 – Don’t Look Up (2021) – Two low-level astronomers must go on a giant media tour to warn humankind of an approaching comet that will destroy planet Earth, portrays how not listening to Science can turn out.
March 14 – Take Shelter (2012) – Plagued by a series of apocalyptic visions, a young husband & father questions whether to shelter his family from a coming storm or from himself.
April 11 – Melancholia (2012) – A marriage celebration despite best efforts is a fiasco, family tensions mounting and relationships fraying. Meanwhile, a planet is heading directly at earth threatening the very existence of humankind.
HAPPY HIKERS – 3rd Saturday Monthly at various Ann Arbor parks, 1:30 – 2:30pm
DATES/LOCATIONS: January 19, No session this February, March 15, April 19, May 17. We take a break in June, July, August and resume September – December.
April 19: Barton Nature Area Trail
January: Parker Mill County Park, 4650 Geddes Rd, Ann Arbor; March: Bird Hills Park Newport Rd., Ann Arbor; April 19: Barton Nature Area Trail, Michigan, May 17: Lilly Park-South Trails Loop 4365 Platt Rd, Ann Arbor, MI 48108
Questions? Contact Heather MacKenzie at [email protected]
DHARMA DISC’ERS DISC GOLF – Sunday Afternoons Monthly, 2:00pm – 4:00pm – New and experienced players welcome!
DATES: April 20*, May 18, June 8, July 13, August 17
*April 20 – 3:00pm this date only – Season Opening Extravanganza. Prizes will be awarded to participants including those new to Dharma Disc’ers. Join the fun! New players are always welcome.
LOCATION: Mary Beth Doyle Park, 3500 Birch Hollow Drive, Ann Arbor 48108. Meet in parking lot adjacent to swing set.
Instructions – Time of play is usually 1-3 hours, depending on number in group and how many holes we play. Typically 18 holes but you can also play 9 or however many you like.
Wear good hiking shoes with a good gripping sole as ground may be muddy. Discs will be available to use for the day. If you have your own discs (or plan to purchase a starter set), please bring your own. You might also want to bring a small bag or backpack to carry your discs.
Note: Play is weather permitting. Please check this webpage first.
Contact: [email protected]
SANGHA GAME NIGHT – February 2, 1:30pm
LOCATION: Jewel Heart Cafe, 1129 Oak Valley Drive, Ann Arbor 48108
Everyone is invited to bring a favorite game or two, otherwise take their chances with what others bring. A few games anticipated are – Uno and variants, Codenames, Splendor, Pictionary, Monikers Late arrivals welcome.
In general, it is anticipated someone will join a group of 3-6 people and agree to a game for 30-60 minutes. One person will take the lead explaining the game and facilitating game play. Then a NEW game is selected by someone else for variety as people move in or out as desired.
People sharing their favorite games and learning new games is encouraged. Snacks will be provided.
Ann Arbor Programs Sept – Dec 2024
UPDATE – WE NOW HAVE AN ONLINE REGISTRATION PROCESS FOR ANN ARBOR ONSITE-ONLY DHARMA COURSES BEGINNING JANUARY 2025
For your convenience, scroll below for January – April 2025 Onsite Dharma Programs.
CREATING SPACE: Clarity & Insight through Meditation – Mondays, January 6 – February 3, 2025, 7:00 – 8:30pm. No session January 20, due to holiday. FREE, Registration required
Meditation provides us with a clear stable mind, necessary for a happy life as well as the foundation for deepening our spiritual journey. This is a condensed four week course, offering hands-on experience with all of the basic elements of meditation – attention to breath, posture, plus techniques for coping with distractions and laxity of mind. All levels of experience are welcome. Facilitators – John Madison and Wendy Weiner. Click here to register.
SEM: THE NATURE OF MIND – Wednesdays, January 8 – March 19, 7pm – 8:30pm
*No session February 19. Jewel Heart Members FREE, Non-Members $40 or Pay what you can. Registration required.
This course addresses the relationship between energy and mind, the mind’s capacity for liberation, wisdom, and continuity of consciousness, as well as highlighting the mind as an object of concentrated meditation.
The course format includes: Reading assignments based on Gelek Rimpoche’s SEM transcript, and sessions that include concentrated meditation, facilitator presentations, group discussion, and guided analytical meditation. Visit the Jewel Heart store onsite to purchase the SEM paperback transcript or the Jewel Heart Store online to purchase the SEM downloadable digital pdf. Click here to register.
GOM: DAY OF MEDITATION – Saturdays, January 25 and March 22, 2025, 9:00am – 5:00pm. FREE
Meditation is an essential tool to help develop peace, joy, concentration and wisdom. GOM Days provide an opportunity to participate in silent group meditation sessions. Instructors will provide light guidance and will be available for assistance. Participants are welcome to come and go as suits their personal schedules throughout the day. Click here to register.
MONTHLY LAMA CHOPA AND TSOHS – Meeting onsite on the 10th lunar day monthly at 6:00pm with Lama Chopa Practice and Tsohs. Jadal Tulku will lead the sessions. Schedule coming soon.
CHANTING WORKSHOP WITH JADAL TULKU (Tulku-la) on the Long Life prayer and mandala offering for Tokden Rinpoche – Onsite only, Sunday, October 27, 2024, 2:00pm.
MANDALA OFFERING WORKSHOPS with Jadal Tulku
Jadal Tulku, known to most of us as Tulku-la, will offer a few informal sessions on how to make mandala offerings, from the simple 4 line verse with hand mudra to the more elaborate 37 heaps mandala offering. These will take place on Sundays, from 3 pm – 4 pm in an informal style, onsite only and not recorded, starting Sunday June 30, 2024 at Jewel Heart.
Stay tuned for future offerings.
GOM DAY OF MEDITATION – FREE, All Levels Welcome!
Meditation is an essential tool that helps develop peace, joy, concentration and wisdom. The day includes practice sessions with light guidance. Instructors available for assistance. Silence will be enjoyed throughout.
Saturday, September 28, 2024 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
No registration required. Come when you can.
Detailed Schedule
9:00am-10:30am session, 10:30am-11:00am break/questions
11:00am-12:30pm session, 12:30pm-1:00pm break/questions
1:00am-2:30pm session, 2:30pm-3:00pm break/questions
3:00am-4:30pm session, 4:30pm-5:00pm break/questions
You are welcome to meditate through break if you choose.
ATTAINING LASTING SATISFACTION
This course is based on the newly released transcript from Gelek Rimpoche talks on the qualities of a genuine spiritual path, on how it can bring us closer to our pure nature and help us attain lasting satisfaction in this lifetime. Facilitators Wendy Weiner and Joseph Breault.
Wednesdays, June 5 – July 31 & September 4 – October 16, 2024 No sessions July 3, 24
Onsite only, 7:00 – 8:30pm
Members Free/Non-Members $75 donation. No one turned away, pay what you can.
For questions, write [email protected]
ANCIENT WISDOM. MODERN TIMES. WITH DEMO RINPOCHE
Join Demo Rinpoche for weekly public talks on a variety of topics based on Buddhist wisdom that remains relevant for modern life. Followed by optional facilitated group discussion, onsite and online.
Sundays Weekly 11:00am – 12:00pm, FREE, Onsite and Online – No sessions, October 6 due to Fall Seminar. As well as November 10, 17 and 24. Earlier recordings will be posted on the Ancient Wisdom. Modern Times. webpage on those dates to view at your convenience. Live Sunday talks will resume on December 1.
WHITE TARA GUIDED MEDITATION
Tara, mother goddess of Tibetan Buddhism, is known for her quick and compassionate activity. White Tara is particularly associated with healing and long life. These guided meditations use visualization techniques to overcome physical, mental, and emotional suffering.
Sundays Weekly, 9:30 – 10:30am, Online/Onsite – No session October 6 due to Fall Seminar, as well as November 10, 17 and 24. White Tara guided meditations will resume on December 1.