- J
- M
I am a meditation practitioner and a student of Buddhism. It is the most important thing in my life.
Now that I am 65, and teaching during the school year, and able to sublet my condo, I've decided to commit to long summer meditation retreats, to deepen and strengthen my practice. If not now, when? I'm asking for your help to finance a 2-month retreat this summer 2016 -- June and July. The money will be used to pay for lodging at the retreat center (in Colorado, where my teacher has 2 centers), for food, and for travel.
Meditation practice is where you are able to let go of the noise in the head, and the distortions, and begin to see clearly, develop insight, act with integrity, and clean up the messes that you've left in your wake. I'm dead without it. Literally. I stumbled into Buddhist meditation a few months after I stumbled into AA, at 29, and I've had a pretty much daily meditation practice since then. Initially it taught me that there is a difference between the thought of, the craving for, a drink, and putting one in your mouth. Since then the practice and the insights have brought me through a life that has had many joys and also many many trials. I am hooked.
Most years I manage to go on at least one retreat of somewhere between 5 and 10 days -- such deepening can happen then, in the silence, in the longer and more consistent hours of practice and study. When I was 30ish, I did a month-long monastic retreat at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center in California: unforgettable and life-changing. Now that I am 65, and have been to the funerals of 3 dear friends in the last 3 years, I know that life and energy and health are limited, and something has just COMMITTED in me to do a longer yearly practice, as long as I'm able physically and mentally to do it. This year is Year 1.
I thought I should just be able to finance this on my own, and I could drain some retirement funds.... But my dear niece Elle Bacon suggested GoFundMe, and I thought I could prehaps share the gift in this way. I know from experience that prayers and meditation can have a great impact not just on my own mind and heart, but as a gift to others. And the generosity of any gift of any size you offer to support my practice this summer adds you to the Prayer List -- and I do believe that the prayers for you and your intentions could then bless you in return. If you have particular prayer requests for yourself or others, please send them to me at my email address, and these requests will receive DAILY heartfelt prayers for the 2 months I'm on retreat.
Here is a link to a video of my teacher giving a talk, in case you would like a taste (PS, He is Pema Chodron's teacher, which may have meaning for some of you):www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzfwJ2lE2ZM
("koan" which he refers to is defined as: : a paradox to be meditated upon that can provoke profound insight and even enlightenment ....)
Now that I am 65, and teaching during the school year, and able to sublet my condo, I've decided to commit to long summer meditation retreats, to deepen and strengthen my practice. If not now, when? I'm asking for your help to finance a 2-month retreat this summer 2016 -- June and July. The money will be used to pay for lodging at the retreat center (in Colorado, where my teacher has 2 centers), for food, and for travel.
Meditation practice is where you are able to let go of the noise in the head, and the distortions, and begin to see clearly, develop insight, act with integrity, and clean up the messes that you've left in your wake. I'm dead without it. Literally. I stumbled into Buddhist meditation a few months after I stumbled into AA, at 29, and I've had a pretty much daily meditation practice since then. Initially it taught me that there is a difference between the thought of, the craving for, a drink, and putting one in your mouth. Since then the practice and the insights have brought me through a life that has had many joys and also many many trials. I am hooked.
Most years I manage to go on at least one retreat of somewhere between 5 and 10 days -- such deepening can happen then, in the silence, in the longer and more consistent hours of practice and study. When I was 30ish, I did a month-long monastic retreat at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center in California: unforgettable and life-changing. Now that I am 65, and have been to the funerals of 3 dear friends in the last 3 years, I know that life and energy and health are limited, and something has just COMMITTED in me to do a longer yearly practice, as long as I'm able physically and mentally to do it. This year is Year 1.
I thought I should just be able to finance this on my own, and I could drain some retirement funds.... But my dear niece Elle Bacon suggested GoFundMe, and I thought I could prehaps share the gift in this way. I know from experience that prayers and meditation can have a great impact not just on my own mind and heart, but as a gift to others. And the generosity of any gift of any size you offer to support my practice this summer adds you to the Prayer List -- and I do believe that the prayers for you and your intentions could then bless you in return. If you have particular prayer requests for yourself or others, please send them to me at my email address, and these requests will receive DAILY heartfelt prayers for the 2 months I'm on retreat.
Here is a link to a video of my teacher giving a talk, in case you would like a taste (PS, He is Pema Chodron's teacher, which may have meaning for some of you):www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzfwJ2lE2ZM
("koan" which he refers to is defined as: : a paradox to be meditated upon that can provoke profound insight and even enlightenment ....)