Waking Up Here and Now – A Yearlong Program

Are you ready to make a commitment to wake up to your true potential for freedom in this human life?

• Are you ready to examine the habits and patterns that hold you back from your true potential and to develop skills and practices that return you to the freedom that is always present here and now?

• Do the conditions and commitment exist for you to make awakening a priority in your life in the year ahead?

If you answered yes to these questions, consider applying to participate in the yearlong Waking Up Here and Now program.

Here are key program elements:

Focus of Program

The program will center on the potential for realizing freedom in every moment of our lives—whether in formal meditation practice or in daily life, amidst difficulties and in more favorable conditions. A key question that we will begin with and consistently return to is: What is in the way of being completely awake and free here and now?

Format and Key Features of Program: 

• At the heart of the yearlong program are monthly individual meetings with the program teacher, Hugh Byrne, accompanied by monthly, teacher-facilitated group sessions with 5-6 participants.

• Individual meetings will focus on: 1) Practice (formal meditation and daily life); 2) Reading, study, and contemplation (recommended books, talks, classes, and courses to attend or focus on for deepening understanding and practice); 3) Retreat practice (exploration of appropriate teachers and teachings based on participants’ individual conditions and experience); and 4) Individualized exploration of barriers and supports for waking up. 

• Group meetings (1.5 – 2 hours) will include participants practicing together, sharing experiences and insights, raising questions, and supporting each other on their spiritual journey.

• Program will be limited to 15-20 participants. Once the program is filled, new participants will be admitted if spaces open up or at beginning of next round of the program. 

• Program start planned for fall 2024 (Date, TBA) Individual and group sessions will take place online using the Zoom platform.

Who are candidates for the Waking Up Here and Now program?

Potential participants will fulfill the following criteria:

• Be an experienced meditator—with at least 3-5 years of committed and regular meditation practice

• Be strongly committed to ending suffering in their lives and in the world—and be willing to invest the time, energy, and resources to help advance their practice significantly

• Be interested in waking up and receiving support in Buddhist teachings of freedom as well as other wise and compassionate teachings of awakening

• Be familiar with central Buddhist teachings (four noble truths, noble eightfold path, foundations of mindfulness, heart practices…)

• Be willing to commit at least one year to the training (a period to assess if the program is a good fit on both sides will be included)

Program Commitments: Program participants should expect to commit:

• A minimum of 5 hours a month to the program (individual and group sessions and preparation)

• 30 – 45 minutes a day of formal meditation; and 3-5 hours a week of reading, study, or other practice

• It is recommended that program participants find time during the year to sit a retreat of 5-7 days or longer as a key support for your practice

What you will receive from the program:

• Individualized mentoring and support for your practice and spiritual development

• Support in group sessions from program teacher and from other community members

• Connection and community with fellow program participants

• Access to program teacher to raise questions and discuss your practice

Hugh Byrne’s Background and Training Information

• 30+ years of meditation and retreat practice

• 20+ years of teaching meditation—both Buddhist and secular—with Insight Meditation Community of Washington and other groups (e.g., Kripalu, Omega, Insight Meditation Society, and corporations, government agencies, and non-profits)

• Graduate of 4-year retreat teacher training through IMS and Spirit Rock Meditation Center, led by Joseph Goldstein, Jack Kornfield, Phillip Moffitt, and other senior Insight Meditation teachers

• Co-led (with Tara Brach, Jonathan Foust, and Pat Coffey) two-year meditation teacher training program (2011-2013) to train 50+ meditation teachers in Mid-Atlantic region

• Trained in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program, developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn and colleagues at UMASS, and taught MBSR for ten years

• Completed three-year training in Somatic Experiencing, a mind-body approach to healing trauma developed by Peter Levine

• Co-guiding teacher of IMCW (2013 to 2017); member of IMCW board of directors (2003 to 2018)

• Author of two books on mindfulness and habit change: The Here-and-Now Habit: How Mindfulness Can Help You Break Unhealthy Habits Once and for All; and Habit Swap: Trade in Your Unhealthy Habits for Mindful Ones

• Academic qualifications: Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) from University of London; and M.A. in African Studies; M.A. in political science; and Ph.D. in political science—from the University of California, Los Angeles