Workshops and Trainings

Beginning Orientation

If you are interested in learning more about Open Mind Zen, we suggest that you first attend a Sunday 10 am meditation and Dharma Talk. There you will get a chance to meet many group members, and get a sense of our teaching style to see if you feel an affinity with it. Talks are given by Zen Master Al Rapaport or Assistant Teachers.

If you would like to go further, speak with us about setting up a Beginning Orientation session. This lasts about an hour, and will give you basic meditation instruction as well as information about the history of Zen and of Open Mind Zen Center. During this session we will also cover the various ways you can be involved at Open Mind Zen. A $25 donation is requested for this session.

ZENERGY Healing

ZENERGY Healing is designed to evoke authentic presence through a profound connection between practitioner and participant. It is both meditative and therapeutic, as it gets the participant out of his or her head and into the body sensation of the present moment.

Because there is consciousness in every cell of the body, through ZENERGY Healing one can release stress and promote awakening by recognizing how we hold memories of the past through muscular tension and anxiety.

The ZENERGY practitioner utilizes a combination of co-meditation, breath, voice dialogue and energy awareness to promote relaxation, letting go and healing. Results include a feeling of well being and connection to our larger nature, as well as increased integration of meditation and daily life.

ZENERGY Healing sessions last about an hour and are done fully clothed, with hands-on touch being limited to what the participant is comfortable with. No previous experience of any type is necessary.

Zen Dialogue

This innovative process is based on the fact that the most straightforward and reliable way to deal with the quest for enlightenment is to enlist the help of the controlling ego rather than attempting to exhaust it or force it to change as many other techniques do.

By the end of the process participants will awaken to the role of Big Mind in their life, and will learn to recognize the different results which stem from using Big Mind as opposed to ego mind. This workshop is required for all beginning students, but is also available to members or anyone who wishes to awaken to their true self. 

The first level of Zen Dialogue consists of two sessions which range from about 90 minutes to 2 hours in length. 

Zen Breathwork

Zen Breathwork is a facilitated deep breathing exercise done to specific music, and has a powerful ability to energetically harmonize body, mind and spirit. On a physical level, it helps regulate and calm the breath and increase lung capacity. On an emotional level it brings hidden or suppressed information to the surface, helping us to release it. On a spiritual level it can propel us to new vistas that we may not have experienced before.

These sessions last 90 minutes to 2 hours with instruction.