Here’s a picture of our New Year’s eve altar (courtesy of Gen Tregor):

There is a wonderful post by Marguerite from her blog, Mind Deep, on the precepts.

Here are my thoughts on the topic of Refuge.

I loved these two quotes posted recentely on a favorite blog by a dharma friend, Marguerite Manteau-Rao, called Mind Deep:

There is one thing that when cultivated and regularly practiced leads to deep spiritual intention, to peace, to mindfulness and clear comprehension, to vision and knowledge, to a happy life here and now, and to the culmination of wisdom and awakening. And what is that one thing? Mindfulness centered on the body. ~ Anguttara Nikaya I, 21 ~

If the body is not cultivated, the mind cannot be cultivated. If the body is cultivated then the mind can be cultivated. ~ Majjhima Nikaya 36 ~

Here is a great list of ways to support your practice during the holidays compiled by Diane Wilde of the Sacramento Insight Meditation group:

Mindfulness and Holiday Stress

Here’s a great article:
Why Gratitude is Good

and a guided meditation on gratitude by Ven. Thubten Chodron:
Annual Thanksgiving Gratitude Meditation

And an article about boosting your health with gratitude.

A wonderful video on gratitude:

Watch the full episode. See more Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly.

Here is the text of the talk on the five aggregates: Five Aggregates-Nov 9, 2010

Here is the poem by Mark Nepo:

Accepting This

Yes, it is true. I confess,
I have thought great thoughts,
and sung great songs—all of it
rehearsal for the majesty
of being held.

The dream is awakened
when thinking I love you
and life begins
when saying I love you
and joy moves like blood
when embracing others with love.

My efforts now turn
from trying to outrun suffering
to accepting love wherever
I can find it.

Stripped of causes and plans
and things to strive for,
I have discovered everything
I could need or ask for
is right here—
in flawed abundance.

We cannot eliminate hunger,
but we can feed each other.
We cannot eliminate loneliness,
but we can hold each other.
We cannot eliminate pain,
but we can live a life
of compassion.

Ultimately,
we are small living things
awakened in the stream,
not gods who carve out rivers.

Like human fish,
we are asked to experience
meaning in the life that moves
through the gill of our heart.

There is nothing to do
and nowhere to go.
Accepting this,
we can do everything
and go anywhere.

— Mark Nepo

Here’s the poem by Danna Faulds that was quoted on Tuesday evening:

SELF-OBSERVATION WITHOUT JUDGMENT by Dana Faulds

“Release the harsh and pointed inner
voice.  it’s just a throwback to the past,
and holds no truth about this moment.

Let go of self-judgment, the old,
learned ways of beating yourself up
for each imagined inadequacy.

Allow the dialogue within the mind
to grow friendlier, and quiet.  Shift
out of inner criticism and life
suddenly looks very different.

i can say this only because I make
the choice a hundred times a day to release the voice that refuses to
acknowledge the real me.

What’s needed here isn’t more prodding toward perfection, but
intimacy – seeing clearly, and
embracing what I see.

Love, not judgment, sows the
seeds of tranquility and change.”

Faulds, D. (2003).  One Soul: More Poems From the Heart of Yoga.  Kearney, NE: Morris Publishing.

and here is the quote by Tom Robbins:

“One has not only an ability to perceive the world but an ability to alter one’s perception of it; more simply, one can change things by the manner in which one looks at them.”  — Tom Robbins, Even Cowgirls Get The Blues

Please join us on Saturday afternoon, Sept. 11th –  Insight Meditation Modesto will be presenting:

A Benefit for the Brahmavihara/Cambodia AIDS Project, Saturday, September 11th, 2010, 2:00 to 4:00 pm at the Unity Church Children’s Classroom on 2467 Veneman Ave., Modesto, CA – meditation and talk on “Gratitude Under Fire” by Beth Goldring an American Buddhist nun from the Rinzei Zen tradition. Offered freely – all donations will support the Brahmavihara AIDS Project in Cambodia.  [Beth will be giving a separate and different presentation at the Cambodian Wat on Sunday morning.]

Please see the Beth Goldring Flyer for more details.  If possible, please RSVP! If necessary, I can change the space to the Fellowship Hall if there are a lot of people planning to attend. For more info or to RSVP, call Lori at 209-343-2748.

Please feel free to share this flyer with anyone who might be interested in supporting this cause.

Kind thanks,
Lori

Here are a few pictures from the daylong with Robert Cusick – thanks to Donna Wilhelm for taking these!