A Pause for Presence

"The rush and pressure of modern life … [allowing] oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything … .  neutralizes our work for peace … our own inner capacity for peace … the fruitfulness of our own work.” (Thomas Merton)

This six session program explores ways to step outside of a pressured way of living, to pause in the present moment, and to move from “doing” to “being.”  It will bring together embodied meditation, movement, art therapy and sensation awareness with principles of mindfulness and teachings on the pause from different faith traditions.  It is open to people of any or no faith affiliation. 

Where: Royston Community Hall, Old Island Highway – wheelchair accessible

When: Wednesdays September 7 to October 12, 7pm-9pm.
 

Cost: $42 - $120 sliding scale ( $7 to $20 per session) Drop-ins Ok for first two sessions.

PRE-REGISTRATION required by September 1. Contact Wendy McNiven at wmcniven@uuma.org / 250-338-3307 or Denise Nadeau at dnadeau@shaw.ca.

Facilitators:

Wendy McNiven ( MDiv, MEd), is a Unitarian minister, teacher, facilitator, meditator and certified counsellor.

Denise Nadeau (MDiv, DMin) is a dance-movement therapist, spiritual companion, and educator whose work in the past twenty years has combined expressive arts with spiritual practice in the recovery of the sacredness of the body. 

Nicole Crouch is a guest facilitator for one session. Nicole is an art therapist living in the Comox Valley. She has a Masters in Creative Arts Therapies from Concordia University. She has been working in the arts and in community development for over ten years.