Beginning of 2008 Schedule
Contemplative Writing with Miriam Hall

I am shifting to a longer session format, and two of my regular class times are changing due to a major change in my auxilliary teaching schedule. So please note the changes below.

1. This session will be 9 weeks, 100$ (some financial aid always available, and payment is welcome in increments, including week-to-week)

and 2. Classes that were at 4:30 and 7:30 on Thursday night are now 4:30 on Mondays and 6:30 on Wednesdays, respectively. Classes all remain 7 students, two hours long.

Please call my cell 608-217-2132 or email herspiral@yahoo.com to inquire/make a reservation. Sign up early - my classes all have waiting lists!

January-March 2008
Begins week of January 7th (second week in January) and runs through March 5th (first week in March)
Class times:
Monday 4:30pm
Tuesday 6:30pm
Wednesdays 9am
Wednesdays 6:30pm

All classes are located on Madison's East Side, just off Williamson ("Willy") St, at the Madison Shambhala Center, 408 S. Baldwin, except for the Wednesday evening class, which is located at the AHA Center just two blocks away, at 214 S. Baldwin.

Winter Writing classes and day retreat

I am teaching ongoing Contemplative Writing classes (including a day retreat in at the Shambhala Center in East Madison, on December 29th, from 10am-5pm ) at the Madison Shambhala Center. Contemplative Writing - inspired by the teachings of Natalie Goldberg which combine Zen Buddhism and writing in a single practice - is a highly personal practice, done in small groups, encouraging writers and "non-writers" alike to work more directly with the creative process and find it less intimidating and more inspiring.

Registration fills up quickly, but class times I hold are:
Tuesday 6:30, Wednesday 9am, Thursday 4:30 and Thursday 7:30. If you are interested, please contact me and we'll see what class we can get you into next. The next session begins November 6th.


More than just a "spiritual journaling class", Contemplative Writing is a formal practice which can be useful for writers of any ilk. For further information or to register, please contact Miriam over phone or email: 608-217-2132, herspiral@yahoo.com.

Fall Writing and Photography Classes

I am teaching ongoing Contemplative Writing classes (including a September weekend retreat in southwestern WI for current students only) at the Madison Shambhala Center. Contemplative Writing - inspired by the teachings of Natalie Goldberg which combine Zen Buddhism and writing in a single practice - is a highly personal practice, done in small groups, encouraging writers and "non-writers" alike to work more directly with the creative process and find it less intimidating and more inspiring.

Registration fills up quickly, but class times I hold are:
Tuesday 6:30, Wednesday 9am, Thursday 4:30 and Thursday 7:30. If you are interested, please contact me and we'll see what class we can get you into next.



More than just a "spiritual journaling class", Contemplative Writing is a formal practice which can be useful for writers of any ilk. For further information or to register, please contact Miriam over phone or email: 608-217-2132, herspiral@yahoo.com.


Also, I will be teaching a short program on Introductory Miksang (Contemplative Photography) the weekend of Sept 14-15 (7-9 on Friday, 9-5 on Saturday). The cost is 50$, 40$ for Shambhala members. Location TBA. For more information on Miksang, please visit www.miksang.org. For more information on this or other Miksang classes, please contact Miriam Hall.

For those who are interested, I am sending along both
news (lots of good news on a few fronts) and also a
schedule for summer classes.

-Miriam Hall, herspiral@yahoo.com

1. News!
2. Schedule for Contemplative Writing
3. Schedule for Miksang/Contemplative Photography

As the classes increase in popularity, and I continue
to keep a small class size, pre-registration is
required, and as soon as you can, you should let me
know if you are even interested (even if you cannot
commit yet) in a class time. I am elated about the
growing desire/need/interest, but I would hate for you
to miss out because you put off getting back to me!

1. News!
Miksang spent a day on the front cover of the Chicag
Tribune's religion section this last Friday!
Interviews with yours truly, plus the Chicago teacher
David Schreier (my first instructor) and our senior
teacher John McQuade, accompany kids doing the first
ever kids class of Miksang!
Link: (Look for May 25, Friday, Miksang)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/custom/religion/

In other news, I went to Tallahassee,FL this spring
and set seeds for a Miksang group there, which is now
very active on Flickr, and also did a writing retreat
both there and just outside of Spring Green, WI. The
retreats were all very intense and lots of fun - we'll
aim to do two a year here in WI, and I hope you can
join us next time, if you are interested.

Now on to classes...

2. Schedule for Contemplative Writing:

Contemplative Writing is a practice through which
writers can further deepen their relationship with
their process, and "non-writers" can further develop
their relationship with themselves. The classes are
limited to six students, and are intimate, fun and
heartfelt. Openings in these classes are somewhat
rare, as those who attend tend to stay for a long
time! So enter now if you can. Openings are now
available in the following time slots...

Wednesdays 9-11am (six weeks: June 13, 20, 27; July
11, 18, 25 - July 4th off)
Thursdays 4:30-6:30pm (six weeks: June 14, 21, 28;
July 12, 19, 26 - week of July 4th off)
Thursdays 7:30-9:30pm (six weeks: June 14, 21, 28;
July 12, 19, 26 - week of July 4th off)
Cost: 10$/class, or 60$ for whole session. Sliding
scale available for those in need - please let me know
ahead of time so I can adapt according to your needs.

3. Schedule for Miksang, Contemplative Photography:

Miksang is, as one recent participant called it "A Vat
of Happiness, Kindergarten all over again". Through
the camera, we study how our perceptions function at a
very basic, non-judgmental level. For more information
on the philosophy of Miksang, please visit
www.miksang.org.

Five-week course, covering Levels one and two of
Miksang, located at the Madison Shambhala Center, 408
S. Baldwin.
Five Saturdays in June, July - note two weeks "off)
during the class: June 16, 30 (no June 23) and July
14, 21, 28 (no July 7). Class runs from 10-12 in the
morning, and in addition to class, one should aim to
be shooting on their own outside of the class for an
hour each week.

Cost: 80$ for the class, 60$ for Shambhala members and
50$ for those repeating the class.

CONTEMPLATIVE ARTS CLASSES, SPRING 2007

1. Miksang (contemplative photography) classes in
Milwaukee and Madison
2. Contemplative Writing classes in Madison
3. Shambhala Arts Day 3/18, Madison

Please read on for further information and enjoyment!

Thanks for your continued support,
and please spread the word!

Miriam Hall

-------------------------------------------
1. Miksang

I have transformed Miksang, contemplative photography,
into a weekly class.
The following are dates and locations:

Madison: four Wednesdays in April (4/4, 4/11, 4/18 and
4/25), plus one extra date TBA. Class will run from
6-9pm, and is in a new location: the Aha Center, 214A
S. Baldwin St (just north of Willy St).

Milwaukee: five Wednesdays in May (5/2, 5/9, 5/16,
5/23, 5/30), also 6-9pm, at the Milwaukee Shambhala
Center, 2344 N. Oakland Ave.

There will also be classes this summer offered at
different times/days of week. Please let me know now
if you have a preferred time and we'll see what we can
schedule!

The levels covered will be Levels 1-2. If you are a
new student and not a member of Shambhala, the cost is
80$ for the entire course. It is 60$ if you are a
Shambhala member, and 40$ if you are repeating the
class. As always, sliding scale is respected and
available. Please ask instructor.

Miksang is a delightful course, with our focus of
contemplation on our visual perception(s) and the
results are clear, crisp and often glorious
manifestations of our phenomenal world.
For further information, please see:
www.miksang.org
www.miksang.net
and the instructor's Miksang set at
www.flickr.com/photos/herspiral.

-----------------------------------------
2. Contemplative Writing

I don't have any openings until April in Contemplative
Writing, but I wanted to let you know what the
different time offerings are. Classes fill quickly -
pre-registration is required and the sooner you can
commit, the stronger your chances are of getting in. I
now offer 4 class times, 4-week classes each:
6:30-8:30pm Tuesdays (4/3, 4/10, 4/17, 4/24)
9-11am Wednesdays (4/4, 4/11, 4/18, 4/25)
4:30-6:30pm Thursdays (4/5, 4/12, 4/19, 4/26)
7:30-9:30pm Thursdays (4/5, 4/12, 4/19, 4/26)

Openings depend on current class registration and
timing. Please contact me if you are interested.
Cost is 40$ for a four-week course, 5-10$ for a sample
class (varying dates).

Classes at same times will continue in May; please let
me know if you would be interested in them, as well or
instead of April.

--------------------------------------------

3. Shambhala Arts Day

Shambhala Arts Day is an annual celebration of all
arts, located at the Madison Shambhala Center, 408 S.
Baldwin St. It will take place this year on March
18th, a Sunday. The celebration's schedule includes:

-Sitting meditation from 9-10am
-Ikebana (contemplative flower arranging)
demonstration (and a chance to try your own hand at
it!) from 10-11
-Miksang slide show and piano performance by a center
member, 11-12.
-"Artful food" potluck, noon!
-Available for viewing will be contemplative writing
students' writings
-ART AUCTION of center members' works, on sale to
support the center!

Last year's celebration was a delight! Please come,
bring art and/or food (or just yourself) and come
celebrate with us!

MIKSANG SPRING 07 SCHEDULE

Hello current, former and future Miksang students,

This spring we are going to try something new: a
weekly class, for five weeks (this is how they do it
in Toronto, with the core group), to give you all a
chance to practice in between classes a bit more. If
you have taken it before, but would like a more
in-depth visit to Miksang land, please consider
re-taking, and we'll cut you a discount. If the time
of the class doesn't work, tell me, so I can schedule
a different time over the summer.

1. Reviews
2. Class in Madison and Milwaukee
3. Summer class/retreat

1. Firstly, we have been doing monthly reviews in
Madison, and we'll continue with those. Milwaukee folk
are welcome to come! The reviews aren't a particular
assignment - you can go out and shoot what you have
already learned, then bring in your pictures and have
a review with me. I ask for a 5-10$ donation (sliding
scale) for the reviews. In Madison, they are held at
the Aha! Center, 217 S. Baldwin (just one block down
from the Shambhala Center, on the same street).
Dates for the next reviews:
2/21, Wed, 6-8pm
3/14, Wed, 6-8pm
PLEASE RSVP FOR THE REVIEWS, as even though they
aren't classes, persay, it helps to know how many
folks to expect.

I also hope to get reviews going in Milwaukee over the
summer. If anyone from Milwaukee has feedback on a
good night to do it, please let me know.

2. The weekly class will be offered in both Madison
and Milwaukee. The following are the dates. If you are
new to Miksang and not a member of a Shambhala Center,
the cost is 80$. For those repeating, it's 40$. For
those who are members it's 60$. If cost is an issue
for anyone, please let me know. We don't turn away
folks just because they cannot pay.
PREREGISTRATION IS REQUIRED.

Madison: Wed 3/21, then skip a week, then 4/4, 4/11,
4/18 and 4/25 (all four Wed in April), 6-9pm.

Milwaukee: all 5 Wed in May: 5/2, 5/9, 5/16, 5/23,
5/30.

3. Finally, I will be gone the month of June, but I am
looking to do a summer class both in Madison and
Milwaukee. If folks have different night preferences,
or days for that matter, please let me know. The
classes will be in July and/or August. Also, for early
fall, I am hoping to do a Level 2 retreat at our
Midwest Retreat Center (Windhorse), so we can all get
out and enjoy space in nature. I will keep you posted
on this. Those who have taken 1 and 2 before can go on
the retreat.

I am opening these classes first to students who have
expressed previous interest. Please get back to me on
whether you'd like to take the classes, and in a week
or so I will open registration to the "general
public". Also, if friends or family are potentially
interested, please let them know to ask questions or
register now.

When registering, please specify if you are
registering for Madison or Milwaukee.

Yours in the Miksang Dharma,
Miriam Hall