The Mindfulness Grad Online Community (MGOC) will gather monthly under the guidance of MBSR Teacher and Teacher Trainer Rebecca Eldridge for continued learning, practice, and community.
During each session, we will explore various mindfulness topics through teachings, practice, silent reflection, and speaking & listening.
As members of the MGOC, we all will—
Engaging a process at each session will provide a structured freedom to move us toward understanding, acceptance, action, further wondering, connection, and other things we can’t possibly name until they arise in our midst.
The process, with approximate times—
NOTE: Everyone (those present and those who registered but have to miss) will receive an email after each session, with a link to the recording of that session and what to focus on for next time.
Rebecca served as an MBSR Teacher and MBSR Teacher Trainer at the Center for Mindfulness at UMass Medical School, creating and training their teaching faculty to deliver their first online MBSR course in 2016. She is certified as a calibrated rater for assessing MBSR teaching, and is a member of the International Mindfulness Integrity Network, a worldwide group of teacher trainers exploring ethics and standards of mindfulness training programs.
Beyond teaching MBSR and training MBSR teachers, Rebecca works with organizations to develop and deliver mindfulness programs for living with more authenticity, resilience, and joy; and meditation guidance for promoting restorative rest and sleep. Her personal practice is guided by her teacher, Pema Chödrön, and she was featured giving meditation instruction in two courses taught by Pema Chödrön: Making Friends with Yourself and How to Live with Compassion and Courage. She also loves growing things—from fruits, vegetables, and flowers; to a personal meditation practice that doesn’t fizzle out; to communities that welcome and encourage people as they are.
To register for Sunday, August 9, 2026:
1. Make your donation.
2. Receive an email from East Coast Mindfulness containing the Zoom link for the session (please check your Junk/SPAM folder in case you do not see this email).
Your donation makes it possible for us to continue this offering. Thank you!
All times shown are US Eastern:
| Dates | Times | Topic |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 92026 | 6:45-8:45PM | Reopening in the Midst of Reactivity How often do we find ourselves reacting before we even realize we’ve reacted? In this session, we'll explore the automatic, often subtle, impulses that arise in daily life—to interrupt, fix, reassure, defend, withdraw, explain, or move quickly away from discomfort. Together, we'll practice recognizing these moments and explore what becomes possible when we remember to reopen in the midst of reactivity—reconnecting on the spot with awareness. We'll explore a simple framework to help us recognize our automatic patterns and experiment with responding from greater awareness and choice. Let's give it a go! Please bring what you need to practice, as well as something to write with. To prepare for our session, experiment with the following ways to reopen to a fuller sense of awareness (and feel free to come up with other ways of your own). Come ready to share what you noticed. VISUAL: Release tension in your face and slowly look around the space you’re in. TOUCH: Feel the contact of your feet with the floor, the support of your chair, or the texture of an object (a smooth rock, a soft sweater, etc). AUDITORY: Listen to the sounds around you. SMELL: Notice scents in the environment. TASTE: Take a sip or bite and actually taste it. |
| Jul 122026 | 6:45-8:45PM | Beyond Self-Improvement |
| Jun 142026 | 6:45-8:45PM | Training in Ordinary Beauty |
| Apr 122026 | 6:45-8:45PM | "Don't Know" Mind |
| Mar 82026 | 6:45-8:45PM | Retreat In Everyday Life: 2-Hour Home Retreat |
| Feb 82026 | 6:45-8:45PM | Haiku as Mindful Practice |
| Jan 112026 | 6:45-8:45PM | Sitting Together in Joy and Pain |
| Dec 142025 | 6:45-8:45PM | Open House: Meet Other 8-Week Grads |
| Nov 92025 | 6:45-8:45PM | Standing & Walking Meditation |
| Oct 122025 | 6:45-8:45PM | Unfixing Fixed Mind |
| Sept 142025 | 6:45-8:45PM | Retreat In Everyday Life: 2-Hour Home Retreat |
| Aug 102025 | 6:45-8:45PM | 9 Attitudinal Foundations of Mindfulness, from Jon Kabat-Zinn (continued from July) |
| July 132025 | 6:45-8:45PM | 9 Attitudinal Foundations of Mindfulness, from Jon Kabat-Zinn |
| June 82025 | 6:45-8:45PM | Poetry and Mindfulness |
| May 112025 | 6:45-8:45PM | Loving-Kindness as a Formal Practice |
| Apr 132025 | 6:45-8:45PM | Mindfulness of Feeling Tones: Pleasant, Unpleasant, Neutral |
| Mar 92025 | 6:45-8:45PM | Listening & Speaking |
| Feb 92025 | 6:45-8:45PM | Mountain Meditation |
| Jan 122025 | 6:45-8:45PM | Body Scanning |
| Dec 82024 | 6:45-8:45PM | Loving-Kindness Meditation |
| Nov 102024 | 6:45-8:45PM | 4 Foundations of Mindfulness |
| Oct 132024 | 6:45-8:45PM | Self-Compassion |
| Sept 82024 | 6:45-8:45PM | Establishing & Re-establishing Practice |
