I'm very happy to announce a new drop-in class with Ben Smith called, “Exploration!” on Monday nights at 7:30pm at The Red Door in West Hollywood. I'll talk meditation, attachment conditioning as reflected in our individual capacities to explore what is meaningful, and Ben will cover the how-to of entrepreneurship to integrate meaningful work into a whole life. The classes are designed to provide instruction and support in meditation practice, instruction in how attachment conditioning shapes exploration, and with plenty of time to cover the how-tos of creating an entrepreneurial business and making it thrive.
We will use Dan Brown’s Three Pillars approach for attachment repair: Ideal Parent Figure protocol for reparenting, developing of mentalizing, and developing our collaborative capabilities. As the human condition would have it, these three skills are essential to the practice of entrepreneurship. I think the synergy between these two worlds will be amazing. Please join us - RSVP here!
Karma & Generosity
Karma has a way of unfolding that is often unpredictable. For instance, some of you may remember a teaching on generosity I have offered may times.
You keep a dollar bill with you, and if you notice an opportunity to give it away, you do so mindfully, tracking your cognitive and emotional experience of generosity. Simple practice. Years ago, I was having lunch at a sideway café in (I am remembering Beverly Hills, but memory is unreliable) with Remi Kessler, marvelous Frenchman and documentarian. A homeless man approached the table asking for money, and I practiced generosity. Remi was so intrigued by this practice that he began a journey exploring the origins of homeless and our collective response to it. That exploration has resulted in a new documentary, The Advocates. Here is a link for conversation with Remi relaying his experiences coming to understand this terrible ongoing failure of our culture. The film premieres in theaters tomorrow, Friday, October 19th. Please look for it!
Calling all Shinheads!
Meditators often have found themselves wanting to have a daily meditation practice, but almost everything else in the world gets in the way of that ever @#$%ing happening. In our interweb connected, digital, phone-centered lives there is almost always an app for that. Shinheads of the world rejoice!! If you haven’t already tried Brightmind, a meditation app based on Shinzen Young’s teaching, with Shin himself guiding meditation, consider the possibility of inaugurating your new daily meditation habit. (Try it, you’ll like it.) Here is the link try try Brightmind.
Winter Retreat!
As Halloween is fast approaching and all that masked abandon is now the de facto start of the Holiday season, I think it is important to begin considering retreat for a silent New Year’s celebration. I point this out because Mettagroup is offering our Winter Retreat at Seven Circles Retreat Center in the Sierra Nevadas. Nothing quite rings in the New Year like supermarket cake, a cold Martinelli’s, and enlightenment. Book your spot here.
Happy practice, love to you,
George