Wake Up Dallas YES

11/11/2025

Dear friends,
Throughout our lives, we come across people or opportunities that each serve as teachers to us in their own way. Whether a schoolteacher, spiritual teacher, friend or family member, or life experience, we are a continuation of those people and lessons that have come before us.

The Dallas Meditation Center and Wake Up: Dallas is possible because of the teachers who are with us and those who are no longer with us. Please join us this evening as we remember and honor our teachers and reflect on how we, too, can be teachers for those who come after us.

Christina will be facilitating the evening, and we look forward to practicing and sharing with you!

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

10/28/2025

Hey everyone, Cara bowing in! I’m happy to share that Christina and I will be guiding this evenings’s gathering, Wake Up YES, at the Dallas Meditation Center. I extend you a warm invitation to join us for our meditation session at 7PM followed by a collective reflection starting at 8PM!

Christina will be guiding us through our walking and seated meditation practice. Following our meditation, I will lead a discussion on mindfulness of the nervous system. Drawing on polyvagal theory, gentle breath work, and mindfulness practices we will examine how to gain awareness of our physical state with compassion.

We will have the opportunity to write, explore these ideas and new insights in small group discussion, and share reflections together at the end!

I am looking forward to this evening with you all!
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

10/21/2025

Dear friends,
Please join us tonight as we welcome Jiyoon and Drew to bring some Nirvana to our evening! Jiyoon will be facilitating our meditation, and Drew will be offering a Dharma talk on how we can touch Nirvana in our daily lives. Read more below!

Hi friends, this is Drew bowing in. Tonight, I'm looking forward to giving a talk on probably the loftiest concept in Buddhism - nirvana, or enlightenment. I plan to look at what nirvana is exactly, the role it's played in the history of Buddhism, and most importantly how we can bring it down to earth and integrate it into our daily lives.

The Buddha believed that every person was capable of finding nirvana, and I'm excited to explore with everyone how we can do that for ourselves.

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

10/14/2025

Dear friends,
It is said that a steady posture in the body fosters a steady posture in the mind. Easier said than done!

Please join us this evening as we welcome back guest speaker Max Bourgault! He will be offering a seated meditation posture workshop alongside Christina, who will be guiding our meditations for the evening.

This experiential workshop will help you discover YOUR meditation posture -- no matter your body type, habitual stance, or level of flexibility. Drawing on principles of yoga, we’ll explore gentle stretching exercises to prepare the body, learn how to use props effectively, and practice finding the alignment that supports you best.

Come ready to experiment, move a little, and sit a lot more comfortably.

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

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