Addiction recovery on Friday the 13th

Seth Auberon, Amber Larson, Pat Macpherson, Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly; Noah Levine (RefugeRecovery.org), Dharma Punx, AgainstTheStream.org; BLVDcenters.com

X marks the spot: BLVD Treatment Center, 1776 N. Highland, Hollywood, CA 90028

Inside the many beautiful rooms and posh digs of BLVD with patio (blvdcenters.com)

Make the 13th good luck. Get a free book. Stop craving from leading to harmful choices.

 

A Buddhist Path to Recovering from Addiction

Today is "Friday the Thirteenth." And that can mean good luck or bad, bad if addiction is on the calendar, the menu, and to do list. But good if one is turning it around to recovery. 

Because today is Noah Levine's BLVD rehab (855 277-5363) open house, with a launch party for his newest book on treating intoxicants like forms of suffering and dumping them. 

The Dharma Punx, Against the Stream, The Heart of the Revolution author is calling the new movement Refuge Recovery (an unfortunate, alliterative name based on the mistranslation of sarana, which actually means guidance rather than refuge).
 
But "refuge," which really refers to nirvana, is what everyone calls the Three Gems or Jewels or Guides of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha (community), and "going for refuge" is what everyone thinks s/he's doing. The gems are right on the new cover!

Noah Levine and his inner mohawk meditator

Today is the best day ever because EVERYONE IS INVITED to the party with Wisdom Quarterly. And if you come, you'll get a FREE copy of Levine's newest book. Let's ask Noah and the publisher, What is "Refuge Recovery"?

It is a proven practice. It is a process. It is a set of tools. It is a treatment. It is a path to healing [from] addiction.
 

Residential: 516 N. Detroit St., LA, CA 90036 (Melrose/La Brea) behind Canters Deli

.

Against the Stream, Melrose Ave., Hlywd

Refuge Recovery is a Buddhist-oriented, non-theistic [not to be confused with atheistic but atheists will love the Stephen Batchelor-inspired "Buddhist Atheist" tee-shirts for sale with the rest of the Against the Stream swag] recovery program that does not ask anyone to believe anything [thanks to the Kalama Sutra] -- only to trust the process and do the hard work of recovery.

In fact, no previous experience or knowledge of Buddhism is required. Recovery is possible, and this book -- like the books of Kevin Griffin -- provides a systematic approach to treating and recovering from all forms of addictions. When sincerely practiced, the program will ensure a full recovery from addiction and a life-long sense of well-being and happiness.

• FREE BOOKS and OPEN HOUSE
• BLVD Outpatient Treatment Center
• 1776 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood, California 90028
• Above Hollywood Blvd. just below Franklin Ave.
• VIDEO: Doubt and the Buddha's Advice (Kalama Sutra)
• Sarana: Going for "Refuge" or Going for "Guidance"?
• SERIES: A Buddhist Path to Recovery?

Noah Levine, M.A., scion/son of Buddhist author Stephen Levine and student of Jack Kornfield, has been using Buddhist practices to recover from addiction since 1988. He is the founding teacher of Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Society (refugerecovery.org)

Los Angeles EVENTS, June 2014

Amber Larson, Seth Auberon, Kat, Wisdom Quarterly; Pacifica Radio L.A. (kpfk.org)

Lummis Day Festival of Northeast Los Angeles, June 1, Highland Park (lummisday.org)

The revolution will be televised thanks to Uprising TV with Sonali Kolhatkar. Attending the launch party at Cafe Club Fais Do Do, L.A. (uprisingtv.brownpapertickets.com)

Brazilian Summer Festival, Ford Amphitheatre, Hollywood, L.A. (braziliannites.com)

Rebuild the Philippines, June 8, Greek Theatre, Hollywood (greektheatrela.com)

Los Angeles Greek Film Festival, June 4-8, 2014, Egyptian Theatre, Hollywood (lagff.org)

Dances with Films Festival, Hollywood, California (danceswithfilms.com)

Pacifica Free Speech Radio L.A., Santa Barbara (KPFK FM 90.7, 98.7) post fund drive

Topanga Days Hippie Fest (May 24-26)

Wisdom Quarterly; TopangaDays.com

Once a year, typically Memorial Day weekend in late May, a dance, contemporary crafts, performance art, and music festival is held to support the activities of the... in Hollywood's back yard. More

Buddhist Addiction Recovery Center opening

Seth Auberon, Frank Miles, Wisdom Quarterly; AgainstTheStream.org

Last Tuesday Noah Levine paid us a visit at Dharma Punx to announce that Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Society is adding an outpatient drug and alcohol recovery center. Anyone interested in getting off or successfully staying off drugs using a Buddhist oriented path to recovery can contact Levine or the center to sign up.

Why resort to a REHAB center that promotes theism when a better alternative exists? 

Buddhism is non-theistic, but former Western Buddhist monk Stephen Batchelor (who married a former Buddhist nun), author of Confession of a Buddhist Atheist, is a popular speaker at ATS influencing its outlook on resorting to a better "higher power" than the one one endlessly promoted at ordinary 12-Step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous.  

Kevin Griffin, author of A Burning Desire: Dharma, God, and the Path of Recovery, will be hosting a daylong meditation and recovery workshop this month (see below). His approach incorporates Buddhism and the Noble Eightfold Path

Residential Retreats

Memorial Day - Meaningful Life - Earthdance - Refuge Recovery

Classes and Events

A Burning Desire

Drug and Sex Recovery (ongoing)

Meetings are open to all in recovery

Tuesdays 7:30 pm Hollywood (4300 Melrose Ave., LA 90029)

Thursdays 7:30 pm Santa Monica (1001a Colorado Ave., LA, 90401) 

Saturdays 6:00 pm Santa Monica

Sundays 7:00 pm Hollywood, Melrose Ave.

 

Driven by Fear or Inspired by Love

Half-day (4 hours) with Michele Benzamin-Miki - May 10, 2014, Hollywood, Melrose Ave.

The Great Dharma Race

Melrose to Santa Monica, May 17

Intro to Meditation

May 17, Hollywood, Melrose Ave.

Family Program Starts

May 18, Hollywood, Melrose Ave.

Facing Impermanence with an Open Heart

Daylong with Beth Mulligan and Paul D'Alton, May 25, Santa Monica

 

Buddhism and the Twelve Steps

NEW: 12 Step Workbook

Daylong with Kevin Griffin, May 31, Hollywood, Melrose Ave.

Spring Cleaning

Hollywood, Melrose Ave., June 7

Meditation and Art

with Mollie Favour, June 8 and 10

Dharma Goes to the Movies

An evening with Denise Di Novi, June 14, Santa Monica

Daylong with Amma Thanasanti

June 28, Hollywood, Melrose Ave.

4th of July Camping Trip

July 4-6, San Onofre State Beach 

Melrose Meditations
Meditation and Dharma Talk
Every Wednesday @ 7:30 pm
Connect and Sustain
Every Thursday @ 7:00 pm
Deepening Your Practice
Every Friday @ 7:30 pm
Saturday Afternoon Meditation and Talk

Refuge Recovery: A Buddhist Path

Every Saturday @ 5:00 pm
Meditation and Dharma Talk
Every Sunday @ 11:00 am
Community Silent Sit and Meditation
Every Sunday @ 5:00 pm
Recollective Awareness Meditation
Every Monday @ 10:00 am
Silent Morning Sits
Mon through Fri @ 6 am and @ 7 am

Santa Monica Center
Meditation and Dharma Talk
Every Monday @ 7:30 pm
Deepening Your Practice
Every Wednesday @ 7:30 pm
Connect and Sustain
Every Friday @ 7:30 pm
Dharma Den
Every Sunday @ 7:30 pm

Studio City (Valley)
Meditation and Dharma Talk
Every Thursday @ 7:30 pm

• 83 Problems: A Buddhist Sutra/Parable
  

Author, punk, and Against the Stream co-founder Noah Levine has an inner-meditator who comes out  for all to see. It's the punk ethic: going against the way of the world like the Buddha. That means recovery from addictions. Meditate and destroy inner-obstacles (WQ).

Topanga Earth Day 2014 (April 19-20)

Xochitl, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly; Moonbeam, TopangaEarthDay.org

Native Americans of coastal Southern California

Xochitl, Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly; Chumash Life (March 2014), SantaYnezChumash

(santaynezchumash.org)

The Tongva lived in Los Angeles foothills and basin, but the coast from Malibu to Paso Robles (SLO County) was the domain of the Chumash. Who were they?

• A look into the life of a modern grape juice-maker: a tribal member who's breaking down barriers for women and for Native Americans.
• Learn about the fight to reclaim land that was home to Chumash ancestors and could be home to the tribe's future generations.
• See spectacular treasures and historical artifacts that will be part of the tribe's museum and cultural center.
• Meet some extraordinary canines who travel the world to save human lives during this profile of one of the tribe's valued community partners: the Search Dog Foundation.

• Obama approved oil drilling in Alaska: No protests, only Native Americans notice (Investigator Greg Palast)
• "We're all some kind of Native now" (Greg Palast)
• Overturn McCutcheon (Public Citizen)

Inter Tribal Powwows

Buddhism among Pueblo Indians

This weekend, April 12-13, was the 16th Annual Chumash Day Powwow and Inter Tribal Gathering in Malibu at Malibu Bluffs Park, 24250 Pacific Coast Highway. All drums and dancers were welcomed with Head Gourd Saginaw Grant, MC Bobby Whitebird, Arena Director Victor Chavez, Northern Host Drum Blue Star, Southern Host Drum Big Medicine, Head Man Dennis Garcia, Head Woman Sarita McGowana. Powwows continue in other cities. 

The earliest Native Americans were Buddhists from the Tibetan Autonomous Region, China, seen here in Mahavairocana purifying ritual 2014 (Ven. Janyang Zangpo/flickr.com)

  

Powwow (UCDavis.edu)

Next weekend, April 19-20, is the 4th Annual Cal State University Dominguez Hills Pow Wow honoring the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas (11am-8pm) with Spiritual Laeader: Jimi Castillo (Tongva/Acjachemen), Head Gourd Dancer: Earl Steen (Muscogee Creek), Master of Ceremonies: John Dawson (San Carlos Apache), Arena Director: Victor Chavez (Dine), Host Southern Drum: Sooner Nation, Host Northern Drum: Changing Spirits. All Drums and Dancers welcome! SEE VIDEOS. Open to the public, FREE admission (parking $4 on Saturday, free on Sunday). Location: Cal State University Dominguez Hills Sculpture Garden, 1000 E. Victoria St., Carson, California 90807, Steve Rosales (Yaqui/Cora-Huichol) 310.872.7515. More
 

Behind Malibu Beach is a forested canyon (Santa Monica Mountains) that opens into the SF Valley at Topanga, which hosts Earth Day 2014. Come "Back to the Garden" 10am-sunset.

Bald Eagles, Condors, and the Beach (video)

Dev, CC Liu, Seven, Wisdom Quarterly; Mari Wirta (via Sonocarina); NPR.org

Releasing a California condor into the wild after lead poisoning (ventanaws.org)

Black Sand Beach or Vík í Mýrdal, south coast of Iceland (Mari Wirta/epod.usra.edu)

  

When we were mermaids

The black sand and pebble beach near the town of Vik i Myrdal, which is the southernmost settlement in Iceland. The sand originated as basalt lava that covers much of the area. Because black sand isn’t routinely replenished like most blond beach sand when storms and tides wash the it away, black sand beaches tend to be short lived.

The geology of Iceland is comparatively young -- owing its existence to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge that splits the island in half. 

Venice/Santa Monica beaches, Los Angeles

Volcanoes along the ridge, such as Katla, erupt with some regularity, continuing to add surface area and mass to the “land of ice and fire” and to augment the black sand beaches. Photographed Oct. 3, 2012, Vik coordinates: 63.419444, -19.009722

California Condors to be released today!

(Tim Huntington/Vimeo) California Condors "recycle" Gray whale that washed ashore, Big Sur

Reintroducing the Condor in Big Sur

Ventana Wildlife Society (ventanaws.org)

Baby condor in nest (ventanaws)

By the 1980s, the California Condor population was in crisis, and extinction in the wild seemed certain. The dramatic decline of condors in the 20th century has been attributed to shooting (by killers who proudly call themselves sportsmen), poisoning, electric power lines, egg collecting, and habitat loss. In 1987, the last wild California Condor was taken into captivity to join the 26 remaining condors in an attempt to bolster the population through a captive breeding program. At that time, it was uncertain whether or not North America's largest flying land bird (by wingspan, 9.5 feet) would ever again soar in the wild. More

• Hunters, Ranchers help Wildlife, Condors by Using Nonlead Ammunition to Kill them Gently. Thanks, guys! (*irony*)
• VIDEO: Quick tour of the real Iceland? Watch "The Secret Life of Walter Middy" 2013

Bald Eagles of Catalina Island, California

(Catalina Island Conservancy)

The harsh winter has caused headaches for many in the Midwest, but there's a silver lining for some bird watchers looking for American bald eagles. Jenna Dooley of NPR member-station WNIJ explains how this harsh winter is helping attract them to an unusual spot in Illinois. LISTEN

Far to the west there is a nesting population within view of the Los Angeles skyline (when its visible through the smog swirling trapped by the basin).

 

The dent west of LA is Santa Monica Bay (NPR)

Those birds, affected by the pesticide DDT, are offshore on a unique island full of wildlife. Catalina's flora and fauna even includes Sasquatches and buffalo. But wild inhabitants are threatened by fire and invasive species.

As Stephen Colbert must be happy about, the eagles are landing, or at least hatching, and everyone can see it live: BALD EAGLE NEST CAM

See how it follows a male pattern in the back? I blame the DDT, which...

has left me looking like George Costanza. Don't judge (Samantha Holmes).

Buddhist Global Relief, L.A. (Bhikkhu Bodhi)

Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly; Bhikkhu Bodhi (BuddhistGlobalRelief.org)

Monastics in Theravada Burma tour by foot promoting generosity or dāna (mirror.co.uk)

  

Buddha in walking pose

Join Bhikkhu Bodhi, Wisdom Quarterly, Dharma Punx, Dharma Vijaya, Insight LA, and others for a day of compassionate action to promote food aid, sustainable farming, and education for girls and women in Asia, Africa, North America, and Haiti. Where? Santa Monica, California. When? Sunday, Nov. 17, 2013. How? Check in time begins at 8:30 am and continues until the walk starts at 9:30 am. We will begin and end at Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Society (West), 1001a Colorado Blvd., Santa Monica 90401-2809. The distance we will cover is three miles looping through the beautiful beachside city and tourist mecca of Santa Monica (Los Angeles). Register online or donate. To give life a percentage of the proceeds will benefit the Westside Foodbank.

• Info: Tom Moritz (310) 963-0199 (tom.moritz@gmail.com)

(BGRelief) Ven. Bodhi presents the mission of Buddhist Global Relief

at Clodagh Design, New York City in November 2009.

Off the Cushion: Against the Stream

Seth Auberon, Gary Sanders, Wisdom Quarterly; Against the Stream, "Off the Cushion"

Against the Stream: 4300 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90029, (323) 665-4300

Dharma Punx centers (nationwide)

A commitment to social action and service is an integral part of Against the Stream's ethos (and Articles of Incorporation) as is the case with Wisdom Quarterly. Quietly, many members, facilitators, and teachers volunteer in many different ways.

 

An amazing amount of generosity and compassion inspires us and others to participate. This year ATS wants to make it easier for members of our spiritual community (sangha) to get involved. Because when we get Off the Cushion, we Step into the World.

• Insight on the Inside: Prison Pen Pal Program
• Volunteer at Against the Stream, Buddhist Meditation Society
• One Earth Sangha and Earth Care Week, October 1-7, 2013

Insight on the Inside is ATS's pen pal program. It connects ATS members with prisoners around the country who are seeking support with their practice. This program has been going strong for two years and we are currently seeking more pen pals. If interested, visit the IOTI Information Page. This program has led to two of our facilitators (Gary and Corey) bringing meditation classes into Tehachapi State Prison in California on a regular basis.

 

Volunteer
Against the Stream depends on visitors and members to keep going. It is a non-profit and dependent on generosity to survive. But "generosity" does not just come in the form of monetary donations; it comes as time and energy as well. ATS is always in need of people to help edit talks, host classes, clean the centers, work on the Website, and more. Looking for a way to connect with the community? Visit the ATS volunteer page. It does not happen without you!

 

One Earth Sangha, Earth Care Week

Save our planet, save countless beings!

Last summer all of those attending the International Vipassana Teachers' meeting at Spirit Rock (including founder Noah Levine) responded to a request for teachings on climate change by making it a topic for concentrated discussion and action. One outcome was the creation of Earth Care Week, which will take place the first week in October each year. ATS teachers will offer teachings together with InsightLA and the Mindful Awareness Research Center at UCLA (marc.ucla.edu).

The ATS community has already begun to get Off the Cushion to raise awareness and make a difference in this area. And after a successful Clinton Street Cleanup, ATS is keeping it up with the Melrose Neighborhood clean up, which takes place on the second Sunday of each month after the 11:00 am class. Join ATS for a quick clean up starting on Sept. 7, 2013. And stay tuned for another round of The Sock Project (collecting socks for the homeless).

 

ATS has a broad and diverse community with different interests and skills. All are invited to join in the commitment to ease suffering and bring compassion wherever it can be brought. ATS and WQ would also love to hear about other doings and ideas. Let's build a network to help everyone. More