Wake Up Dallas YES

10/07/2025

Dear friends,
Please join us this evening as Byron and Leo facilitate an evening centered around joy! When there is so much to do, it's easy to lose sight that there is much fun and joy to be had in life. But how can we make our life more joyful? How can we cultivate joy in a way that deepens our practice and nourishes the heart?

Join us this tonight for an exploration and discussion of the role joy plays in the spiritual life.

As always, we welcome both in-person and virtual participants. Here are the details for those joining us virtually:

Meeting ID: 815 1177 0135
Passcode: wakeup
Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81511770135?pwd=VGVMTGlKd1dCbVRhRkdBcjY2cnN4Zz09

09/30/2025

Dear friends,
Hello, this is Byron bowing in. This evening, I’ll be highlighting a topic that is often overlooked. We’ll explore the way we develop our identity and the way it takes shape in each aspect of our life, beginning with a guided meditation, emphasizing self-acceptance, followed with discussion and reflection.

Discussion will center around the idea of identity complexity, how we can grow by expanding our self-concept through different people, groups, and communities. A space of reflection within small groups will be provided for us to explore how to bring this idea into our lives, and I plan to incorporate some fun exercises for community building at the end!

I’ll close with this quote:

“In diversity, there is beauty and there is strength”
― Maya Angelou

As always, we welcome both in-person and virtual participants. Here are the details for those joining us virtually:

Meeting ID: 815 1177 0135
Passcode: wakeup
Link:

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09/18/2025

IT’S NORTH TEXAS GIVING DAY!!

Friends!! Today is the single largest fundraising day for the DMC and we are already well on our way to our goal of raising $25,000 which will cover our operating expenses through the rest of the year and pull us out of using our reserve funds.

In addition, the first $8,250 is being 100% MATCHED thanks to our generous donors who gave to our matching fund!

Will you help the DMC remain donation based by supporting us today? If so please click here to give generously.

https://www.northtexasgivingday.org/story/ntxgd25

The DMC could not exist without each of you - we are so grateful for your presence and support to ensure the continuation of this wonderful place!!

Will you support DMC foster Heart-Centered Critical Thinking for North Texas community and beyond?

09/16/2025

Dear friends,
Please join us this evening as we welcome our Dharma brother Leo as our guest speaker for the evening! He will be facilitating alongside Christina for an evening of art, music, and creativity.

On the spiritual path, many people spend a lot of time focusing on meditation and spiritual teachings. Yet art can be such a powerful tool for self-reflection and expression. What role does art play on the spiritual path? Tonight, we'll be offering an exploration and discussion of different ways art, music, and creativity enriches the spiritual life.

As always, we welcome both in-person and virtual participants. Here are the details for those joining us virtually:

Meeting ID: 815 1177 0135
Passcode: wakeup
Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81511770135?pwd=VGVMTGlKd1dCbVRhRkdBcjY2cnN4Zz09

09/09/2025

Dear friends,
Hey there, this is Cara bowing in! I’m excited to share that Byron and I will be guiding tonight's gathering.

Byron will be guiding us in both walking and sitting meditation, and then I will facilitate a discussion on how we cultivate our authentic motivation to practice, whether that be meditation or any other craft or pathway that we are walking in. I will draw upon the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vajrayana writer Gampopa, insights from my own teacher, and my personal insights as I have sought to weave this paramita into my life.

We will engage in individual contemplations, explore these ideas in small group discussions, and share reflections together at the end!

As always, we welcome both in-person and virtual participants. Here are the details for those joining us virtually:

Meeting ID: 815 1177 0135
Passcode: wakeup
Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81511770135?pwd=VGVMTGlKd1dCbVRhRkdBcjY2cnN4Zz09

09/08/2025

Our North Texas Giving Day campaign is in full swing!! We are so excited to share that the first $8,250 raised through Sept 18 will be 100% MATCHED when given through the below link:
https://www.northtexasgivingday.org/story/ntxgd25

The goal of this fundraiser is to keep the DMC from having to use their final cash reserves to remain operating as a donation-basis model. If we meet our $25,000 goal, we will be able to cover our operating costs through the end of the year.

We are so grateful for your support! Let’s ensure the DMC can continue for many years and many generations!

Will you support DMC foster Heart-Centered Critical Thinking for North Texas community and beyond?

09/02/2025

Dear friends,
We invite you to join us this evening, Tuesday, September 2, for a special evening honoring our late founder, Brother ChiSing, on his birthday.
Brother ChiSing was the founder of the Dallas Meditation Center in 2008 and started our young adults group in 2012. He was passionate about sharing his vision of all young adults in North Texas practicing mindfulness and meditation, and even though he is no longer with us physically, we are all a continuation of him through our practice.

Tonight, Jiyoon and Christina will be facilitating, and our evening will include mediations, songs, and a special recorded Dharma talk from ChiSing on the benefits of sangha and a reflection on healing and transformation. We look forward to practicing with you on this special evening!

About Brother Norman ChiSing Eng (9/2/1969 - 3/8/2016):
Brother ChiSing’s ultimate vision was to bring mindfulness and meditation practice to people of all faith and non-faith backgrounds with an emphasis on creativity, music, and the arts.
This vision came to fruition as the non-profit One Dharma Awakening Heart, Dallas Meditation Center, in Dallas, Texas. His primary meditation teacher was the Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh, and he was ordained by him into the Order of Interbeing in 2003 with the spiritual name of True Wonderful Happiness.

On the morning of March 8, 2016, after living with nasopharyngeal carcinoma for two and a half years, Brother ChiSing passed from this physical life at home in his sleep.
As always, we welcome both in-person and virtual participants. Here are the details for those joining us virtually:

Meeting ID: 815 1177 0135
Passcode: wakeup
Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81511770135?pwd=VGVMTGlKd1dCbVRhRkdBcjY2cnN4Zz09

08/26/2025

Dear friends,
Hello, this is Byron bowing in. I’m writing to invite you to this evening's Wake Up YES gathering at the Dallas Meditation Center, where we’ll continue our practice of mindfulness and meditation in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh.

We’ll begin around 7 PM with a guided walking and sitting meditation, followed by a collective reflection circle at 8 PM.

Tonight, I’ll be highlighting a topic that is often overlooked. We’ll explore the way a spiritual path looks with goals & milestones and the frustrations that can come with it. We’ll ask each other questions, reflect together, and provide open space for how to continue on a spiritual path with acceptance for ourselves and where we’re at.

I’ll close with this quote from Thich Nhat Hanh:
“The miracle is not to (eventually) walk on water. The miracle is to walk on this green earth, dwelling deeply in the present moment and feeling truly alive.”

I hope to see you there!
As always, we welcome both in-person and virtual participants. Here are the details for those joining us virtually:

Meeting ID: 815 1177 0135
Passcode: wakeup
Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81511770135?pwd=VGVMTGlKd1dCbVRhRkdBcjY2cnN4Zz09

08/19/2025

Dear friends,
Please join us this evening as we explore the teaching of True Love - love that heals, transforms, and opens the heart. Christina will be our facilitator, and we'll be exploring this together within the context and teaching of the Four Bramaviharas: Loving Kindness, Compassion, Joy, and Equanimity, the four immeasurable qualities of the heart.

Our focus this week will be on Loving Kindness, or Metta, the intention and capacity to bring joy and well-being to ourselves and others. We'll consider how true love is rooted in deep understanding, seeing clearly the needs, suffering, and aspirations of those around us and how this awareness can guide our words, actions, and ways of being.

When tended to, Loving Kindness grows boundlessly, touching everyone and everything in our lives. It helps us in healing the seeds of anger, fear, and loneliness, bringing a greater sense of peace and connection.

"Until we are able to love and take care of ourselves, we cannot be of much help to others." - Thich Nhat Hanh

As always, we welcome both in-person and virtual participants. Here are the details for those joining us virtually:

Meeting ID: 815 1177 0135
Passcode: wakeup
Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81511770135?pwd=VGVMTGlKd1dCbVRhRkdBcjY2cnN4Zz09

08/10/2025

[8/12 Gathering preview]
Seeing Shared Humanity in the Oppressed and the Oppressors

Hello, this is Jiyoon bowing in to describe her upcoming talk at the Wake Up Dallas YES Tuesday evening gathering. After the first hour of walking and sitting meditation, Jiyoon will offer a talk and small group discussion! Read below to learn more!

Process share: this year, Jiyoon has been offering talks to the DMC community that share her personal process in taking in what is unfolding in the world at large and connecting her share with Plum Village teaching. She hopes to offer her share to the community as a departure point that leads into a larger collective conversation. She believes– especially during these turbulent times– it is important to engage with the difficulties and confusion that arise as we take in what is unfolding at large in the safe & brave community space. And Jiyoon trusts the DMC community space to be a safe & brave community space.

This Tuesday (Aug 12th), Wake Up Dallas YES gathering, Jiyoon will connect a few points of conversation with the phrase “We are one with those caught in situations of oppression; we are also one with the oppressors” found in Plum Village Contemplation Before Sitting Meditation passage. Jiyoon received some feedback that the phrase is difficult to sit with. Are we asked to share our empathy equally between the oppressed and the oppressors? One attendee asked her, sounding distressed.

Jiyoon shares the confusion and distress, especially as she witnesses the systematic oppression. She has been reading various texts to find some clarity, and will share what she found to be a thought-provoking perspective.

To get our collective reflection started, I will share the questions derived from Brandeis University's article “Should Peacebuilders Encourage Oppressed People to Empathize With Their Oppressors?” https://www.brandeis.edu/enact/archive/ethical-inquiry/2012/oppressed-people.html

Reflect with me:
“Is it possible to view an oppressor with empathy?”
“Is such a perspective a necessary step toward building lasting peace?”
“If it is, how can individuals find a way to understand their oppressor as a human without risking their own safety?”
“What steps and initiatives can encourage the oppressed or the oppressor to regard one another with dignity?”
“What is the role of the peacebuilder in this process?”

We hope to see you offer your presence and thoughts to this collective reflection.

Jiyoon bowing out.

Ethical Inquiry is a monthly series that examines ethical questions, highlighting a broad array of opinion from journalism, academia and advocacy organizations. Our intent is to illuminate and explore the complexity of some of the most vexing ethical questions of our time.

08/05/2025

Dear friends,
Please join us tonight as we welcome guest speaker and psychologist Max Bourgault! He will be offering a talk on navigating and relating to our emotions, weaving together psychological insight, spiritual depth, and practical tools to support whole-person growth. He'll be speaking alongside Christina, who will be facilitating our evening.

Emotions are at the heart of the human experience. Yet very few people truly understand how emotions work or how to relate to them harmoniously (as much as possible!). In this session, Max will guide us through a brief and accessible look at the neurobiology of emotion, followed by a simple four-step method for working with emotions in yourself and others. You’ll also be invited to experience the method firsthand, gaining an embodied sense of its simplicity and benefits.

About Max:
Born and raised in Québec City, Canada, Max has practiced as a licensed psychologist for eight years before moving permanently to Dallas in 2024. Over the past two decades, he's traveled widely to study and experience a variety of healing modalities and spiritual traditions—experiences that have deeply enriched and expanded his work beyond conventional psychology.
As always, we welcome both in-person and virtual participants. Here are the details for those joining us virtually:

Meeting ID: 815 1177 0135
Passcode: wakeup
Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81511770135?pwd=VGVMTGlKd1dCbVRhRkdBcjY2cnN4Zz09

07/29/2025

Dear friends,
Please join us this evening as we welcome our Dharma brother Drew as a guest speaker to share about his recent retreat at Magnolia Grove Monastery! Many of you know Drew from Tuesday nights, and tonight he'll be sharing his experiences (and some photos!) alongside Byron, who will be offering our meditation.

Whether or not you've attended a retreat before, come hear how time away can create space for clarity and renewal and how intentional stillness helps us return to what truly matters, strengthening our ability to show up in the world with greater presence, compassion, and purpose.

As always, we welcome both in-person and virtual participants. Here are the details for those joining us virtually:

Meeting ID: 815 1177 0135
Passcode: wakeup
Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81511770135?pwd=VGVMTGlKd1dCbVRhRkdBcjY2cnN4Zz09