Manzanita Village Retreat and Five Changes Coaching (Warner Springs and Los Angeles)

A Meditation Retreat is an ideal way to begin to learn to meditate. Beginners often say that they are not ready to come to a retreat yet. In fact, coming to a retreat is the very best way to establish a working understanding of meditation, and the numerous ways that it can benefit your life. On retreats there are fewer distractions, and the accumulated days of the retreat give you enough time to address some of the initial difficulties, and to clarify what meditation is all about. You are in a supportive environment; and on a teacher-led retreat you have the guidance of an expert who can help you avoid some of the pitfalls that beginning meditation students sometimes encounter.


You might be needing a little tranquility round about now. Just by taking the time to slow down and put aside distractions -- even temporarily putting aside the things that may be important -- can give you new perspectives, and help you tap into your internal resources of energy and tranquility. You will return to your everyday life refreshed and renewed. Coming to a retreat center like Manzanita Village, where the air and water are pristine, and where your surroundings are spacious, has a measurable beneficial effect on your physiology and mental state. Even without the meditation you would feel renewed. Add to that the gentle discipline of focusing and mindful attention, and after a few days you will feel like a new person.

You CAN teach old dogs new tricks. Meditation is easier than you think. Human beings are amazingly skilled at learning. I don’t just mean learning new information. I mean learning new skills and strategies. It's easier than you think. Who said it's hard to teach old dogs new tricks! We do it all the time - and we're old dogs ourselves, I'd even go so far as to say we have a passion for learning new things!

Here's an analogy … if someone showed you a shortcut that took fifteen minutes off your daily commute, how long would it take you to use the shortcut? You'd start immediately, right?

When you understand the immediate –as well as immediately accessible – benefits of tools you will learn for focusing and meditating, you will want to be using them right away. And we'll also show you how to overcome the inertia you may have in regards to with learning new patterns of behavior.

Do you know how many days it takes to learn a new habit? We'll tell you that too. Click here for details about our upcoming retreat.

Click here for details about our upcoming retreat

Here are 18 ways that meditation can help you. (from a combined NLP-Buddhist perspective) There's more! A lot more, actually.

This list forms the basis of an upcoming Meditation Teleseminar Class starting September 14th Click Here  Note: The class will be a teleseminar, so you can attend regardless of whether or not you are in Southern California. All you need is a telephone and a commitment to start putting the tools you will learn over the course of the six-week class into practice. Join our list to be sure you receive registration info.

Also listen to a short Podcast Click Here

And we have a September 4-7 retreat at Manzanita Village (over the Labor Day weekend).

This list of 18 is the ‘Why’. The ‘What’ and the ‘How’ will be covered in the upcoming class. 

1. Focus Focus is first because it is the most basic. Every other benefit of meditation comes from your increased capacity to focus; how you focus; and what you focus on.
2. Sensory Perception Through focus you derive increased sensory awareness, as well as increased awareness of your own internal process. The world becomes more vivid as does your own internal representations of it.
3. Open options and choices With greater awareness and clarity comes a greater range of bahvioral choices and options, how you live, what you do, the choices you make.
4. Change State With more focus comes the realization that you have the ability to choose your emotional state, just as you choose how you respond to events. It’s all up to you.
5. Let go of what doesn’t work You can let go of what doesn’t work. Happiness is a real option.
6. Change perspectives Meditation leads to greater flexibility and flexibility means that you can change your perspectives as you learn new information
7. Flexibility Changing perspectives means that you have greater behavioral flexibility
8. Deduction and Induction With focus comes clarity of mind and the ability to learn, inductively and deductively, rationally and intuitively.
9. Empathy – respecting other’s point of view When you are able to naturally respect others’ view of the world and interact with them based on who they are rather than who you might like them to be you communicate and empathize naturally.
10. Gratitude Appreciation for others, and for the miraculous circumstances of living.
11. Generosity A sense of unlimited potential, a sense of intrinsic abundance
12. Love Love is an expression of generosity and joy, in celebration of others
13. Energy Focus and congruence bring energy
14. Health Freedom to make the choices outlined above lead to less stress and greater health
15. Motivation Focus brings clarity and the means to effect strategies that work. Clarity also means being clear about and congruent with your intentions, plans, and aspirations.
16. Levels of perspective and priorities Focus also brings the ability to see things from multiple levels of abstraction, to see the big picture as well as being aware of the necessary details.
17. Time and time-line flexibility Your experience of time is relative. Standing in line at an airport for an hour can seem to take longer than a leisurely afternoon spent with a good friend. Skills learned in meditation allow you to speed things up or slow them down at will.
18. The Transpersonal Dimension. All the above contribute to a sense of the interplay and interconnection between the elements of your life and the life of those around you. The world is your lover, the world is you!

These are just a few potential benefits. The specific ways meditation benefits you is something that is revealed over time.

People have been asking us about our ten day NLP intensive July 8-17. So here are a few thoughts about NLP.

Neurolinguistics (NLP) has been around for nearly forty years. It evolved from the work of some of the most brilliant innovators in psychology, personal change, cybernetics, and linguistics - though it transcends all those fields.

Like any creative discipline, it continues to evolve. It is a lens that can sharpen your understanding and practice of any number of other disciplines. And it also brings the latest perspectives in neuroscience and quantum physics into the realm of the practical, while being entirely complimentary to time-honored spiritual disciplines such as Buddhism and Yoga, prayer and meditation.

It’s not so much about techniques - though there are simple techniques that are truly astonishing in their effectiveness, and can bring about profound lasting change - in yourself or others. It is perhaps, above all, a way to tap into the recognition that such change is possible. It is a way to step aside, to let the magic of change happen.

A simple example: there was a time when it was considered that it should take weeks, if not months, to cure a phobia or certain addictions. Now such things can be accomplished in a matter of minutes. Does that sound unbelievable? NLP has been tried and tested for forty-years. And in other forms perhaps it’s been for as long as minds have been curious. It is an exploration of the change that lies at the heart of change, and of the ‘difference that makes a difference’.

And if phobias and addictions can be transformed in a few minutes, what can be done with negative patterns of thought and emotion - which may be little more than internal addictions?

Some people consider this to be the closest thing we have to magic.

Ten Day NLP Training

 
Buddhist Coaching solves three implicit problems:

• Psychiatry and psychology tend to pathologize. In other words, they work from the basis that there's something in you that needs fixing.
• Traditional Buddhist teaching tend to exist within a context inflexible hierarchies, whether it's the remnants of old monastic models, or just the idea of "I'm more enlightened than you."
• Informal situations of spiritual friendship form organic means of support, but often lack the leverage to effect full accountability.

Coaching is an entirely fluid process. It is informed by an idea that is central to Buddhist teaching, to General Semantics, to NLP, and clinical hypnosis practice, which Alfred Korzybski sums up so famously; "The map is not the territory." Maps are beliefs, unexamined values, decisions, the whole inner world of perception through which we create an image of reality.

Many psychotherapeutic and personal change models would agree that the map is not the territory. This understanding is at the center of Buddhist teaching and practice too.

A problem arises though, when we say, by implication, "Your map is not the territory, use mine!"

Buddhism warns against dogmatism, just as it warns against absolute relativism, or nihilism. The question is; how do we fully question each map, each model, without rejecting them all as being mere constructs? However illusory they are, maps do exist for a reason, and though they are only constructs they can nevertheless be invaluable. So, flexibility and fluidity are important.

Fluidity means being open to using any map, and being open to letting go of any map, for the purpose of going deeper, understanding better, and being more effective, functional, and congruent within yourself, and in your life. Fluidity is not inconsistency, it is a willingness to grow and learn, and to look at your values, and any internal conflicts that may exist within and between them. In other words, it lies in looking very carefully at what you value, including your beliefs and assumptions, and any decisions you may be making about what and who you are.

Buddhist coaching is a powerful modality. It combines the essence of the map we call Buddhism, which is about you evolving congruent values, unencumbered by rigid maps, with skills that help you be effective in the world. As a Buddhist teacher who has only recently started defining myself as a coach, I am excited to have let go of some old maps, and adopted some new, more fluid ones - Buddhist Coaching, in conjunction with NLP and clinical hypnosis tools, is a peerless modality for helping you move towards your own personal empowerment.

Let's think of meditation as work. It is the work of remembering.

It's "chunking up" (that's an NLP term,) to a higher level of perspective and abstraction. It's getting the bigger picture. It's remembering where you are, who you are.

And it's doing so in a way that is not just intellectual. It's a way of embodying, learning in an intimate and visceral way, that anything is possible, that freedom is possible.

There are two kinds of meditation. A curriculum which involves two basic steps.
(actually there are many steps on the way, but we'll come to that in later modules).
For now let's deal with these two basic kinds of meditation.
The first is just stopping. Stopping all activity, ideas, habits, noise. Stopping. Now.

The second is coming into awareness, seeing things as they are, looking deeply, unencumbered by your preconception of them.

How do you do that? Practice and you will find out.

What does it mean - to see clearly?

It is recognizing that everything is interconnected and that therefore everything you do matters. Not just everything that you do, but everything you say, everything you think, everything you imagine, everything you feel .. has an effect, impacts your life, and the life of others.

I tell my student, "If you want to learn to meditate try it our for ten years. Take a shot at it. Stay open. What a luxury! No need to hurry. After ten years you can decide it you want to pursue it further."

And I'll also ask, "How long does it take? To be present, to let go of anxiety and distraction enough to just be present? A moment? A few moments? The time it takes to breath deeply two or three times?"

And then there's putting it into action.

Between those two possibilities and that question, our path lies."

continued from Practical Spirituality


"Have a great ride," he said.

Great ride! What an understatement!

Because it isn't just the vehicle. It's where you travel. It's how you travel. It's the places you pass, and it's your destination. It's who you meet on the way.

With all that power under the hood, I took my time. Because power isn't just speed. It's something you feel in your veins, in your heart. It's the essence of what the journey is all about, and it's the certainty that you will arrive - that you can't fail, that there's a kind of destiny to it. That you have, in some sense, already arrived.

Anyone you meet on the way is going to help you. Sometimes you don't understand how or why. But if you stop, if you know what to ask .. even when you don't know what to ask, sometimes it's enough just to know how to listen.

I pull into a rest stop and meet others on the same journey, traveling in their own style, traveling on their own road. There are others on foot. It doesn't matter how you travel. There's nothing intrinsically better or worse whether it's a Lamborghini or a pair of flip-flops. It's your choice, you pay, and you deal with the consequences.

And when you know how to love the journey, and know that you will reach your destination, you will.

continued from The Law of Distraction

“would you like to test-drive it?” asked the monk, handing me the keys with a smile.. "

Of course," I replied, feeling a little nervous, knowing how much power was under the hood, knowing how fast this baby could go, when you want it to.

I mean, that's what spiritual practice is - knowing that the resources you have at your disposal are virtually limitless. And by power I mean love, patience, creativity, humor, intelligence.

Practical spirituality isn't about rules, you can call it "everyday mysticism" - that's not to diminish it in any way. By everyday mysticism I mean keeping the big picture, keeping balance. Seeing the road ahead and enjoying the landscape, and remembering where you're coming from.

And celebrating the journey, celebrating your accomplishments.

He opened the door for me. It was the kind of door that looks like seagull wings.
He lifted it up, and I ducked under his am and sat down in the driver's seat.

It was surprisingly comfortable.

"I thought this was supposed to be difficult," I said.

"Have a great ride," said the monk. He was still smiling.

to be continued

Retreats at Manzanita Village are open to all. They weave together the teachings and practices of the Buddhist Traditions with the timeless themes of Peace-Making and Non-Violence, Social-Justice, Personal Integration and Creativity. Retreats follow the traditional forms of monastic practice, blending Theravada (Vipassana) practice with Thien (Zen).

Typical Retreat Days include meditation, Dharma talks, discussion, and movement; with some unstructured time for hiking, reading, and resting. In addition to traditional retreats we also offer workshops with specific themes —creativity, creative-writing, martial-arts, deep-ecology, as well as queer-specific themes and retreats for transgendered people, as well as for people of color and of mixed-race.

Although we are a Buddhist inspired center and offer traditional Dharma practice, we are ecumenical in spirit, inquisitive by nature, and averse to those who espouse a singular point of view. We hold to the basic Buddhist Precepts and also recognize that "the understanding we presently posses is not changeless, absolute truth".

The teachings given here are flexible and practical. The style in which they are presented is non-coercive, non-hierarchical, and creative, and always honors the wisdom that we understand to be inherent in every person. As a result of our open approach there is a natural sense of community that is felt on every retreat, no matter how long or short it is.

All of our work is informed by the traditions of Socially Engaged Spiritual Practice. We have conclude 2 two-year programs for social activists, and next year we will be initiating our SANCTUARY II program.

The Secret triggered new interest in Law of Attraction teachings and perspectives. "Think the right thoughts and become a star," is the way it goes. The trouble is that this misses several important steps. Which is one reason why I turned to Buddhism - years ago - when my father explained positive thinking to me as a way to get good grades at school. Somehow I had the idea that study was important too. Silly me!

Well, silly everybody if we think we can get a Lamborghini just by wishing, wanting, praying, or chanting for it. Well, actually the truth is, we can! AND we have to pay for it, learn to drive it, take care ot it. Like you have to study to get good grades, AND having a positive attitude will help. More than help, it's essential!

So, law of attraction, and positive thinking is "essential but not sufficient" as they say in the language of statistics. You get what you expect, AND what you expect is very much based on what you do, how you prepare,how you act.

This is actually very much aligned with Buddhist teaching. Thought leads to action. And by the way, the Buddha never said that there was anything wrong with Lamborghinis either. But he did mention that is was worth checking the consequences of your actions. He never said that there was anything wrong with desire either. But he did suggest that it was worth choosing where you put your attention, and that if you don't desire leads to distraction, confusion, regret, and a whole series of altogether useless internal activities.

.. "would you like to test-drive it?" asked the monk, handing me the keys with a smile..
to be continued