Halloween Special: What to Do with a House Full of Demons?

Posted on October 31, 2013 by admin

“One evening Milarepa returned to his cave after gathering firewood, only to find it filled with demons. They were cooking his food, reading his books, sleeping in his bed. They had taken over the joint. He knew about nonduality of self and other, but he still didn’t quite know how to get these guys out of his cave. Even though he had the sense that they were just a projection of his own mind—all the unwanted parts of himself—he didn’t know how to get rid of them. So first he taught them the dharma. He sat on this seat that was higher than they were and said things to them about how we are all one. He talked about compassion and shunyata and how poison is medicine. Nothing happened. The demons were still there. Then he lost his patience and got angry and ran at them. They just laughed at him. Finally, he gave up and just sat down on the floor, saying, “I’m not going away and it looks like you’re not either, so let’s just live here together.” At that point, all of them left except one. Milarepa said, “Oh, this one is particularly vicious.” (We all know that one. Sometimes we have lots of them like that. Sometimes we feel that’s all we’ve got.) He didn’t know what to do, so he surrendered himself even further. He walked over and put himself right into the mouth of the demon and said, “Just eat me up if you want to.” Then that demon left too.”

― Pema Chödrön, Start Where You Are: A Guide to Compassionate Living

A: Invite them all to tea.

A Letter from the Director on the Passing of Shibata Sensei XX

Posted on October 22, 2013 by admin

Dear Friends,

At the passing of Onyumishi Kanjuro Shibata XX, I want to take this opportunity to express my deep sadness and heartfelt appreciation.

Shibata Sensei was an exemplar of warriorship. In the last year of his life, he visited Shambhala Mountain Center on a number of occasions in response to a request from the staff to teach warriorship and revitalize the practice of Kyudo at the mountain center. Despite his obvious frailty and need for oxygen at the higher elevation, he came and shared his profound teachings with us. He also invited the staff to his dojo in Boulder, to take first shot with him. This was a warrior for whom there was never a moment of holding back.

This Friday, Sensei will be cremated at Shambhala Mountain Center. We are grateful for this opportunity to pay our respects and support Sensei and the family during this transition. We will be sending further details on Thursday.

Yours in the dharma,

Michael Gayner
Executive Director
Shambhala Mountain Center

Details of Cremation Ceremony at SMC on Friday, October 25th

The cremation ceremony will start at noon, please arrive half an hour early prepared to walk a half mile on rocky mountain paths and be outside for several hours in the mountains (warm hat, gloves, coat). Parking close to the site will be restricted to family. Limited shuttle service will be made available for those that cannot walk.

Light refreshments and sustenance will be available, but full meals will not be available due to the number of guest and nature of the event. We recommend that you bring snacks if you are concerned.

We will be asking for donations to cover the cost of the ceremony and refreshments. We recommend each person donate $25 for themselves, and if they are able to contribute more to cover the cost of those who are less fortunate, it is appreciated. This will cover the family’s costs for the cremation. Any donations beyond the costs of the ceremony will be offered to Shibata Sensei’s dojo.

Please see the comment below for further information on the ceremony in Boulder at the Zenko Iba on Friday morning.

Seeing Beauty in Our Imperfections

Posted on October 22, 2013 by admin

by Alison Litchfield

I love fall when the leaves turn their bright colors, the air is crisp and the farmers market is alive with the abundance of the harvest. I always feel a pull to turn inward, make soup and laze around more, though the outer world doesn’t always support that. There is a great paradox being reflected in nature this time of year. As the trees turn their brilliant colors, they remind us of our hearts’ inner brilliance and as the leaves fall, we know on some level we are being asked to let go. In this way, nature gives us permission to let old patterns fall apart and go back to the void so we can clear the way for something new to emerge.

One of my favorite Hindu goddesses is Kali who is also known as the Goddess of Destruction. When you first see an image of her, she looks scary but she is actually quite beautiful in her rawness. Kali shows up commonly in yogic art. She is the one with the wild hair, the bare breasts and the severed heads around her neck. She usually carries a sword and one of the ways you know it’s her is that she is sticking out her tongue.

Kali represents the energy of death, darkness and uncertainty in each of us. She cuts through the illusions of the ego. She is also the void. Most of us are terrified of this energy within us, so we turn our back on it and it goes into the shadow—coming out as resentment, repressed anger and a disconnection with the mother archetype. This dark and scary place is often where we carry our most tender wounds. When we have the courage to go into the darkness and meet our deepest fears and wounds, we’re able to feel more and allow our raw emotions to move and express themselves. When integrated into the heart, these wounds become our true beauty. In her many teachings, Kali gives us the opportunity to pause, to stop the busyness and ask ourselves, “What do I really value?” This mother goddess tells us that death is not a problem but an opportunity to turn toward life.

I’ve been admiring all the different leaves as they fall from the trees, each one carrying their own unique hue of reds, yellows, bright oranges and browns. Some small, some large with various shapes and textures, all beautiful in their own way as they dance in the autumn winds, falling and composting back to the same place our bodies will go someday—returning back to our beautiful Mother Earth. Kali’s teachings are so precious because they’re about learning to love every part of ourselves as whole, even the parts we call “imperfect” and “ugly.” When all the uncertainties of life arise, my hope and prayer is that we can remember to turn to the elements and these deities like Kali that remind us how much beauty there is in life and all its imperfections.

Alison Litchfield will be leading Embody Shakti: A Women’s Yoga Retreat with Kirsten Warner from November 15-17. This unique retreat will blend ancient yogic wisdom with practices addressing the challenges faced by modern women, giving empowering tools to live a happier and more authentic life. To read more, click here.

The Story Behind the 2013 Summer Dathun Portraits

Posted on October 11, 2013 by admin

Last week on this blog, we shared photographs of twelve Dathun participants taken before and after their month long meditation retreat. This week we’d like to share a bit about the gifted photographer who took these portraits and a bit about the unique process she used to do it.

Karen O’Hern is a Colorado-based photographer who travels the globe with her large camera and enormous heart, capturing images that reveal the deep beauty of the world and humanity. She is a true “Humanitarian Photographer.”

We encourage you to visit Karen’s webpage in order to learn more about this artist, her amazing journey, and to view a gallery of images that will break your heart wide open–we promise.

We’re so grateful that Karen turned her love and lens towards these Dathun participants this past summer, and we’re glad to share with you here some words from her regarding the process.

From Karen:

The instructions I gave the participants: Prior to taking their portrait, I explained that this would not be what they were used to when having their picture taken. This was about capturing them in an authentic and genuine state of being, and recording their state at this point and time. So before raising the camera to my face, I asked them to close their eyes and settle in to who they were right now – to feel the experience of their authentic self no matter what that meant. When they felt they were looking how they genuinely felt, only then should they open their eyes. They should take as much time as necessary. I explained that when they opened their eyes, they would see the camera’s lens and they should maintain their state, and simply think about seeing their reflection of their authentic self – exactly how they were right then – in the end of the lens. They should remain in that state until I gave them a verbal indication that we were done.

They were all able to do that, not seeming to change when their eyes opened.

Thank you, Karen!

For information about our upcoming Winter Dathun, please click here.

Summer Dathun Participants Share Their Experience After 30 Days of Meditating

Posted on September 30, 2013 by admin

Senior teacher Samten Kobelt will be leading 2013-2014 Winter Dathun from December 13-January 10.

Noble Aspiration, Noble Effort, Beautiful Fruition

Dathun is not a magic pill or a makeover. Still, the before and after photos can be quite striking. And though the photos themselves speak volumes, the featured practitioners have words worth sharing as well. Below, 2013 Summer Dathun participants share their aspirations when entering Dathun, as well as their experience 30 days later. Please stay tuned throughout the coming weeks as we offer further glimpses into the heart of Dathun. Next week, photographer Karen O’Hern describes the process used to capture these images.

As was mentioned above, in a blog post next week, Karen O’Hern will reveal the process in which these portraits come to be. For now, we’d like to leave you with a little snippet:

“Prior to taking their portrait, I explained that this would not be what they were used to when having their picture taken. This was about capturing them in an authentic and genuine state of being, and recording their state at this point and time.”

2013 Summer Dathun Photos

Posted on September 30, 2013 by admin

Here are the before and after photos of twelve courageous 2013 Summer Dathun participants.

We thank them for their generosity in allowing us to use their images to share with you the profound humanity and beauty that may arise by the virtue of a full month of sitting meditation.

BEFORE	AFTER

Two Hearts are Greater Than One

Posted on September 24, 2013 by admin

We may have been told, or we may have the sense, that within ourselves and within the Earth, there is fathomless wisdom which is available to us at all times–all we need to do is tune in.

If this is so, we’d be hard pressed to find a better duo to guide us in that process than don Oscar Miro-Quesada–a highly empowered and well renowned shaman–and Byron Metcalf, Ph.D.–a pioneer in conscious-altering music with a background in transpersonal psychology.

In the upcoming weekend program The Shaman’s Heart: An Awakening of Compassion, Healing and Vision, these two teachers will bring together their unique and powerful medicines by “merging ancient and contemporary healing ceremonies and rhythmic techniques.”

If you feel that there are dimensions to this life, and to your very being, which you have the ability to know, but are somehow just out of reach, a weekend on the mountain with this pair of guides may very well put you in touch.

As excitedly as we invite you to join us for what is sure to be a transformative retreat, we also encourage you to first check out some of the work that don Oscar and Byron have done recently.

Byron, a percussionist, teamed up with master didgeridoo artist Rob Thomas for 2013’s “Medicine Work.” Samples from the album can be streamed on Byron’s website.

And, don Oscar has recently co-authored–along with Bonnie Glass-Coffin, Ph.D.–the highly acclaimed book titled Lessons in Courage: Peruvian Shamanic Wisdom for Everyday Life.

Among the many stellar reviews from scholars, philosophers, mystics, and well respected people in various fields for this long-awaited book, is this weighty response from Barbara Marx Hubbard of the Foundation for Conscious Evolution:

“This is a great book that can attune the worlds of indigenous peoples with the rational scientific traditions of the modern world. It guides us toward incarnation of all levels of ourselves. Oscar embodies this wholeness and reveals the processes learned in his own epic journey through fields of reality from the Earth to the Star people, from contemporary academic knowledge to the depth and power of indigenous wisdom and ritual, most especially the Pachakuti Mesa Tradition of cross-cultural shamanism. Lessons in Courage is an indispensable classic for our “generation one,” everyone on the planet, facing for the first time the evolution or devolution of Earth life by our own actions.”

Indeed, the consequences of what we may discover with the assistance of teachers such as these–or not–are profound.

Oscar Miro-Quesada and Byron Metcalf will be leading “The Shaman’s Heart: An Awakening of Compassion, Healing and Vision” at Shambhala Mountain Center on October 11-13, 2013. Click here to learn more.

The Virtue of Variety: A Practitioner’s Toolbox

Posted on September 10, 2013 by admin

By Troy Rapp

Early in my meditation life, I found myself drawn to explore different styles of practice. I was in the midst of my first fall training period at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center after having spent two years practicing meditation in the Soto Zen tradition, when I found myself drawn to study Korean Zen that winter. A group of monks from this tradition had come to visit and brought with them an English translation of their teachings. I discussed this with the teacher under whom I had begun to practice Zen, and was strongly advised against it. The basis of this instruction was a belief that it was not possible to deepen a spiritual life without unwavering devotion to one style of practice. This type of admonition is not uncommon in the world of spiritual practice. I’ve encountered it from many teachers in a variety of traditions over the years. “If you’re digging a well, you won’t hit water by starting a new hole” goes the metaphor commonly used to support this perspective. I recognize its merit. There is a danger that students can dabble in many different methods, and use it as a distraction from making a sustained commitment to deepening their practice. In addition, the contradictions between different teaching styles can be confusing, and this can weaken the resolve of the practitioner. It is also important to recognize that different students have different affinities. Some students have a strong affinity for a particular tradition and will be well served by one-pointed devotion to that tradition. However, I would like to offer another perspective on the merit of exploring different traditions and integrating a variety of practice methods.

While devotion to a particular style of practice can prove valuable, it is also possible to integrate a variety of methods so that various practices support and enrich one another. In Buddhism, this is known as upaya, which is commonly translated as “skillful means.” In this approach, different methods of practice are cultivated in response to various difficulties. For example, if a particularly strong experience of fear, anger or hatred is arising, and the intensity is such that equanimity cannot be established, it can be helpful to cultivate loving-kindness (metta) as an antidote. This method of practice can be used to take the edge off the experience. When the intensity has dissipated enough that equanimity can be established, then it becomes possible to engage in other methods, exploring the nature of the aversion more directly. Similarly, if one is overcome by drowsiness or lethargy in meditation practice, it can be helpful to engage in practices which build energy such as opening the eyes wide, taking a standing posture rather than a seated posture, or engaging in more vigorous physical activity.

In my own practice, the primary meditation object I have used consistently has been the breath. It’s what I started with. It works for me, so I’ve continued with it. However, in addition to this method, over the years I’ve explored many other methods, and have integrated some of them into my own practice in supporting roles. These include the practice of metta meditation, counting the breath, mental noting of where the attention is drawn, reciting the name of a Buddha or Bodhisattva, contemplating death, yoga asana, pranayama, exploring the mental and emotional landscape through dialogue, and the study of sacred texts from a variety of contemplative traditions.

Each of these has proven valuable and supported the deepening of my practice in some way. I’ve come to recognize the possibility of a perspective which sees the integration of various practice methods as akin to having a toolbox stocked with a variety of tools for working with different types of challenges.

I’m also proposing a different perspective on the metaphor of digging a well. Rather than viewing the adoption of another style of practice as digging a new hole, I’m proposing that a variety of techniques can work together to support the deepening of the well. Just as one might use a shovel, a pickaxe, a rock hammer, or a pry-bar to good effect when encountering different layers of material in the course of digging a well, so might one employ different practices to deepen their awakening.

Troy Rapp will be teaching “Prajna Yoga: Full Spectrum Practice” with Theresa Murphy at Shambhala Mountain Center on October 25–27, 2013. Click here to learn more.

Wholeness and Mindfulness

Posted on August 28, 2013 by admin

By Janet Solyntjes

Janet Solyntjes will be leading Introduction to Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, March 6-8, 2015

Nearly everywhere one turns these days the language of “mindfulness” is to be found. Its ubiquitous influence is flavoring American culture. Because my professional life is part of the mindfulness movement, I have sensitivity towards noticing the numerous references to mindfulness that are popping up in the media. What I personally find inspiring is not the “Zen” or “mindful” references dotting our media world. What is heartening is the clear shift that happens in an individual and culture each time a person opens to unconditional goodness, wholeness, and worthiness. Can you feel something shifting? Are you curious about the transformative power of the increased number of people practicing mindfulness in America?

Jon Kabat-Zinn, the progenitor of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, speaks of the healing power of the view and practice of entering wholeness:

When we glimpse our own completeness in the stillness of any moment, when we directly experience ourself as whole in that moment and also a part of a larger whole, a new and profound coming to terms with our problems and suffering begins to take place. We begin to see both ourselves and our problems differently, namely from a perspective of wholeness.

In this time of the spreading of mindfulness, where people in all areas and walks of life, crossing economic and cultural boundaries, are gravitating towards the beauty, power, and genuineness of living life one moment at a time, the need to cultivate a view of wholeness and completeness is paramount to individual and societal transformation. This leads me to my main point: Cultivating an unshakeable view of wholeness, worthiness, and goodness in our own heart requires periods of deep reflection and meditation to uproot wrong views and nourish faith in innate wholeness. It doesn’t happen automatically in our busy lives. It requires intention.

A penetrating question that poet Antonio Machado asks his readers in The Wind, One Brilliant Day has been haunting me for years: “What have you done with the garden that was entrusted to you?” When these words and associated images arise in my mind, I feel a deep longing for retreat practice. Utilizing the gardening metaphor, Maria Rodale offers comparisons between gardens and a human life:

You have to have a vision and Big Dreams.
You have to have patience.
You have to learn how to deal with things that are totally out of your control.
It’s hard to do it alone.
It’s good to be thankful.
Sometimes you have to let things go.
It’s all about love.

This November, Jim Colosi and I will be co-leading a 7-day Mindfulness Meditation Retreat at SMC. Our inspiration is to help teachers and aspiring teachers of MBSR and other mindfulness programs to refine the tools of “gardening” and to support the view of wholeness. Tending to one’s interior garden is the essential work of a group meditation retreat.

Support for the retreat from Saki Santorelli:

“The Mindfulness Meditation Retreat is designed to mirror and express the essential and universal approach of MBSR by fostering a rigorous retreat experience that is independent of any religious viewpoint. And because the themes, practice instructions, and outlook of the retreat are all rooted in the MBSR experience, there will be a natural continuity with our Oasis Institute MBSR teacher training curriculum and criteria. For this reason, and because of the longtime MBSR teaching experience of Jim and Janet, we at the Center for Mindfulness are happy to co-sponsor and endorse this retreat.”

We hope you join us!

Janet Solyntjes

~~~

Click here for our full interview with Janet

Also, please see this post from Janet on our blog:

Wholeness and Mindfulness

~~~

Janet Solyntjes, MA, is a senior teacher in the Shambhala Buddhist tradition and Adjunct Professor at Naropa University. A practitioner of mind-body disciplines since 1977, she completed a professional training in MBSR with Jon Kabat-Zinn and Saki Santorelli and an MBSR Teacher Development Intensive at the Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Janet leads mindfulness retreats in the U.S. and internationally and is co-founder of the Boulder-based Center for Courageous Living.

A Rare Pairing, Awareness Through Moving & Stillness

Posted on August 23, 2013 by admin

by Katharine Kaufman and Kim Hansen

Katharine Kaufman and Kim Hansen will be teaching: Awareness Through Moving and Stillness: Feldenkrais and Meditation September 6–8, 2013 at Shambhala Mountain Center.

Participating in an Awareness Through Movement lesson is like wearing clothes that fit well. Imagine you have an exceptional suit, and it doesn’t fit. It’s a little too big around the shoulders; so you go to the tailor to take that in. It is a bit too long in the legs, too snug in the waist…By the time the tailor is finished with your suit, it is no longer baggy in some places and tight in others. It fits freely so you can move unencumbered, and naturally. You could wear the special suit with ease all day and through the night.

In this retreat rather than one size fits all, participants are guided continually to create choices based on their internal experiences such as comfort, intuition, sensation, feelings, vitality, and thoughts. Movements can be soft, subtle, influenced by the breath– or large, moving through space. The mind/body connection is investigated as well so we begin to trust the situation, and can begin to move and find stillness in integrated, holistic, and organic ways.

Awareness Through Movement practice is offered in thematic lessons, through verbal cues, like little movement puzzles. The practice helps sort out habits and internalized patterns from the inside out. The most simple movements become fascinating.

Then we take a break and have some tea, or stroll about, or talk with each other, and allow the lesson to integrate.

We can let things be as they are, without adding additional stories or judgments to confuse direct somatic experiences. One may find more possibilities, fewer subconscious chains dragging down behavior and creativity. One may actually feel new connections coming alive. During this retreat in the early days of September there will be plenty of opportunity to wander, roam and pause through the magnificent land at Shambhala Mountain Center, with our new found freedom of awareness, movement and stillness.

When this type of exploration is combined with the art of sitting, standing, lying and walking meditation, the meditator becomes uniquely and deeply aware of the whole experience as an integrated one. When we look and feel our breath and allow small micro-movements then the stillness of meditation is not so still after all. When the emphasis strays from holding a posture and instead transforms to experiencing a posture then meditation becomes quite alive, and fresh. We have the possibility of recognizing our choices even during seemingly still meditation postures. One is able to rest with awareness in the process of meditation.

Combining Awareness Through Movement lessons with meditation practices we can discover ourselves as new as a brilliantly fitting suit, in the way we turn toward our unavowed dreams, human dignity, and relationships.

Katharine Kaufman and Kim Hansen will be teaching: Awareness Through Moving and Stillness: Feldenkrais and Meditation September 6–8, 2013 at Shambhala Mountain Center.