Join me for a reading (and meditation) from my new book, Secular Meditation: 32 Practices for Cultivating Inner Peace, Compassion, and Joy — A Guide from the Humanist Community at Harvard.
The event will take place:
Sunday, November 22
1:30pm
The Humanist Hub
30 JFK St
4th Floor
Harvard Square
Cambridge, Massachusetts
The Humanist Hub is accessible through an elevator.
Parking is difficult in Harvard Square, though on Sundays, parking is allowed in residential areas. There is a parking garage two blocks away at 65 JFK St.
The book arose out of the Humanist Hub’s Mindfulness Group (aka Cambridge Secular Buddhists), and presents meditations we’ve done in the group and reflects our discussions after the meditations. It includes the personal stories of several members of the group who agreed to interviews. I have led many of the meditations at the group over the last five years.
The book has been endorsed by a number of meditation teachers, including Stephen Batchelor, Sharon Salzberg, Tara Brach and Rick Hanson. From the book’s description on Amazon:
Meditation is a form of mental exercise with numerous scientifically verified physical and psychological benefits. As meditation teacher Rick Heller shows, meditation’s benefits extend beyond the personal to enrich relationships with others, with one’s community, and with the world. In Secular Meditation, step-by-step instructions, personal stories, and provocative questions teach empathy for others, stress reduction, and the kind of in-the-moment living that fosters appreciation for life and resilience in the face of adversity. Heller simplifies what is often found mysterious, describing and providing detailed instructions for 32 different practices, ensuring that anyone can find the right one.Heller simplifies what is often found mysterious — “If you have ever loved or even liked another person, you have the prerequisites for learning kindness meditation” — and invites all to partake in “awe and wonder at the rich experience of being alive.”