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December 2010
The "Net of Indra" is a profound and subtle metaphor for the structure of reality. Imagine a vast net; at each crossing point there is a jewel; each jewel is perfectly clear and reflects all the other jewels in the net, the way two mirrors placed opposite each other will reflect an image ad infinitum... Every jewel is intimately connected with all other jewels in the universe, and a change in one jewel means a change, however slight, in every other jewel.
— Stephen Mitchell
Dear Friends and Supporters of the Center,
The vision of Indra's Net is more than 2,000 years old. Strikingly, in our time, mathematicians and physicists have confirmed the reality of this interconnected, inter-embedded universe. The Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society has held the reality of this interconnectedness as a centerpiece of our work for more than 30 years. We have long dreamt of having the technological and structural capacity to interface with our global community as a personification of this connectedness.
This year we intend to fulfill the dream of launching Indra's Net. The sole purpose of this global network will be to connect and engage the growing and increasingly distributed community of MBSR practitioners and researchers, educators and friends. Here are some of the ways this vision may touch you directly...
Imagine that with a click you could access streaming meditation sessions, podcasts, webinars, programs, courses and seminars led by the most experienced MBSR teachers...
Imagine going to the Center's website and easily finding qualified MBSR teachers and/or colleagues practicing all over the world...
Imagine participating with a global community in Center-sponsored monthly courses or year-long correspondence tutorials from the comfort of your own home...
Imagine professional MBSR Supervision and Consultation services available to you in both audio and video formats, or participating online in the Center's Teacher's Meetings, joining in a tradition we have sustained for thirty-one years...
Imagine a user-friendly means of registering online for the Center's programs and distance learning initiatives...
Imagine being able to study at the Center's state of the art training lab...
Imagine the Center becoming a global MBSR resource and referral network, from the latest research to clinical care, and from professional education to mindful leadership initiatives...
Today, we are poised, as never before, to make all that we have "imagined" a reality. Our goal is to raise $250,000 this year to begin making Indra's Net a powerful resource for you and the global community of which you are a part. If you share in the enthusiasm for this vision and all the possibility it portends, please help the Center by making a meaningful gift this year. Your gift will be a "jewel" placed alongside all the other jewels we receive - each magnificent in its own way - and more so in their shared capacity to reflect, support and transform every other jewel in the network. Through your gift, you will be joining with us in manifesting this dream of connectivity and belonging.
Thank you for all that you are, and for all that you bring to this community.
Warmly, and in partnership,
Saki F. Santorelli, EdD, MA
Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School
Executive Director, Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Healthcare and Society
PS - As well, please do send along your ideas about additional ways that we can make Indra's Net a most relevant reality in your life.
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