Roaring Fork Insight is once again hosting a weekly meditation group near Carbondale, every Monday evening at 13 Moons Ranch (6334 Highway 133) from 7 to 8:30pm.
The organization was founded by Lisa Goddard in 2016, shortly after she moved to Carbondale with her husband and son. As a meditation and yoga practitioner since 1997, Goddard’s nonprofit mission is “to support people during times of change, uncertainty and eco-anxiety … to reduce stress and achieve well-being by helping us align with our natural awareness and take action for the benefit of others.” Roaring Fork Insight pursues that aim using meditation instruction, classes and retreats with tools from secular mindfulness and ancient Buddhist practices.
“What I’ve learned as a guide in this practice is, it’s about the ethics of how to live a life that’s wholesome and not creating harm,” Goddard told The Sopris Sun. “That’s really where I’ve landed as a teacher — How can we cause less harm?”
Goddard is a certified mindfulness facilitator and member of the International Mindfulness Teachers Association. She is currently enrolled in Naropa University’s master of divinity program. “Really what my intention is for this organization is to build a community; a ‘sangha’ is where we’re doing what Thich Nhat Hanh talked about. We’re walking each other home.”
Previous to COVID, Goddard led a weekly group that met at Roaring Fork Aikikai, also on Monday nights. Even after the post-pandemic return to “normalcy,” Roaring Fork Insight didn’t settle into a new home near Carbondale until recently.
Claire Wright joined that pre-COVID group shortly before Roaring Fork Insight pivoted to meeting online during the pandemic. She has a background in Vipassana meditation, sitting in and serving 10-day silent retreats in the Satya Narayan Goenka tradition since her early 20s. “Craving a meditation group,” she told The Sopris Sun, Wright reached out to Goddard and offered her textile workshop as a place to gather. However, the location was not ideal to accommodate a sizable group, so the two looked instead at 13 Moons Ranch, known for hosting ecstatic dances, sweat lodge ceremonies, martial arts classes and more.
“Spiritual community is where I feel like I find my people,” Wright explained. “My community of people that I really want to be around, and the kind of energy I want to be around.” She hopes the group will help people experience the benefits of a meditation practice. “I hope everyone who hears about it can come give it a try and see how it feels.”
Goddard is pleased to have found a location that also serves the Crystal Valley. “Part of what I want to see happen is to bring people in their 30s and 20s to practice,” she said, acknowledging that her midday Wednesday group in Basalt consists primarily of retirees. Of course, anyone and everyone is always welcome. “All this is about is freedom,” she said.
Each session begins with around 30 minutes of lightly-guided meditation, followed by a social break with tea and 3 B’s Bakery cookies and a dharma talk where participants are encouraged to share wisdom.
Group meditations and dharma talks are also offered weekly in Basalt on Wednesdays from 11:30am to 1pm at St. Peter’s of the Valley and via Zoom on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 7 to 8am. For more info, visit www.roaringforkinsight.org
In a nutshell
What: Meditation group
When: Mondays, 7 to 8:30pm
Where: 13 Moons Ranch, 6334 Highway 133
How much: Donation-based