Insight Meditation of the Mid-Columbia opens free beginner series in Richland

Insight Meditation of the Mid-Columbia opened a five-class beginner series in Richland. The Sunday afternoon classes ran from July 12 through Aug. 9 at All Saints Episcopal Church, 1322 Kimball Avenue, with the first session in the main sanctuary and the remaining meetings in the Parish Hall.

The series was designed for people new to meditation and for more experienced practitioners. There was no charge, donations were accepted, and registration was handled by email.

The course followed this progression. The July 12 session focused on introduction to mindfulness and mindfulness of the breath. July 19 turned to mindfulness meditation and the body, July 26 to thoughts and emotions, Aug. 2 to compassion and loving-kindness, and Aug. 9 to insight meditation and open awareness. Each class stood on its own.

The group’s regular program offers five-part beginning meditation classes several times a year, sometimes online via Zoom. Its curriculum focuses on mindfulness development and reduction of stress. The classes centered on how to settle attention, what to do with the body, and how to work with thoughts when they keep moving.

The teachers were Chris Murray, the guiding teacher and founder of Insight Meditation of the Mid-Columbia, and Fabiola Robinson, a meditation teacher who recently moved to the Tri-Cities and joined the group. Murray founded the sangha in 2006 at the request of community members. He has been meditating since 1969 and has had a daily Buddhist meditation practice since 1975.

Before the pandemic, the group met several times a week in Richland and Kennewick for meditation, discussion and study sessions, daylong retreats, and classes. It has since resumed in-person meditation sessions on Wednesday and Saturday mornings.