How do I establish a regular practice?

As you get comfortable with your sitting practice, you may want to learn more about meditation and the Buddhist path of spiritual awakening.

• Attend regular weekly classes. What does it mean to practice?  In any given moment we can inquire into how we are holding our experience.  In an instant we can recognize if we are perceiving through a lens of fear and open to a moment filled with new possibilities.
  ~ Jonathan Foust
• Work with a mentor to help strengthen and deepen your meditation practice and bring mindfulness more fully into your daily life.
• Join a spiritual friends/Kalyana Mitta (KM) group. These small, neighborhood or thematic groups meet biweekly for meditation and discussion. They will help you keep up your commitment to a daily meditation practice and explore how to bring the practices and teachings into your daily life.
• Arrange periodic meetings with a teacher to get support and advice on deepening practice. 
• Attend introductory classes on Buddhist teachings.
• Join an IMCW affinity group (People of Color; Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgendered and Questioning), where appropriate. The affinity groups allow a circle of belonging that feels safe to its members and create a refuge where they can relax into the intimacy of spiritual exploration.
• Participate in sangha (community)-related activities (social gatherings that nurture relationship and celebration of life.) Subscribe and contribute to our weekly Off the Cushion newsletter to know what’s going on in the area.
• Join a local sitting group or start one of your own.
• Volunteer to help out at a class, to write for the ENews newsletter, or to help with a fundraiser. There’s lots to do and most of it happens because of the dedication of people like you.

Once you feel you have established your sitting practice, you are ready to explore deepening practice.