CELEBRATING FREEDOM
July 6, 2022
A Moment with Stephanie
Every year on the 4th of July, our country celebrates when we gained freedom from England. Deeply tied to our nation’s identity is the idea of freedom—which is what we’re exploring this month.
Thinking about freedom I ask myself: What does it mean to be free? What do we want to be free of? I want to be free from stress and anxiety. I want to be free from suffering.
For me, freedom is connected to how we work with our own minds and hearts. While we cannot control our external circumstances, we can find an inner sense of freedom. I’m reminded of this quote from Viktor Frankl:
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
How does mindfulness make us free? Through practice, we begin to notice our thoughts and reactions in everyday life. We start to find the space, the pause, to be free from habitual patterns that are harmful. We gain the ability to choose our behavior and how we want to show up in the world.
With practice, we learn how to be resourceful—which helps free us from stress so we can find that still and joyful place inside ourselves.
Mindfulness helps us to embrace our whole selves, and gain freedom from the fear of feeling our full human experience—all the difficult emotions. And we learn the skills to hold them and experience them all.
We will be exploring this topic all month in our online community. You can join Mindful Connections in Community by clicking the button below!
From the journey,
Stephanie
We Welcome You to Join Our Upcoming Offerings!
In-Person and Online Guided Mindfulness Meditation
Awaken Pittsburgh offers guided meditations open to anyone! This is a chance to practice in community together. Starting in July, these meditations will move to hybrid so we can be together in person as well as on Zoom.
During our sits this month we’ll explore the theme: What is true freedom?
Each session follows the same format: introductions, a period of guided meditation, and then a chance to support one another, discuss how our meditations are going at home, and ask any questions we have about practice.
Our in-person venues require that you are fully vaccinated to enter. Please arrive early with your vaccination card to register on your way in.
There is no charge for attending, but donations to support our work are appreciated. We hope to see you there!
Tuesday, August 2 – 1:00–2:00 PM – Online AND at the Jewish Community Center – South Hills
Coming Soon!
We will soon be offering a new time each week for experienced practitioners to meditate together as well as a new round of our introductory course, Mindful Connections for Wellness Online.
More to come in our August newsletter, our Eventbrite page, and on our website.
Awaken in the Community
In the News!
July 10 – KDKA Sunday Spotlight 6:30 AM & 7:30 AM
Our work with First Responders will be featured on KDKA Sunday Spotlight on Sunday, July 10th at 6:30 & 7:30 AM. Tune in to learn more about our upcoming programs and the positive impact they are having on the community.
Bike Pittsburgh’s Open Streets
Saturday, July 30 from 9:00 AM–1:00 PM (East End Loop)
Awaken Pittsburgh will be represented at the final round of Bike Pittsburgh’s Open Streets! We will have an information table and offer Mindful Walking. Please come!
Find more information here: https://openstreetspgh.org/
Or https://openstreetspgh.org/
Virtual Dancing Mindfulness with Denina & LouAnn
Sundays from 9:00–9:45 AM
Looking for a movement meditation practice?
Dancing Mindfulness connects your body, mind, and spirit using the power of music, movement, and awareness. It’s a transformative practice that can take you to deep places of acceptance, healing, and recovery. Dancing Mindfulness is for everyone—regardless of your age, body type, fitness level, or experience with dance. Classes are “lightly” facilitated—no choreographed movements or dance steps to follow! Come as you are and move as you wish…seated, standing, or reclined.
Suggested contribution is $15 or pay what you can/want (no one turned away). Payment apps accepted are Venmo (@Denina-Bautti) CashApp ($DeninaBautti), and Paypal (paypal.me/deninabautti). Visit www.sageac.com for more information or contact Denina at 724-513-0069 or denina@sageac.com.
HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT OUR WORK?
Do you make purchases through Amazon.com? If you shop through smile.amazon.com and choose Awaken Pittsburgh as your charity, Amazon Smile will donate to us! It costs you nothing and helps to support our work. But you have to choose us! Sign in to smile.amazon.com on your desktop or mobile phone browser. From your desktop, go to “Your Account” and select the option to “Change your Charity.” Or, from your mobile browser, select “Change your Charity” from the options at the bottom of the page.
Donations of any amount are always much needed to continue to bring mindfulness practices to folks who cannot afford them. Did you know that you can make recurring monthly donations to support mindfulness coming to more folks in our community who can’t afford it? Check out how to do it here.