Shambhala Mountain Center Blog

At Shambhala, runners are enjoying a new high – at 8,000 feet, in fact – and leaving their iPods behind as they learn to enjoy the sound of their own breath. Runners from all over the country gathered recently for “Running with the Mind of Meditation and Yoga” with Tarah Cech, Marty Kibiloski and Jon Pratt. The feedback from participants and press alike was remarkable; specifically Runner’s World, the Daily Camera and the Running Times.

The aim of this course is to help runners connect with their bodies and surroundings, through meditation, yoga and contemplative running. Benefits of such mindfulness include injury prevention and improved performance through increased awareness and thought control.

As Pratt told Running Times: runners “are more inclined than most people to be contemplative, to want to explore their inner experience as you do when you meditate. And to engage in an activity that is as repetitive as running takes discipline and focus. These qualities are also essential to the meditator. So runners seem to have both the natural inclination and skills to be meditators.”

Cech and Pratt’s teacher, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche – a three-hour marathoner – is the author of “Turning the Mind into an Ally” and “Ruling Your World”, and is one of the world’s foremost meditation teachers. He is head of the Shambhala Buddhist lineage.

This popular program has been so successful that it has been scheduled again for September 3 – 6th. Click on the link below for more info.

http://www.shambhalamountain.org/programs/1299

Click on these links to see what past participants had to say:

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/1,7124,s6-243-297–13481-0,00.html

http://www.dailycamera.com/ci_15607862?source=most_viewed

Last week a friend sent me a Wall Street Journal article by John Freeman entitled “Not So Fast,” an excerpt from his book The Tyranny of E-mail. Freeman’s article points out the bitter irony of today’s media: the faster we communicate, the less we understand; our incessant interconnectivity has actually done little to connect us.  Instead, as Freeman explains, social media has “isolated us from the people with whom we live” and has encouraged “flotillas of unnecessary jabbering, making it difficult to tell signal from noise.”  Living in a “constant state of digital jet lag,” he concludes, we have become largely unaware of our bodies and minds.

This article is a reminder of the need to slow down and remember what’s really important. Freeman sees the frantic speed at which we text, chat, and type as a way to stave off the specter of our own mortality, a temporary relief from the reality that our lives are finite. “Busyness,” he says, “numbs the pain of this awareness.” But both body-based practices and mindfulness disciplines teach us that in the heart of this pain is the possibility of freedom, the opportunity to face the fact of our impermanence, and to live our lives accordingly.

With society increasingly wired for instant communication and remote networking, it can be difficult to remember to slow down. At Shambhala Mountain Center we offer you refuge from the speediness of modern society. Our programs provide opportunities to transform busyness to mindfulness — a chance to rest and renew your mind, body, and spirit.

Consider this blog post a beautifully-wrapped paradox: delivered via its speedy efficient medium, it is an invitation to stop, turn the laptop off, take a breath, and rest — truly rest.

Best,

Brian Spielmann

From Kate Linthicum’s Los Angeles Times article, “In the Stillness, Space for a Rebellious Spirit”…

Continuing to meditate, he got sober with the help of a 12-step program. He attended his first meditation retreat in 1991 — with Jack Kornfield, an influential Buddhist teacher who trained as a monk in Thailand and Burma.

Levine liked Kornfield’s message — he went on to study with him — but he said he felt a little out of place.

“I was the only 20-year-old there and certainly the only punk rocker,” he writes. “Looking around, I didn’t see anyone even close to my age. This was my father’s scene, not mine.”

After 10 years of studying Buddhism, Levine was certified to teach by Kornfield. But he wanted to create a new scene — for people like himself, the kind who liked to rock out to bands like Suicidal Tendencies and slam-dance in mosh pits. So he began leading meditation groups in Santa Cruz and San Francisco and in 2003 launched a Dharma Punx group on New York City’s Lower East Side. He moved to Los Angeles three and a half years ago and founded Against the Stream last year.

Though he draws inspiration from many strains of Buddhism (including Thai, Sri Lankan and Burmese), he said, he has tried to tear down the hierarchical difference between teacher and student that is common in those forms.

“I tend to present the teachings as a peer, as, ‘We are all in this together seeking happiness,’ ” he said. “We are all the students. Can we take the wisdom and the compassion of the Buddha’s teachings and roots and leave behind some of the other things that I see as corruptions — the dogma, the power, the patriarchy and superstition?”

Read more…

Please join the Shambhala Mountain Center as we host John Tarrant, Western Zen teacher, on June 18, 2008.

As current director of the Pacific Zen Institute in Santa Rosa, California, Tarrant has a great reputation as a writer and poet. He has contributed to such books as Beneath a Single Moon: Buddhism in Contemporary American Poetry and What Book? Buddha Poems from Beat to Hiphop. Tarrant’s own books include his controversial book The Light Inside the Dark and the widely received Bring Me the Rhinoceros.

In addition to being an accomplished author, Tarrant has also become one of the most interesting and creative of North American koan masters. Through his many talks and essays published in periodicals and around the web, as well as through his book Bring Me the Rhinoceros: and Other Zen Koans To Bring You Joy, Tarrant has established himself as the leading koan expert.

What is a koan?

A koan is a paradoxical anecdote or a riddle that has no solution and that is used in Zen Buddhism to show the inadequacy of logical reasoning. Koans are said to reflect the enlightened or awakened state, and can short circuit the habit of discursive thought or shock the mind into awareness.

Tarrant has adapted koans in his meditation as a way to bring curiosity to the whole range of meditation experiences. In the John Tarrant meditation retreat offered by Shambhala Mountain Center, Tarrant will use koans to cross any gap between yourself and the life you live and the life you know is possible.

Want to experience koan meditation with John Tarrant? Join the Shambhala Meditation Center for Meditation & Creativity: Practices that Free the Mind with John Tarrant on June 18, 2009. Contact us today to learn more.

Is your everyday life making you stressed? Relieve stress by participating in Qigong. Qigong (pronounced “chee gong”) is an ancient Chinese system of exercise and meditation that will make your mind and spirit calm and serene.

Qigong has the power to improve your  health, enhance well-being and expand life. Developed by ancient Chinese shamans, Taoists and Buddhists, Qigong is a spiritual discipline that brings harmony and peace into your life.

Aside from achieving a calm state of mind and reducing stress, Qigong has many other health benefits, such as treating cancer and heart disease. Following are some of Qigong’s remarkable health benefits.

Well-being and improved health
Qigong works with your entire body, affecting all health aspects. While Qigong has been said to cure specific illnesses, the primary reason for practice is not just to add years to your life, but life to your years.

Clear and tranquil mind
Key to reducing stress is getting your mind at peace. A peaceful mind leads to a peaceful universe in which you can heal and transform others just through your presence. When you achieve a peaceful mind you will make better decisions and have the skill to know when to act and when to be still.

Deeper, more restorative sleep
Qigong will help you find the deep relaxation and mental quiet necessary for sleep.

Increased energy, including sexual vitality and fertility
People who practice Qigong have more energy. Consistent practice can increase energy and restore youthfulness.

Comfortable warmth
Qigong is great for cold hands and feet. Your circulation will improve causing your body to generate more internal warmth when it’s cold.

Clear skin
The skin, like the intestines, is an organ of elimination. According to Chinese medicine, as your Qigong improves, your body eliminates toxins, and the skin becomes clear.

Happy attitude
There is an old Tibetan saying, “You can tell a Yogi by his or her laugh.” Correct and moderate Qigong practice usually creates an optimistic and joyous disposition.

More efficient metabolism
Practice Qigong and you’ll experience improved digestion and increased growth in your hair and nails.

Greater physiological control
This means that aspects of the body that were imbalanced or out of control begin to normalize, for example, breathing rate, heart rate, blood pressure, hormone levels, and states of chronic inflammation or depletion.

Spiritual effects
Advancement in Qigong is often accompanied by a variety of spiritual experiences. When the ‘Qi’ is abundant, clear and flowing, the senses perceive and are permeated by sweetness.

Want to try Qigong? Shambhala Mountain Center is offering a beginner and intermediate Qigong retreat. Practice with renowned instructor Eva Wong and learn to cultivate strength of body and calmness of mind. Contact Shambhala Mountain Center to learn more about its upcoming retreat,  Traditional Chinese Qigong: Levels I & II with Eva Wong.

When looking at the increased number of visitors over the last ten years, it has become clear that Buddhist retreats have become a very popular weekend or weeklong getaway. While Buddhist retreats have traditionally attracted devout followers of Eastern religious practices, an increasing number of nonbelievers who seek stress-free, spiritual and often inexpensive breaks from the hecticness of their everyday lives are attending Buddhist retreats.

For the nonbelievers, a Buddhist retreat embodies traits opposite of an urban lifestyle. They offer an uncomplicated way of living that provides the rest and relaxation that so many of their visitors seek. In a way, visitors can experience the antithesis of their lives at home.

While Buddhist retreats have been around for several decades, they have traditionally been visited by practicing Buddhists, serious yoga students or devotees of an ashram’s guru. Today, these spots are attracting clientele who’ve had limited interaction with Eastern religions, yoga or a spiritual guru. In fact, some Buddhist centers are reporting a 100% increase in non-following visitors in the last five years alone. These particular visitors have come to realize that Buddhist centers are places of refuge and that it isn’t necessary to know anything about the guru, yoga or meditation.

While stress is the number one reason visitors choose to take a spiritual getaway, it’s the sparse living style and firm scheduling at these retreats that helps to relieve that stress. Harried urbanites can spend whole days without making a decision or facing a crisis, without trying to find a cab in the rain or worrying about a client. The activities are predetermined and tightly scheduled: meditation, chanting religious verses, doing chores around the property and silent self-contemplation.

While non-believers are finding that these retreats are a wonderful way to relax, they are also discovering that they are a great way to initiate a personal exploration of Buddhism. There are many types of classes that are perfect for new visitors. There are “Intro to Buddhism” weekends, workshop retreats that focus on a Zen art such as haiku or kung fu, retreats for families, retreats into the wilderness; and retreats for silent meditation.

Attending a beginner meditation retreat, like those offered at Shambhala Mountain Center, is an ideal way to begin a personal experience of Buddhism outside of books. Visitors will be in the company of other beginners, and such matters as temple protocols or how to meditate will be explained. Most Buddhist centers that offer retreats will make it clear which retreats are appropriate for beginners and which require prior experience. Contact Shambhala Mountain Center today to learn more about our beginner Buddhist meditation retreats.

Do you experience pain in any part of your body? Have you considered meditating to relieve that pain? There are simple and easy meditation techniques that you can do to help get rid of body pain. Meditation for pain relief has been used for ages the world over. While meditation has the reputation for spiritual and religious purposes, it can also be used for relaxation and making the mind calm.

To relax your body and mind and ultimately reduce your pain, find a place where you won’t be interrupted and focus your concentration on an object, the posture itself, or even the rhythm of your breathing. Once in a comfortable position and in focus you can move into a detached state.

Recent studies have proved that even twenty minutes of meditation can help to reduce your blood pressure, your breathing and heart rate, slow the metabolism and reduce muscle tension. Entering into the deeper states sometimes brings on colorful swirls and pictures as well as voices inside of you. Additional studies have shown that meditation can also help to relieve anxiety and stress, migraines, headaches, depression, fatigue, chronic pain, and insomnia.

The good news is that with better self awareness, comes a better state of health and well-being in mind as well as body. Soon you will find yourself functioning much better than you thought possible. Though traditional use of meditation was to be seen in spiritual well being, recent popularity is due to its ability to relieve stress and achieve a relaxed tranquil state of mind in the midst of the rat-race.

Want to learn how to meditate? How about deepening your practice? Shambhala Mountain Center has meditation classes and retreats for all levels. Contact us today to learn more.