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Spiritual events in NYC: Buddhism, art, yoga and more

Recharge your spiritual batteries with our Zen guide, featuring our pick of enlightening events in NYC.

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We love the socks off our crazy city, but sometimes New York gets a little—well, crazy. For those seeking serenity in Gotham, we’ve gathered together the best spiritual events in NYC. Watch celebrities grapple with the big philosophical questions in conversation at the Rubin Museum or massage your mind at a Zen center. If you’re trying to kick-start a meditation practice, the city’s top teachers are only a click away. Get busy, people! Just do it calmly.

Our pick of spiritual events

The Labyrinth at Marble Collegiate Church
  • Attractions
  • Religious buildings and sites
  • Midtown West

While we can’t promise you David Bowie and Sir Didymus, this walkable labyrinth does offer you the chance to get truly centered (rather than completely lost). While we tend to think of labyrinths as elaborate follies created by very rich people, these mazes have been used as meditative tools for thousands of years. The indoor marble creation at Marble Collegiate Church (itself established in the 17th century) echoes a medieval design found in the Chartres Cathedral in France. Walking the route, you’re instructed to clear your mind and focus on your breath; the center is a place of meditation and, if you like, prayer. The church has some pretty stunning stained glass windows too, perfect for reflection of all sorts. Call ahead to confirm.

The Epic of Everest
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • Movies
  • Documentary

It is stunningly rare to be offered a quiet adventure these days, and those seeking a break from the thrills ’n’ spills of such outdoor-adventure movies as 127 Hours or Alive would do well to investigate this 90-year-old treasure, a restoration of Captain John Noel’s 1924 documentary of a British team’s attempt to climb Everest.

Peaceful venues

Maha Rose
  • Things to do
  • Cultural centers
  • Greenpoint

Peaceful, pretty neighborhood venue Maha Rose is a real oasis of calm in Greenpoint, offering an array of healing modalities that run the gamut from yoga classes, acupuncture and reiki sessions to more out-there techniques such as hypnotherapy, tarot and breath work.

Shambhala Meditation Center
  • Things to do
  • Cultural centers
  • Chelsea
  • price 4 of 4

This meditational mainstay was founded in NYC in 1971 by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche—the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader who revolutionized the way Buddhist meditation was taught in the ’70s. Besides running meditation classes on every level, the center has a positively enlightening talks program (“Queer Dharma,” “Sex, Love, and Compassion”), and guest speakers include the spiritually starry likes of Pema Chödrön.

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Kadampa Meditation Center
  • Things to do
  • Cultural centers
  • Chelsea

An eight-foot golden statue of the Buddha glows in the center of the meditation room at Kadampa Meditation Center, a serene space in Chelsea. Originally founded in 1994 by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, the studio was first located in a graffiti-covered dance studio, two blocks away from its present home, which opened in 2012. Besides daily meditation classes (it only costs $4 for a spot at lunchtime), the center offers a variety of retreats and courses with such promising titles as "How to Have a Wonderful Life," plus a Sunday session for children called "Dharma for Kids."

Brooklyn Zen Center
  • Things to do
  • Cultural centers
  • Gowanus

If you’re constantly being told to chill out, it may be time to check out this Park Slope meditation haven. Whether you’re simply curious about the practice or are a lifelong Buddhist, the BZC aims to accommodate you in its community, offering daily meditation meetings (zazen), stacks of courses covering the basics of Zen Buddhism and practical workshops. The center also hosts concerts in addition to classes and talks.

Tapped in New Yorkers

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