About us
Greatwoods Zen is a mindfulness Community and peaceful retreat setting on 28 acre meditation gardens. We promote peace, mindfulness, and community!
Who We Are:
We are a community of people interested in the art of mindful living and engaging compassionately with ourselves and the world. Mindfulness is the energy of being fully alive and awake to life, as it unfolds in each moment. Because of the busyness and distractions of everyday life, we forgot how to slow down and touch the miracles of life that are happening all around and within us every day. Together as a community, we support one another to practice mindfulness - that is, to rest, rejuvenate, reflect, and remember to come how to ourselves.
We respect everyone’s root spiritual traditions, and accept people of all faiths. Any one from any religion is welcome to attend and learn how to touch their own spiritual heritage even more deeply with a depth of mindfulness. People of all racial, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds, and of all genders and orientation are welcome.
The days of mindfulness will be facilitated and led by David Viafora, an Order of Interbeing member and student for 20+ years of Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh. Roger Grosswald owns the beautiful meditation gardens and his deepest wish is for others to receive deep nourishment and healing in the gardens.
What We Do:
Every day of mindfulness, we offer a variety of practices for people to learn the art of mindful living. We begin by guided sitting meditation indoors, followed by mindful walking outside in a very beautiful and refreshing natural setting of forest and ponds. We listen to a teaching about mindfulness based on Buddhist wisdom teachings, followed by a group discussion. We finish with a simple lunch together that is offered by Greatwoods Zen.
Where We Meet:
Our gatherings take place upon the gorgeous 27 acre preserve of forest, ponds, and wetlands of Greatwoods Zen. We may walk or sit near a quiet duck pond, or saunter to the top of a small hill to overlook the forest. When the weather is too cold or raining, we will stay inside. All gatherings initially take place in the meditation hall at 8015 Sullivan Drive. Greatwoods Zen is located on the east side of Charlotte, in the “Hickory Grove” neighborhood.
Current Schedule:
* Saturdays 10am - 12:30pm (lunch included)
Our meetings may be adjusted in response to input from members like you. All feedback is welcome.
We look forward to you joining us!
Upcoming events
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The Book of Mindfulness: Finding Mindfulness in Unexpected Places
2101 Shenandoah Ave, 2101 Shenandoah Avenue, Charlotte, NC, USGreatwoods Zen and the Charlotte Center for Mindfulness have partnered to offer a unique and engaging book club exploring mindfulness as it appears—sometimes intentionally, sometimes unexpectedly—through literature.
Each month, we read and discuss books where mindfulness is a major theme. These may be classic mindfulness texts, or works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, mythology, biography, autobiography, or personal memoir. Again and again, examples of presence, awareness, and insight emerge in literature—often in surprising ways. Discovering these moments together can be a special delight.
Each gathering begins with a short meditation, followed by a group discussion of our monthly reading.
Current Reading Theme
For our January reading, each participant selected a book from Thich Nhat Hanh’s How to Live: Mindfulness Essentials series—choosing the title that most resonated with their current life and practice.At our February gathering, we’ll share reflections and insights from the individual books we selected and explore how these teachings speak to us now.
You can view the series here:
https://www.goodreads.com/series/158624-mindfulness-essentialsQuestions
Mike Davis – davismj001@gmail.com
Will Ritchey – wjritcheydesign@gmail.comDana / Donations
This offering is supported by generosity. If you feel moved to contribute, you’re welcome to donate to either or both partner organizations:Greatwoods Zen:
https://www.greatwoodszen.org/dana
Charlotte Center for Mindfulness:
https://www.ccmindful.org/donate.htmlAll are welcome—whether you’ve read the whole book, read a few passages that caught your interest, didn’t have a chance to open the book at all, are new to mindfulness, new to book discussions, or simply curious. We look forward to practicing and reflecting together.
7 attendees
![Embodied Somatic Circling [Online in Zoom]](https://secure.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/6/f/6/7/highres_532588519.jpeg)
Past events
118
![A Day of Mindfulness Honoring Thich Nhat Hanh [Online in Zoom]](https://secure.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/e/3/2/f/highres_532498159.jpeg)
Group links
Organizers
Members
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