The group is headed by the husband and wife team of Gordon Peerman and Kathy Woods. This couple is a force in Nashville. Gordon and Kathy both practice at the Vanderbilt Center for Integrative Health, they both practice mindfulness meditation and movement qi gong, and they offer their time for free each week. Their personal stories are rich with teaching. Gordon is an Episcopal priest and the author of the recent successful book titled "Blessed Relief: What Christians Can Learn From Buddhists About Suffering." Kathy is a cancer survivor whose practice developed more deeply as a result of that experience. Together, they make a formidable team and offer a depth of knowledge rarely found in Nashville.
The group gathers at 5:15 on Wednesdays. For those not familiar with Vanderbilt, the meeting location looks out over the lawn facing the well-known San Antonio Taco Company and Ben & Jerry's. Walking up from the street you'll pass the library on your left, and follow the path up to the Divinity school (the one with the steeple on it). Go ahead and turn off your cell phones before you enter the building, as noise radiates once you are inside. The first door you see (all glass) is the one to use. Kick off your shoes and find any seat that you like inside. You can also use a cushion up front. Latecomers are always welcome. Just try to be quiet, but don't harp on it.
Personally, I wondered about the shoes thing when I started. It's nothing more than a symbolic way to separate the experience we're looking for inside from the daily routine we get outside. Honoring the place of practice is important to the group, so that's what's going on there.
Other distractions include wondering who these people are and whether you have to interact with them. Well, these people are other Nashvillians, mostly professionals, who enjoy meditation. If you want to come and go and not say a word, you would be in the majority 90% of those who attend. Anonymity is not hard to achieve.
And their religion? All faiths. The group has no dogma or creed. They draw on multiple sources to explain and teach, with predominantly Buddhist and Christian influences. The point has nothing to do with religion - mindfulness meditation is a technique which has been developed outside the scope of religion, but those with faith structures can apply it seamlessly to their practice.
When you arrive and have found a seat, wait for the guided meditation to begin. Gordon or Kathy will invite everyone to enter into an upright and dignified position, and then offer the step by step approach of the day. When the meditation is ending, they will ring a bell three times. Feel free to move around at that point, and relax and enjoy the dharma talk.
The dharma talk is a brief time to explore what practice means to Gordon or Kathy in their daily experience. Their reflections often follow a book they group is studying or how they are dealing with some particular experience. It never fails to be an interesting and rewarding discussion. Again, no comment will be solicited. Just sit and listen.
When the talk is over, Gordon or Kathy will offer a brief closing prayer. Then they will thank you for coming and say they hope to see you next week. After that, people either head straight out or mill around greeting friends and talking with each other. It all ends in about an hour.
30 minutes of sitting, 30 minutes of dharma talk. I have been attending consistently for about two years - and I have always felt better and energized after being there. Sometimes, the experience is truly exceptional, as Gordon and Kathy rarely hold back and share emotional intimacies as a gift to the group.
I would suggest that anyone come by and give it a shot. If it's not your thing, at least you will have tried it. For others, it really sinks in and helps make your life better. All are welcome. If you're able, there is a table up front that holds a gratuity basket, as well as Gordon's CDs and book. Nobody will point you toward it - some people come for months without noticing it. That's one of the inside little tidbits you should know about, however, if you really want to feel like you've got everything figured out before you come.
You can't get much better than a free weekly experience. I highly recommend this group.
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