Getting To The Setting !

.•♦• 

Hi & Welcome !

We're so very glad that the sense
of a "Living Inquiry" in you
is well, alert & alive !
 So be most welcome to read here


... AND at this point in your 'Search' -
You've found us doing
some RENOVATION tweaks.
So we need to RE-DIRECT you now
to our most Current Updated Site -
HOW ?
...CLICK on the BUDDHA'S FACE to get there !
or try http://www.DharmaHere.blogspot.com/

"So here you are -

Getting Started to Go 'Nowhere'

   ...well, that's 'Buddhism' for ya"
 

___________________
 

_/\_

with my palms joined

♦ The Laughing Buddha Sangha

Encourages A Maverick Spirited Inner-Quest through

a "Mindfulness-Awakening" Meditation Sitting Practice –

that Nourishes an 'Iconoclast Intelligence'

and a Big Good-Hearted Mind –

Eventually 'me' re-discovering
my own 'Buddha-Nature' – provisionally  

Awakening the Compassionate Healing and

Wisdom-Insight Naturally Deep Within Us All.
 

" To be a Buddhist: is to be both delightfully perplexed,

awakened and sweetened by the strangely sane,

refreshingly 'rational' path Buddha created."
______________________________________
 

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'Thera-vada' Buddhism is the very earliest,
original  'Path of The Elders' --
a South Asian Sri Lanka lineage-based practice
of Sati'patthana or Mindfulness Meditation,

also known as Vipassana Insight Meditation –
practiced right alongside the local, indigenous,
skillful, popular eclectic-mix of world-wide Buddhist teachings.

Beginners Very Welcome !

– Coming for the First Time ?

Please RSVP Ahead by Phone or Email !
Space gets limited.

 AkasaLeviZZ@msn.com
310-450-2268 – By Donation

* "Suffering" the "Impermanence" & "Not-Self" of it All –

– and The Noble Eightfold Path ~ Free from it All –

is the Basic Buddhist Core Philosophy –

"All Our Suffering in Life

is from our Unaware Attachments

that Conditionally, Continually Mistakes

the 'Impermanent' as being Permanent."

"You are more attached to your 'desire-thoughts' themselves -

- than you are attached to the actual 'object' of desire itself.

.

" What is 'accepted' by the majority of people -

- does not mean it is Real."

~ Gautama the Buddha, 500 BC India ~

•♦• Hi & Welcome ! •♦• ....AND at this point in your information 'search' - We need to RE-DIRECT You to our most CURRENT Updated Site - You may want to Redirect yourself now at this point.... please CLICK on the BUDDHA'S IMAGE to get there !

( 1 ) Buddhist Meditation Santa Monica • The LAUGHING BUDDHA SANGHA • Introduction to this chunky site • Classes and Retreats • Iconoclastic Quotes and Enlightened Poetry

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.
.
~ For Ease of Viewing ~

please MAX your screen


"The Laughing Buddha Meditation Sangha"


"Keep me away from
the wisdom which does not cry,

the philosophy which does not laugh,
and the greatness which does not bow before children"

~ A Path With Heart ~ Kahlil Gibran


 ♦ CONTACT & Site Navigation
Santa Monica - CA 90405 - near Santa Monica College
AkasaLeviZZ@msn.com ~ phone: 310-450-2268
Best for a live phone-contact, Noon to 6pm, Mon-Fri


You are HERE Now: http://BuddhistMeditationSantaMonica.blogspot.com/
This is a Big site ! 
Would you like to read something much smaller ? 


For a OUICKer-read - Two briefer sites: enjoy ! 


♦ http://www.DharmaHere.blogspot.com/


♦ http://www.meetup.com/Buddhist-Meditation-Santa-Monica-Vipassana-Sangha/

__________________________________________________________
.
If reading here...
please, go to the Sidebar now over there
on your left - and click on the # 1 section
on this chatty, chunky site -
- that will set up the individual sections for you. 

( use specific sections - so your overall scrolling will be much shorter - section by section - instead of a long string of posts all lumped together )

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...and Hey,
Don't feel you have to read everything . .

NOT AT ALL - please use the side-bar to choose what seems interesting or Details you need - graze around... We hope your reading here is challenging ~ and yet enjoyable !

_______________________________________________________________________


To see Current Weekly Monday Class information ? 

Scroll about 1/2 way down on this page ( page #1 ) you're on right now...
also complete Driving Details are found at # 6 ~ see sidebar....

______________________________________
  
Are You IN LOVE WITH LEARNING ?

... SEEKING AN INTELLIGENT SPIRITUAL PRACTICE ?


~ Gosh, We Hope So !


...."To be Buddhist: is to be both delightfully perplexed,

awakened & sweetened by the strangely sane,
refreshingly 'rational' path Buddha created."

.

     ___ ^ ____________________________________

....q(~?~)p .THE .LAUGHING .BUDDHA .SANGHA
................ nourishing an iconoclast intelligence
...... _________________________________ . ..

.

.

. . . and a compassionate welcome to you
. ..........in these troubled times . . .
..

.....~ meditation can certainly help !


Yet, " There Are NO Answers " ~ Rainer Rilke


We're so very glad the sense of ‘Inquiry’ in you
is well, alert & alive !
Be most welcome . . . .
.

.................~ currently ~

________________________

...................MONDAYS

.....................Santa Monica 7:30-9:30 pm
.
..

It was the Best of times ~ It was the Worst of times

It was the age of Wisdom ~ It was the age of Foolishness

It was the epoch of Belief ~ It was the epoch of Incredulity

It was the season of Light ~ It was the season of Darkness
It was the spring of Hope ~ It was the winter of Despair

We had Everything before us ~ We had Nothing before us

We were all going direct to Heaven ~

We were all going direct the Other way. ..A Tale of Two Cities ~ 1859

.

.

Charles Dickens' 19th-century opening lines perfectly describe today's climate.
Undeniably, we all now know deep in our bones, these are difficult times.
Yet come to recognize that these times are ALL a Good 'Practice Opportunity' !
They may as well be.... we're all going thru it together anyway....
.

.
"Only in quiet waters do things mirror themselves undistorted.
Only in a quiet mind is a more complete perception of the world."  ~ Hans Margolius

.

*In these over-stressful times,
we are very, very sincere
about encouraging you
to take up or continue
with full strength & faith ~
a Meditation sitting-practice -
here or elsewhere - 
as a great preventative,
or as an adjunct
to other healings,
or as a powerful vaccine
'antidote' to negative-mind viral...

.

______________________________________________________

..

The Laughing Buddha Sangha • Santa Monica

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We're So Glad Your Accrued Good Karma Brought You Here!.

"The Doors of Perception will open  w i d e  for you" ~ Aldous Huxley.

.

.

*Friends, if this Blog seems like all TOO much reading ~

.....well then, just don't read all of it ~ go to our side-bar

........select & read only some pieces and parts of it...

............. and just enjoy - read very slowly - slow is good
................. Ouick-read briefer blog:
.....................http://www.DharmaHere.blogspot.com
.

__________________________________________________

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Planing to Attend our Weekly Class for the very First Time ?

.

Full Driving DIRECTIONS and DETAILS: see # 6 on the side-bar,

also read a bit in # 2 and # 3 to get some flavor of what we're about.

Questions? call us: 310-450-2268 .~.email: AkasaLeviZZ@msn.com

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Upcoming RETREAT ANNOUNCEMENTS

.....http://www.againstthestream.org/pdfs/Akasa_June_Daylong.pdf


.

"So here you are - 
Getting Started to Go 'Nowhere'
   well, that's 'Buddhism' for ya..."
.
.

Our next One-Day Retreat: Saturday JUNE 11
at Against the Stream / ATS Santa Monica Center 

Please SAVE the Date on your Calendar !

for complete Retreat description/details at #1 A on this blog 
~or~ ______________________________________
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.
..

"Come let's sit meditation and learn together,
and observe what arises - and explore & talk about it.

Meditation will also invite some Rocky Road stuff
and deep issues to stumble on, yet we also
must eventually compassionately encounter 'em -

You'll regain even better Balance afterwards. Meditation builds unshakable inner-strength ! 

so please bravely step forward Mindfully...
to sit in silence and kindness to yourself "

.

.

.

Traveling "The Path of NO Expectations"
using Insecurity / Instability / Impermanance
as Very Great Teachers if used very skillfully ! 

Buddha once said:
"Just as the Elephant's Footprint is the biggest footprint on the whole jungle floor - in human life "Impermanence" is our biggest teacher". Conscious or not, our relationship to impermanence colors absolutely all our other relationships. Young or old - when well practiced - you can be at peace and 'present' during your big, small, or whatever your 'final' end-moments of any experience is. "Let the Truth of Impermanence  overcome your fear of impermanence. Include "Impermanence" mindfully in your very own life." ( from 'A Paradoxical Teaching on Precisely What We Don't Want' )

.__________________________________________

.

" The Path of

NO Expectations ! "

.

"In the stillness – space for a rebellious spirit " ~ Noah Levine ~

..

Learn Buddhist Path-techniques
to mindfully, skillfully and wisely balance

What's Not Enough -with- What's Enough

Cut thru 'Am I Good Enough' ??? Old Dead Stories &

Judging-Mind about Perfection or Imperfection

by building-in & compassionately applying

Buddha's "Wisdom of Instability Teachings"

'Receiving' ALL of yourself with Kindness.

"No Expectations - No Disappointments"

( Less Demands, less Entitlement & less Preferences ) 

Becoming User-Friendly with Flaws, Failure,

Upset & Betrayal. Skillfully dealing with

the Transitory, Illusory and Painful.

..

Develop 'Big-Mind'
- strengthened, smart & sweetened -

Full Mindfulness to Whatever is Happening

Allowing Everything that we experience

moment to moment to simply be Here

– because 'it' already is.

.
..

"The Present Moment itself,

is always Good Enough."

Perfectly Imperfect. Imperfectly Perfect.

Being really OK with 'The What Is' - As it is.

.

Growing a 'Mind' you actually like.

_____________________

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Akasa Levi - went to live in Asia for the full decade of the 70's to be with the last living spiritual teachers of the pre-global era. Initiated by Lama Thubten Yeshe in Nepal - Sri Munindra in Bodhgaya, India - and Goenka & Nisargadatta in Bombay. He was a Buddhist forest monk for six years in Sri Lanka, trained & ordained by Bhante Ananda Maitreya. Akasa is now a Bodhi-Acharya 'lineage-holder' of the Theravada teaching-transmission.

( please see full profile on sidebar )

.

What Retreats Always Offer the necessary deeper "immersion-time experiences" so often missing in somewhat shorter meditation sitting – a more committed working 'relationship' with the meditation practice in an urban sanctuary setting to safely lay aside all daily-demands. An easy-going day of instruction & discussion, sitting meditation and walking awareness practices. These retreats are suitable for both beginners, and more experienced meditators.

..

There becomes No evaluating or 'judging' in your meditation. No
urgency. Actually living a 'practice' through a mature philosophy of "It's All Good" that is NOT just a cliche – it's a life now trusting and receptive. Continually being clarified, strengthened and sweetened by a "Dharma-informed" meditation practice. An 'Undemanding-mind'
with a smart, fine critical-thinking wisdom capacity. . . .

.
.

"Good Enough to be 'present in the moment'

when I am present in the moment.

And that’s enough."

.

...and we will discuss the main "Buddhist Teaching of Sufficiency" –starting to mindfully moderate 'What's Not Enough' with 'What's
Enough' in our everyday lives. A very reasonable practice-path of
realizing that all this leads to true freedom.

. ______________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

.

Monday Classes . . . . .

Monday Classes . . . . .

Monday Classes . . . . .


IN LOVE WITH LEARNING ?..

BUDDHIST MEDITATION:

Simply The Power of Much More Inner-Silence

Getting Really Quiet Inside ~  

.
Classes to Nourish an 'Iconoclast Intelligence'
. 

♦ The Purpose of Vipassana Insight Meditation Practice
Vi.pass.ana in the Pali-language of the original Buddhist teachings – is the simple and direct practice of ‘moment-to-moment’ mindfulness.
Through careful 'sustained observation', we experience directly for
ourselves the ever-changing flow of the mind/body process.
This keen awareness leads us to accept more fully the pleasure
and pain, fear and joy, sadness and happinessthat life inevitably
brings to all our ‘experiences’. As Insight-Awareness deepens,
we develop greater equanimity and peace - in the face of Change.
Wisdom and Compassion increasingly become the major Dharma
guiding-principles ‘informing’ our lives. ~ Joseph Goldstein

.

• Buddhist Insight Awareness Meditation Class
ONGOING Year-round 2011 ~ in Santa Monica  
.
OPEN GROUP: 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm Monday Evenings Include:

• Guided Instruction – a 35 minute Silent Meditation –
after-sit pointers.

• Dharma Talk and Wisdom-Understanding Theory-Study
with Plenty of Q&A,
Dialogue, lively Discussion & Satsang.  
• Metta-style 'Loving-Kindness' meditation or Sacred
Poetry to conclude.
.
• 'A Path With Heart' ~
Vipassana Insight Meditation 
and Mindfulness Deep Inner-Work.The highly popular Buddhist meditation instruction-book for all classes we do is 'A Path With Heart' by Jack Kornfield,
one of America's foremost Buddhist teachers. This is our only 'required' text for class-study + plus some optional occasional free handouts and some free online readings & lectures.

BTW: the # 2 section on side-bar also has some good, brief Definitions of Meditation.

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.
Plan Ahead - please make your phone inquiries now ...
It's sort of an eccentric, odd class ~ at least check it out !
Class is a small, intimate 'salon'-setting - sometimes space gets limited.
Come ANY Monday... at least for a one-time visit ~ see if it works
for you, your heart & intellect. Please read more in this Buddha-
blog. Enjoy !
__________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
 .
*Please Read About Us ....
this little part is super uber-important

We do a DHARMA SATSANG evening ~ 
We inter-actively engage in wise-heart  
'CONVERSATIONS on AWAKEN.MENT' ~

Getting us out from behind "Belief" as a whole – 

and the so limiting Grand Delusion of "Self".

We offer Buddhism without Any Beliefs
towards an authentic Uncompromised Awakening. .
A much more Outside-The-Box-Buddhism for
a much more Maverick Spirited Inner-Quest.
.
Yet, with strong regard for individual spiritual experiences,

with an open heart and free thought and creative expression,.
The Laughing Buddha Sangha strives to be both erudite,
eclectic, enlightening & entertaining in it's relation to the "illusory".
.
The Laughing Buddha Sangha offers the original Traditional Buddhist
Theravada Lineage-based Practice of Vipassana Insight Meditation for
an un-decorated clarity of view of 'The Presence of Mindfulness' within...
____________________________________________
..
Please continue to read more About us . . .

.
The LAUGHING BUDDHA SANGHA in Santa Monica offers a very eclectic "Inquiry into Self'" meditation sitting practice -
combining the calm sobriety and observation approach of traditional Vipassana Mindfulness with the 'crazy wisdom' irrationality of Zen Non-Duality which short-circuits the obsessive self-identified, self-centered, self-absorbed mind. 
.
This practice-group encourages highly inquisitive, unruffled,
curious people with a natural, deep love of learning – who invite
and even relish the profoundly abstract, and even the absurd,
with a genuine taste for the indefinable 'existential' stuff.
.
Or you may be a more 'experienced meditator' who is now seeking a deeper questioning into the 'Idea of Self' - and a more de-mystifying, open-minded, caring 'conversation' into Wisdom, Empathy and what is Spiritual 'Reality'
in our Western life-style today ? We also enjoy some poetry,
and hearty, healthy laughing !
.
Yet our modern, eclectic practice is always informed by the unembellished,
ancient, traditional Theravada Buddha Dharma for clarity of view.
.
_________________________________________________ .
.
.
"In the stillness –
space for a rebellious spirit " ~ Noah Levine..


"BUDDHA: A JOYOUS ICONOCLAST" Class Series ~ A Dharma-Study Series offers a much more outside-the-box-Buddhism !
Rebellious, heart-filled 'heresy' for a more maverick spirited inner-quest - by
nourishing an iconoclast intelligence & compassionate critical thinking
with a tender, caring heart - thru some refreshing, risky, even 'radical' spiritual considerations of Absolute 'Reality' that opens us to the uncompromised truths
of a developing "Dharma 'informed' mind".
.
.
When I see I am Nothing – that is Wisdom.
When I see I am Everything – that is Love.
And between these two, my life flows . . . . .
~ Nisargadatta ..
.
.
NEWCOMERS: Beginners are also very welcome
for an optional Six-week Practice-Series, if you like. 
You will be very patiently guided and gently coached
during the whole entire course.
Newcomers are asked to please inquire first by Phone,
so we can talk a bit - and see if 'open group' or
the 'elective optional class' is suitable for you. 
Thank You, Hope to C Ya....

.

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_______________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ .
..

For more information please use the phone to speak with Akasa directly
about our smaller, more human-sized, intimate classes.
Don't be shy – speaking with the teacher is ½ the 'practice'.
You accelerate your learning !
Best phone-times: Noon to 6 pm Mon-Fri - 310-450-2268 ~
if VM answers, plz leave a complete message: email too, if you wish.
._______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________
.

" TO KNOW THY SELF • CONSTANTLY QUESTION ~

...Take Nothing On Belief "


" What is accepted by the majority of people ~
does not mean it is Real "

~ The Buddha 500 BC

So ...
.“How Far Down The Rabbit Hole Do You Really Want To Go ?" ~ Lewis Carroll - 'Alice Through The Looking Glass' ..
.
." Good timber does not grow with ease.
The stronger the wind ~ the stronger the trees."
~ Willard Marriot
.
..BE the changes you want to see in the world." . .



~ Gandhi

." The Greatest Risk Is Not Taking One "

MAY WISDOM & COMPASSION FOREVER FLOURISH !
.
_______________________________________ _____________________________________
.
THE LAUGHING BUDDHA SANGHA ~
phone: 310 - 450 - 2268
email: AkasaLeviZZ@msn.com -

.
Please try n’ inquire by phone:
310-450-2268.  Email if ya' have to ...
Emails do tend to get lost in the inbox,
Contact by phone is still really the best.
.
Best phone-time Noon to 6pm, Mon/Fri
or leave a Voice Mail, with your email too.
Let's really talk n' see if this 'odd' class
is possibly even for you.
If you do wish to leave your email address,
speak slowly, very clearly –
so we can email Info & Directions to you.
Let's talk first if we can... Thanks folks ~
.
____________________________________________________
...
-:¦:- VIPASSANA & ZEN MINDFULNESS ~ Mondays 7:30 - 9:30 pm
......MEDITATION Practice & DHARMA Study - guided by Akasa Levi
......Opening the "Iconoclastic-Mind" - Buddhism Without Any Beliefs.
......Outside~The~Box~Buddhism for a Maverick Spirited Inner-Quest.
......http://buddhistmeditationsantamonica.blogspot.com/ ( meets weekly )
.
.-:¦:- The SPIRITUAL ADULTHOOD THERAPY & COUNSELING Project
......Buddhist-based, more Alternative Approach to Relating with Your 'Self'
......Individual One-On-One Therapy & Relationship Counseling for Couples,
......Partnerings, Friendships & Workplace "Reaching Out to Reach Deep In"

......http://buddhistcounselingtherapy.blogspot.com/ ...( free phone consult )
.
.-:¦:- The ZEN MEN Inner-Growth Groups explore a Man's Deeper Core Issues

......"Every Guy could use being in a Men's Group at some time in his life"

......Men learning to trust & support each other in making important changes

......"Good Men Becoming Even Better Men !"..( group meets once weekly )

......http://zenmensgroup.blogspot.com/

.

.

Please GO READ MORE ! Enjoy ! ~ select at the sidebar

.

..

( 1A ) Next Upcoming One-Day RETREAT Daylong

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Please MAX your screen for a better view

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______________________________________________________________________

Daylong Meditations in The Dharma -

guided by former Buddhist forest monk Akasa Levi

____  ^ _______________________________________________

q(~?~)p The LAUGHING BUDDHA MEDITATION SANGHA

Classes & Retreats in Santa Monica guided by Akasa Levi

the best phone-time for 'live' inquiry: Noon to 6 pm

email AkasaLeviZZ@msn.com ~ phone 310-450-2268

For all our Meditation Class info,
go here a more QUICK-read brief Details:

http://www.DharmaHere.blogspot.com/

________________________________________________________________________

"Forgiving Our Fathers"

 a Pre-Father's Day Meditation Retreat

One-Daylong: Saturday - June __ - with Akasa Levi

at Santa Monica / 9 am to 5 pm

____________________________________________________

We've all had to have biological Fathers,

or else we just wouldn't be here.

But did we have 'Good-Enough Fathering' ?

Well, that's a whole other story...

This will be a day of 'Forgiveness-work' on us,

our fathers, our family, mates and any others.

For many of us this will be a sane positive beginning,

and as ongoing deep inner-work.

_______________________________________________________

ONE-DAY of Meditation 

that will set us up a full WEEK BEFORE Father's Day

so we can really give ourselves adequate time beforehand

to practice Forgiveness-techniques on our own for a week

at home with short contemplative meditation sittings –

or for whatever amount of time you wish to devote to it.

Using gentle-approaches we will learn on the Daylong

that will lead us confidently to that auspicious Big Sunday,

whether or not we do make the trip home or just in memory.

______________________________________________________

" Forgiveness is giving up all hope for a better past.
There is no future without forgiveness." ~ Desmond Tutu

" Forgiveness is Possible – and how we can start using this timeless Forgiveness practice to transform emotional wounds into an authentic healing, and a way out of our pain. As compassion arises more naturally, we see how Forgiveness can be practiced as a 'Gift' we give – not only to others – but ultimately to ourselves.


Forgiveness has the awesome power to ripen forces of purity such as Love. Forgiveness creates the space for a life-renewal, a life now free from bondage to the past. Forgiveness dissolves separation and relieves us of the twin burdens of lacerating guilt and perpetually unresolved outrage. It is not so easy to access that hurt place inside of us that can forgive, that can love again.


Remember, it is much more difficult to forgive, than not to forgive !


When we are held prisoner by the 'resentment', the pain, the shame, anger, confusion, doubt or the sense of betrayal - our present life just cannot be fully lived. The unwelcome inheritance we carry from the past, function to close our hearts and thereby narrow our world. Yet 'Forgiveness' does not mean condoning a harmful action, or denying an injustice done. Forgiveness should never be confused with being passive toward violation or abuse.


The core-intention of true ‘Forgiveness’ arises directly out of the greatest
compassion for ourselves – so that we can create the spacious, wide
open conditions for an unobstructed love."    ~ Jack Kornfield


Forgive and be free.
Forget that you have forgiven -
- and be even freer !                   ~ The Buddha ~.


A cultivatable ‘capacity’ for Forgiveness needs to be available in order for us to truly Love. And there's certainly an endless abundance of authentic ‘Practice Opportunities’ when ‘working’ on Forgiveness.


This Daylong is suitable for all levels of meditation experience.

Beginners are very welcome ! Guided sitting instruction, Practice-techniques, Dharma-talks that help us explore life-related themes, new awakening approaches, and lively Q & A discussion - and there's lots of welcome noble-silence too.
______________________________________________________


"A change of Heart changes Everything " ~ Max Lucado


" Holding onto resentment
is letting someone else punish us.

The “Act of Forgiveness” is
an act of mercy to yourself !"

_____________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


What Silent Meditation Retreats ALWAYS Offer...
is the very necessary deeper "immersion-time experiences"
so often missing in shorter meditation sittings. Retreats help you gradually build-in a consistent "working-relationship" with the meditation practice - so you can cultivate and stabilize an aware, wise, Dharma-informed intellect, a peaceful body-stillness, and a compassionate, calm equilibrium and emotional renewal, in a supportive space to continually re-awaken yourself to being "present in this moment" in silent-living for a sanctuary-day of sustained mindfulness and inner-inquiry.


This Daylong is appropriate for ALL levels of meditation experience.
Beginners are very welcome ! ... and certainly those with more expeience.
Guided sitting instruction, Practice-techniques, Dharma-talks that help us
explore love-related themes, new awakening-approaches, and there's lively
Q & A discussion - and there's lots of welcome noble-silence too.
________________________________________________________________


an IMPORTANT Detail !! – please BRING your own LUNCH
and water bottle with you – To Eat Mindfully Here – so you
do not interrupt your sensitive 'meditation-mind' mid-way
to go out searching for food.


BRING: water bottle, notebook, pen, maybe a light blanket/shawl,
easy on-off shoes and non-binding clothes.
We have chairs and cushions available.


COST: $50 and the optional offering of Dana to the teacher.
No one is ever turned away for lesser or lack of funds -
email or call for scholarship and/or work-study information
or to Pre-REGISTER now  -or- email us at
for Questions / Hesitations etc.

This Daylong will be held at 
__________________________________________________________


AKASA LEVI - an American filmmaker and student of the Gurdjief 'Work'
that went to live in Asia for the full decade of the 1970's to be directly
with the last living spiritual teachers of the pre-global era. He was mentored
by Lama Thubten Yeshe & Zopa Rinpoche at Kopan, Nepal - Munindra
& Goenka in Bodhgaya, India - and by Nisargadatta Maharaj in Bombay.
Akasa was a forest bhikkhu monk for six years in Sri Lanka - trained and
ordained into the Theravada monastic order by the revered Bhante Ananda
Maitreya and Kassapa Mahathera. Now 70, he guides Vipassana insight
meditation at The Laughing Buddha Sangha in Santa Monica - and offers
buddhist-based counseling-therapy and mindful-life coaching. Akasa is
known for his spontaneity, ready warmth and wry unpredictable humor.

" Metta ~ The Relationship Your Heart Longs For...
... Already Exists within You ! "

__________________________________________________________________

for more full picture of Retreat & Details: 




Day-long Retreats are very suitable for Beginners ! 


" A day of heart/mind training will really begin
to set you up in the right direction -
or allow you to deepen the work
you have already begun.In the stillness – space for a rebellious spirit." ~ Noah Levine

________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________

And the Next Upcoming Retreat

is on "REALITY" ~ What is it ?
this Fall 2011 ~ TBA
with former buddhist forest monk Akasa Levi
at  ~ stay tuned....


____________________________________________________________

Why are you so unhappy ?

Because 99.9 per cent

of everything you think,

and of everything you do,

is for yourSelf –

and there isn't one.

~ Wei Wu Wei ~

" Buddhist practice literally has 'Nothing' to offer you –
other than what is in THIS very moment. That’s all.

God(s), Goddesses, religion, entities and the ego-self

can certainly attract you with so, so, so much more! "

~ Henri Van Zeyst ~

Remember ~ Whatever 'It' is – It's just a “Thought”.

and also please remember that . . .

Love exists only in the True Friendship.

Love is True Friendship set on Fire !

~ Jeremy Taylor - 1657 ~

Natural Dharma guides us in the practical necessity of creating
our own clear relationship 'language of kindness'

and skillful actions arising from a compassionate
and yet correct-view of 'What Is'.

...and How to do this in a warm, natural, flexible yet uncontrived, uncompromised way?

How do we "do" Relationship in our lives with full feeling and integrity, while at the
same time do a Buddhist-practice of cultivating an awakened non-attachment ? 

 " The Buddhist absence of 'Attachment' –

is not necessarily at all, in any way,

the absence of profound Loving."

~ Ananda Maitreya ~

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Meditation is coming soon to a mind near you !



The most common attachment-mistake
in creating one's own personal suffering
is to take the Impermanent for Permanent."


T
he Buddhist-ideal: the Absence of 'Attachment' –
is NOT necessarily, in any way whatsoever,
the absence of a profound Loving !




The True Reality of 'Experiencing':
is How I personally experience -
'Experiencing' itself -
and that may have to change !




The Buddhist Practice is always all about
OBSERVING OBSERVING OBSERVING
Observing One's Self and becomeing truly,
authentically Self-Conscious, consciously !
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