The Real Work:
A Weekly Sit for Working Stiffs
with Neil Carlson
Tuesdays, Jun 16–Jul 28, 1–2pm EDT
IN-PERSON & ONLINE
This group is for anyone who has ever felt the gap between the life they’re living and the life they mean to live. You don’t need to be a meditator. You don’t need to believe anything in particular. You just need to be curious about what’s actually happening (in your mind, your work, your relationships) and willing to sit still long enough to look.
We meet for an hour of meditation and open conversation. We sit in silence, each of us observing our own minds, and then we talk about whatever came up. The format is simple:
- A few minutes to arrive and settle
- Brief meditation instruction: how does meditation work?
- 25 minutes of silent meditation
- Open discussion: what came up, what’s alive, what matters
The teaching is rooted in vipassana, or insight meditation, a Buddhist tradition that emphasizes the importance of “seeing things as they are” through our direct experience of meditation rather than belief, doctrine, or someone else’s interpretation. The Buddha once said that wise friendship—showing up honestly, practicing together, asking hard questions in good company—wasn’t half the path, it was the entirety of it. That’s what we’re building here.
Compassion in Action: School Supply Drive
Our next Compassion in Action starts July 5 on HHDL’s birthday celebration and ends August 28. Join Shantideva Center and Yogis & Yoginis in helping send 500 local kids back to school with the supplies they need for a successful start to the year. Many families struggle to afford basic classroom essentials, and your donation can help ensure children arrive prepared, confident, and ready to learn. For more information, click here.
Important Note
This is an in-person and online event. For online, the events will be administered using Zoom*.
After registering, the system automatically sends a confirmation and/or a receipt email that contains the Zoom meeting link and/or other instructions. If you don’t immediately receive the system email(s) or you have any other questions, please contact us at registration@shantidevanyc.org.
*Zoom is an interactive video-conferencing tool that allows participants to see one another and ask questions. You will need a computer, a tablet or a smartphone with the Zoom application to attend. If you are using Zoom for the first time, please login earlier to allow any necessary installations on your device.
Registration
Suggested: $10 per session
Other offering options: free, $5, $15
The suggested amount helps support teacher offerings and expenses, direct costs and rent. Shantideva member benefits will apply automatically if you have a membership in MindBody.
Shantideva Center may publish recorded sessions in the public domain (e.g., on YouTube). By registering for this event, you are agreeing to give your consent to this process. Please be conscious of any personal information you share. Recordings are typically made to spotlight only on the teacher or facilitator so participants are usually not visible.
Time zone: US Eastern Daylight Time (GMT/UTC-4)
For questions regarding registration, please email registration@shantidevanyc.org for assistance.
About the Facilitator
Neil Carlson came to meditation the way most Western householders do, seeking refuge from the gnawing discomfort of being a human being. Neil‘s dharma practice is rooted in traditional vipassana (insight) mindfulness and meditation but developed through his everyday life experience, as a husband, father, friend, and entrepreneur. As a lay dharma practitioner, Neil believes that ordinary life, met with awareness, courage, and acceptance, is the practice. How do we use our daily lives to grow larger, freer, more loving? That is the question we will explore together. Neil is grateful to the Shantideva Center for opening its doors — and its gompa — as the home for that inquiry.
