Taking CARE Foundations
A Mindfulness-Based Introduction to Meditation and Mindful Living
The faculty of voluntarily bringing back a wandering attention, over and over again, is the very root of judgment, character, and will.
Taking CARE Foundations is a mindfulness-based program in meditation and mindful living for anyone who wants to begin, or begin again. Through guided meditation, short teachings, reflection, and conversation, it offers a practice that meets ordinary life as it is: at home, at work, and with the people around us. No experience is needed.
What we practice
Much of how we live runs on habit. A reaction we once chose becomes the one we reach for, and with enough repetition it becomes part of who we are. Mindfulness works at that same place, in the small moment between what we feel and what we do next. There we can see a habit as it begins, remember what matters to us, and respond with more care. Repeated, that becomes part of who we are too.
An old teaching speaks of two arrows. The first is the pain that comes with any human life. The second is what we add to it: the worry, the blame, the story we keep telling. Practice helps us see the second arrow as it comes and, more and more often, meet the first without it.
Taking care also means noticing what is good. Much of practice is learning to be present for the ordinary goodness of a day, the people we love, and the world around us, and letting it nourish us. Joy and appreciation are as much a part of this training as meeting what is hard.
The approach
Taking CARE is a mindfulness-based approach, rooted in Buddhist meditation and wisdom and open to people of every faith and of none. It is built around eight plain words: Calm, Connect, Aware, Attitude, Recognize, Remember, Embody, and Engage. Each describes one side of a single practice, and we learn them by practicing them, in the sessions and in daily life between them.
What we explore together
Settling body, heart, and mind, and a simple daily meditation practice to continue on our own
The eight words of Taking CARE, as a shared language that is easy to carry into the day
Meeting stress, difficult emotions, and old reactions with steadiness and kindness
Noticing and appreciating the good already present in an ordinary day
Bringing practice into work, home, relationships, and the world we share
Practicing in good company, with support to keep going
How it unfolds
Foundations is a three-hour workshop, with a break in the middle, and it ends with a simple daily practice to carry the training into ordinary life.
Who may benefit
Foundations is for anyone who wants to begin, or begin again: people new to meditation, people returning to it after time away, and people with years of practice who want a clear and complete way to practice with. Some come for steadier ground in a stressful season, some to enjoy their lives more fully, some to be more present for the people they care about, and some to explore the deeper roots of the practice. All of these have a place here.
Taking part
Everyone takes part in their own way. Some share readily and some prefer to listen, and both make the group what it is. Practice can be done sitting on a chair or a cushion, or in whatever position is comfortable.
At Rooted in Mindfulness, Taking CARE Foundations is held within the life of a dharma community, and it is where we encourage everyone to begin. Afterward, the practice is supported week by week through Ongoing Learning & Practice, our drop-ins and courses, and deepens through Immersion: workshops, days of mindfulness, and retreats. The eight words are the shared language of every gathering, so wherever someone goes next, the practice goes with them.
Gathering details
Taking CARE, our way of practice, is present in every RIM gathering.
How we practicePrograms list a suggested contribution so everyone can see what an offering takes to sustain. For most programs, no one is turned away for being unable to pay.
How dana works