First Congregational Church will offer an eight-week series to explore and experience mindfulness meditation, beginning Sept. 18. Mindfulness meditation has been shown to improve health, concentration, self-esteem and interpersonal relations. Each hour-long session will include a brief teaching, guided meditation experiences, and group sharing and discussion.
The series will be held on Tuesdays, Sept. 18 through Nov. 6 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. at First Congregational Church, 219 North Granby Road. For maximum benefit, participation in the entire series is strongly recommended. However, participants are welcome to attend individual sessions. Dr. Douglas Williams, a licensed clinical psychologist in Connecticut and Massachusetts, will lead it. Sessions are open to all and there are no fees. Participants may wish to contribute a free will offering which would benefit the Youth Program at First Congregational Church.
Williams was first introduced to transcendental meditation as a college student in the 1970s. As a graduate student in clinical psychology in the 1980s, Williams studied at UMass Medical School in Worcester where he was exposed to the pain management program led by Jon Kabat-Zinn, who developed mindfulness bases stress reduction or MBSR. Williams continued his training in areas of hypnosis, biofeedback training, and meditation approaches to pain management, ADHD, and cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT) of medical and psychiatric conditions.
To sign up, please contact First Congregational Church 860-653-4537 or email admin@firstchurchgranby.org Sign-ups at the door each Tuesday are also available.