Gulf Coast Community of Mindfulness

04/09/2026

03/16/2026

With a heart full of joy and gratitude, I happily announce that today as a community we celebrate our 4th year of practicing mindfulness together as the Gulf Coast Community of Mindfulness. Happy Anniversary to our precious sangha! 🙏🏻

02/26/2026

Dear Beloved Community,

Join us on the serene 40-acre monastic grounds of the Quan Am Nam Monastery in Panama City, FL for our 7th Day of Mindfulness.

Mark your calendars for Saturday, March 28th from 8:30 am - 4:00 pm for a day of pure mindfulness. The retreat will be led by the abbess, Thich Thanh Dieu Giac (Master Tran), whose gentle presence and wisdom create a deeply peaceful and welcoming atmosphere.

The day begins with a vigorous Qi Gong session, awakening body and breath. We then move into sitting and walking meditation on a path of the beautiful grounds. We pause to rest beside the newly imported bell from Vietnam—a powerful symbol of awakening and presence.

At noon, a delicious vegan meal lovingly prepared by the sangha will be shared in silent meditation. The afternoon includes a full body relaxation meditation by our very own sangha sibling, Bridgett, and a deeply nourishing Dharma talk by Master Tran will follow.

The day culminates in heartfelt sharing, strengthening our spiritual bonds and deepening community. Whether you are new to mindfulness practice or an advanced meditator, this day offers an opportunity to build spiritual community and send peaceful, healing energy into a world in need of unity and compassion.

To register or if you have questions, please contact Dianne Kinsey at: Tikster12@yahoo.com or 401-286-7193.

Carpooling can be arranged, if needed.

01/22/2026

How to Listen to a Dharma Talk
Thich Nhat Hanh

When listening to a Dharma talk, let your heart receive it as one receives a beautiful piece of music.
Do not analyze, do not overthink. Simply open your heart wide, allowing the sound to flow in naturally and gently, like a cool stream slipping quietly through the cracks of stone.
The finest way to listen is not to take notes, not to strive to memorize every phrase, nor to compare it with what you already know. This is not an examination classroom where one crams knowledge to survive a test. Here, what matters is not memory, but understanding—understanding with the heart rather than the intellect. There may be words from Thay that at first you cannot accept, words that feel strange or even contradictory.
Do not hurry to resist, do not debate them in your mind.
Let those words settle softly into your heart, like raindrops falling upon the earth.
Do not push them away. If you continue to compare, dissect, and criticize, it is as though you have spread a sheet of plastic over the soil; the rain may fall, yet nothing will be absorbed.
When you listen with an open heart, without defense, without resistance, those teachings will pe*****te deeply into your consciousness.
They will touch the beautiful seeds that have long lain dormant within you: Seeds of wisdom, seeds of compassion, seeds of peace, seeds of love. Those seeds have waited patiently for ages, untended, unknown.
Now the gentle, persistent rain of the Dharma falls, awakening them at last. After the rain, the tender green shoots will rise in silence, without force, without your interference.
That is the true way of transformation: no striving, no grasping, only the quiet act of receiving with an open heart.
Therefore, release all wandering thoughts, all measuring and judging. Simply sit there, like a vast garden lying open beneath the sky, letting the Dharma rain descend, soak deeply, and nourish the good that has always been present within you. That is all that is needed.

11/14/2025

Dear Music Lovin' Siblings,

New Song Release: Be Patient (Don’t Give Up) by The Deer Park Collective

https://substack.com/redirect/cccc70af-1ed1-4e66-8977-f4ce733d4185?j=eyJ1IjoiMmJ5bGQ4In0.uHWW9UDRAqJ1876cqqEsghYR-b2vSE5NIdPp2opiOx0

During the Deer Park Wake Up Retreat this past spring, a few folks gathered in the spirit of creativity and connection to write and sing a song together. They are happy to share that the song, titled “Be Patient, Don’t Give Up,” was released on November 3, the six-month anniversary of the end of the Wake Up Retreat retreat. May this song be a gentle reminder to come back to your breath, to be patient with yourself and others, and to continue walking the path of mindfulness one step at a time.

Listen now on your favorite streaming service. Powered by Songlink/Odesli, an on-demand, customizable smart link service to help you share songs, albums, podcasts and more.

10/15/2025

Join us for our fall Day of Mindfulness on the beautiful grounds of the Quan Am Nam Hai Monastery in Panama City on Saturday, October 18, 2025 from 8:30 - 4:30. The day will be presided over by the venerable Thich Thanh Dieu Giac and is sponsored by the Emerald Coast Meditation Society and the Gulf Coast Community of Mindfulness.

If you are interested, please pre-register with Dianne Kinsey at: Tikster12@yahoo.com or text at: 401-286-7193

10/11/2025

May we carry on Thay's legacy. 🤎

10/10/2025

🤎

09/09/2025

08/29/2025

"This is your own time. This spot where you sit is your own spot. It is on this very spot and in this very moment that you can become enlightened. You don't have to sit beneath a special tree in a distant land. Practice like this for a few months, and you will begin to know a profound and renewing delight."
-Thich Nhat Hanh, 'The Miracle of Mindfulness'