The Six Senses: A Winter Meditation Journey
A six-week meditation program
Tuesdays, 10:30–11:30 am
January 12th, 19th, 26th and February 2nd, 9th, 16th 2027
Winter is a time to turn inward, to spend more time in stillness, and to explore the inner landscape. It is also an important season to stay connected to community. Together we’ll quiet the mind, deepen our experience of embodiment, and come home to presence through the very doorways we live by every day: our sense gates of smell, taste, sight, touch and hearing. In Buddhist teaching, the mind is counted as a sixth sense. In our 6 week series, each week we’ll explore one sense as a gateway into our meditation. Each class will include an experiential practice to help you feel the teaching in your body. Week by week, the senses will become our teachers, returning us to the body, to this moment, and to a deeper sense of wholeness.
All sessions will be recorded so you will have a library of meditations to continue to practice with.
Limited to 12 participants. Reserve your spot here.
The Journey
January 12th — Smell
We will begin with the oldest and most primal of our senses: smell. Working with a selection of scents, you’ll explore how each one lands in your system and choose a scent that supports a sense of grounding in your body. See how a scent can resource your meditation practice.
January 19th — Taste
Week 2 is about savoring. With the sense of taste, we’ll slow way down and practice receiving nourishment with full attention. And there will be a special winter treat to share at this session. Experience how taste becomes a doorway into deeper presence and the simple pleasure of being here.
January 26th — Sight
In week 3, we will use the sense gate of sight to practice trataka, the ancient yogic meditation of soft candle gazing. Sitting with a candle about an arm’s length away, at eye level, we’ll rest our eyes on the flame with a spacious, relaxed gaze, never strained. Then we’ll close our eyes and gently rest with the glowing afterimage within. This practice is traditionally said to quiet mental chatter and strengthen concentration, and it prepares us for deeper meditation. In the darkest season, it’s a lovely way to sit with the light.
February 2nd — Touch
In week 4, we will experience how touch can ground the body into presence. This week, meditation is woven with Reiki, a gentle hands-on energy practice that invites the nervous system to settle and the body to soften into deeper rest.
February 9th — Hearing
In week 5 we will bring in sound to open our sense gate of hearing. The resonant tones of singing bowls will guide us into listening, first to the sound, then to the vibration moving through the body, and finally to the silence the sound leaves behind. Enjoy the magic of a sound bath meditation.
February 16th — Mind
Our final week will close with the sense that holds all the others: the mind. Through a guided exploration, we’ll get curious about our mental patterns, the familiar loops and stories, and practice finding more space between the thoughts. From there, we’ll rest in a more spacious quality of mind.
Why Practice Together?
Winter is the season for hibernation and inner exploration. In the darker months, it’s easy to withdraw into isolation. This meditation program offers another way: turning inward alongside others in a supportive, nurturing community. When we practice together, we get to tap into the collective web of presence co-created by the group. Not only do we have the physical support of the circle, but we also have the collective consciousness of the group focusing on the present moment. And last but not least, meditation among friends is far more fun.
Everyone Welcome
All levels are welcome, whether you’re brand new to meditation or returning to deepen your practice.
Why prioritize meditation?
Whenever I find myself wanting to skip my practice, I come back to the Benefits of Meditation as a reminder to keep showing up.
Meditation has been practiced for thousands of years, and modern research is catching up to what contemplatives have long known. Studies suggest that a regular meditation practice supports:
Easing anxiety and lifting low mood. A major review of clinical trials found moderate evidence that mindfulness meditation programs improve anxiety, depression, and pain.
Supporting restful sleep. According to the National Institutes of Health, mindfulness practices may reduce insomnia and improve sleep quality.
Softening the experience of pain. NIH-supported research shows mindfulness meditation helps relieve pain, engaging the same brain region as opioids while working through a different pathway.
Helping the body recover from stress and trauma. Meditation may reduce symptoms of PTSD; in one study with veterans, it worked as well as a widely accepted therapy.
Reshaping the brain itself. Some research suggests meditation may influence both how the brain functions and its structure.
Nourishing overall well-being. A large map of systematic reviews found most studies reported positive effects, with mental health, vitality, and quality of life among the most-studied outcomes.
Investment
$300 for six classes
Early Bird Special: $250 when you sign up before December 1
Scholarship opportunities available — cost should never be a barrier to this practice. Please email me at Elizabeth.bertram1@gmail.com for scholarship and/or trade opportunities.