Overview of the Community Visioning Day
Dear friends, On Sunday, February 24 about thirty people gathered to reflect on our past, discuss our present situation, and begin envisioning our future. Though some were only able to attend a portion of the day the gathering was well attended throughout and most remained from start to finish, 9-5:30. While a lot of attention … Continue
Work, Money and the Rest of It
I was reading the book WORK, SEX and MONEY by Chogyam Trungpa, Rinpoche and thinking about spirituality, compassion and panoramic awareness with regard to the kitchen sink, the wallet and the bedroom. How does the animal self relate to the spirit? What happens when the angel within us, comes to ground? How can we hold … Continue
Facing the Darkness and Finding the Light
Last week the country was shocked and saddened by the news of the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary. Frighteningly, senseless violence seems to have become a common occurrence. The Buddhist tradition talks of the dark ages. Ironically, the dark ages occur when the world is most full of light. In our current times, progress has … Continue
Passing of the Storm
Our prayers and support for all who were impacted by Hurricane Sandy. Our wish is that your loved ones, wherever they are, are safe, home and dry. I want to encourage all of you in the community to begin coming to the center for support, community, friendship and, of course, meditation. And I want to … Continue
Shambhala Art: The Art of Living Fully By Jennifer Parde
Which scenario seems more appealing to you? And which more like your everyday reality?: Scenario #1: It’s a gorgeous day outside and so you open your office window to let in the sunlight and the fresh breeze. You take a moment to close your eyes and to drink in the air deeply, … Continue
Feeling Inside: the Ordinary Experience of Being Alive
At a recent seminar, Sakyong Mipham, asked our group of meditators why we were sitting there thinking … about sitting there? What, he asked, were we feeling? Wasn’t that more to the point? It was an eye opening experience for me. I realized that as a student of meditation for twenty five years, perhaps I … Continue
Habits of Mind by Judy Bond
We are creatures of habit it is said. Some of these habits are useful and some not so useful. To establish new habits and get rid of old ones it is helpful to realize that habits have three components. Typically there is a cue, we behave in our habitual way, and there is some reward/reinforcer … Continue
Learning To Be
I was walking through a park with a friend. It was a beautiful summer day in Baltimore. She looked at me and asked, why did you become Buddhist? I was in a lot of pain, I guess. I was an angry young man looking for a way out. She smiled and said, it hasn’t seemed … Continue
Love Alone
I was standing alone in the mountains at night. I had moved to a retreat center to escape a broken heart. A dramatic way to deal with a break up, admittedly. The stars exploded across the Colorado sky. It was so clear that it was hard to tell where the black backdrop of night really … Continue
The Extraordinary Discovery of Ordinary Magic
Coming upon a small bird building a nest the other day, I had stopped and marveled at how simple and perfect my world was. Okay. That’s a fairly obvious observation. What made this particularly meaningful to me, was that I had been in a minor rage for about three blocks. My mind had tightened, as … Continue
