sitting monkey is place where
david evans
writes about meditation, buddhism, and related topics.
our new center is really starting to come together, each week more detail adds to the beauty of the space. yesterday Chris built the shrine box and brought in more art. the benches are felted and in position, even without cushions yet they are comfortable to sit on. this week i hope to paint the two doors and trim, and bring over the furniture and art that i have been storing.
i was expecting about seven people to show up, and preparing to be happy about even that many people attending. but i was blown away when 47 people came. our first class, and we filled the room!
i was my usual nervous self introducing the class and introducing the class leader, but it all went fine. the a/v went without a hitch (thanks to two hours before hand troubleshooting it) and the Q&A afterward went about as well as i would have expected. next monday the saga continues, hopefully i’ll have the chance to connect people who return with our new center and our upcoming schedule of events.
many months ago, I guessed it would be a good way to publicize our small meditation group by hosting a Pema Chödrön video class at East West Bookstore. The way the schedule worked out, we could have it over three successive Monday night’s timed to start just after Pema’s public weekend meditation retreat in the area. That way we could piggyback the publicity efforts for both programs, connect our center with Pema who is our senior teacher, and give us a timeline to rent a space and start something bigger.
so far it’s going really well. our center is rented, painted, with a new floor and baseboards; and it looks amazing. just being in the space astonishes me, it looks so beautiful; and it isn’t even finished yet.
but tomorrow i’ll be coordinating my first dharma program, the video class at East West. this is exciting and terrifying. i have no idea how many people will be there. it could be a very small group. tonight i sent out a reminder about the program to 150 people on our mailing list. i’m watching the video tapes to make sure they don’t have any glitches or quality problems, and then i’ll make an informational flyer about the center to place on everyone’s chairs. this is a lot of work, but it’s such a fun project. wish me luck!