Dear Sangha,

Welcome to 2023 dear community!

What are your intentions for this new beginning? The sharpening of a new calendar year does not have to be the only time we reset; each day, each moment, each breath is an offering to begin anew. But the new year can be a powerful time when collective consciousness is focused on starting new habits and breathing new energy into our lives.

What do you want to create for yourself this year? What habits can you develop to better support your recovery? Start with one, small, achievable promise that you can make to yourself on a daily basis. Stick with it for 30 days and see what changes it can bring about. Be kind to yourself if you miss a day - tomorrow always offers another chance to begin anew.

Sending peace,
Recovery Dharma Denver

Inter-Sangha Business Meeting

When: Saturday, January 14th at 4:00 pm (usually 2nd Saturday of the month)

Where: This meeting will be online via Zoom, next time we will meet in person. Click here to access the Zoom meeting link.

What: We will update all business initiatives during the meeting. We hope to see some fresh faces ready to take on a service position or join other volunteer opportunities available! Please stop in if you would like to be of service and get more involved.

Fundraising Drive for Denver Rescue Mission:

What: The fundraising drive is still open! Join us in raising funds for Denver Rescue Mission. 

How: Click this link to donate what you can. Our fundraising goal is $1,000 and we're at $347 so far! Thank you to everyone who has already donated! 

Day of Mindfulness at Compassionate Dharma Cloud Monastery

When: Saturday, January 21st from 9:15 am - 2:30 pm 

Where: 8485 S. Highway 285, Morrison, CO 80465

What: Day of Mindfulness: "A day to take time to give full attention and care to ourselves by practicing mindfulness. Mindfulness is being present in each moment, being aware of what is happening in the here and in the now. We practice mindfulness through noble silence, conscious breathing, sitting mediation, walking meditation, and other activities. Enjoy Dharma teachings by Thay Tinh Man and guest speakers." More information/FAQs.

9:15 am Arrival, meet outside
9:30 am Mindful walking
10:00 am Mindful sitting
10:30 am Exercise/mindful walking to meditation hall
11:15 am Dharma talk (also via Zoom)
12:30 pm Lunch
1:15 pm Mindful sitting
1:30 pm Dharma sharing
2:30 pm Depart 

RSVP on Facebook for event updates 

Join us at one of our weekly meetings. We practice meditation together and then read from the Recovery Dharma book or another Buddhist text. The second half of the meeting is dedicated to providing space to talk about the topic or anything you need to share related to recovery. 

• Sundays at 5:30 pm at The Phoenix on Champa
• Tuesdays at 6:30 pm at The Phoenix on Champa
• Tuesdays at 5:30 pm via ZenDen (on Zoom - Passcode: 5280)
• Saturdays at 7:00 pm Disco Dharma (on Zoom - Passcode: disco)

More locations/times →

The Third Noble Truth: The End of Suffering

Recovery Dharma, pp 17-18

Get the book →

It is possible to end our suffering. When we come to understand the nature of our craving and realize that all our experiences are temporary by nature, we can begin a more skillful way to live with the dissatisfaction that is part of being human. We don't need to be torn apart by our thoughts and feelings that say, "I have to have more of that," or "I'll do anything to get rid of that.” The Third Noble Truth is that the end of craving is possible. Each of us has the capacity for recovery.

We are responsible for our own actions and for the energy we give our thoughts and feelings. This means we have control over our own suffering, because the unpleasant emotions take place within us: we create them through our response to experience. We don't need to depend on anyone or anything else to remove the causes of our suffering. We may not be able to control anything "out there,” but we can learn to choose what we think, say, and do. 

We come to understand that if our thoughts, words, and actions are driven by greed, hatred, or confusion, we are creating suffering. And so, if we let go of these actions, we can avoid suffering in the future. We can choose to give up the causes of disturbing and unpleasant emotions, knowing that virtuous actions result in happiness and un-virtuous actions result in suffering. This is the true empowerment and freedom of recovery—recognizing that happiness and suffering are entirely up to us, based on how we choose to respond to our experiences.

Questions for Inquiry:

• What makes it so hard to quit?

• What resources are available to help you abstain and
  recover?

• List reasons to believe you can recover. Also list your
  doubts. What might the wise and compassionate part of
  you—your Buddha nature—say about these doubts?

• Practice “letting go” of something small. Notice that the
  craving doesn’t last and that there’s a little sense of relief
  when you let it pass. That’s a little taste of freedom.

When Things Fall Apart  by Pema Chödrön

There is a fundamental opportunity for happiness right within our reach, yet we usually miss it -- ironically, while we are caught up in attempts to escape pain and suffering. Drawn from traditional Buddhist wisdom, Pema Chödrön's radical and compassioonate advice for what to do when things fall apart in our lives goes against the grain of our usual habits and expectations.

Pema Chödrön is an American Buddhist nun and one of the foremost students of Chögyam Trungpa, the renowned meditation master. 

From Chapter 3 (pp 12-13)

Generally speaking, we regard discomfort in any form as bad news. But for practitioners or spiritual warriors -- people who have a certain hunger to know what is true -- feelings like disappointment, embarrassment, irritation, resentment, anger, jealousy, and fear, instead of being bad news, are actually very clear moments that teach us where it is that we're holding back. They teach us to perk up and lean in when we feel we'd rather collapse and back away. They're like messengers that show us, with terrifying clarity, exactly where we're stuck. This very moment is the perfect teacher, and, lucky for us, it's with us wherever we are. 

(...)

Most of us do not take these situations as teachings. We automatically hate them. We run like crazy. We use all kinds of ways to escape -- all addictions stem from this moment when we meet our edge and we just can't stand it. We feel we have to soften it, pad it with something, and we become addicted to whatever it is that seems to ease the pain. 

(...)

Meditation is an invitation to notice when we reach our limit and to not get carried away by hope and fear. Through meditation, we're able to see clearly what's going on with our thoughts and emotions, and we can also let them go. What's encouraging about meditation is that even if we shut down, we can no longer shut down in ignorance. We see very clearly that we're closing off. That in itself begins to illuminate the darkness of ignorance. We're able to see how we run and hide and keep ourselves busy so that we never have to let our hearts be penetrated. And we're also able to see how we could open and relax.

Recovery Dharma supports a holistic path to recovery. There is no one right way to recover! It's always a good idea to add more tools to your toolbox to facilitate your healing.

Here are some other community resources to check out!

• Advocates for Recovery - recovery meetings and one-on-one coaching
• CHOW (Culinary Hospitality Outreach and Wellness)
• CAIR (Colorado Artists in Recovery) - artists workshops and events
• Rooted303 - personal development classes, recovery coaching, support groups
• The Phoenix - A Sober Active Community offering free exercise classes 
• Hard Beauty - recovery coaching

Hello, my name is Luke. I’ve been involved in Recovery Dharma for three or four years. I got sober in A.A. but I found that Recovery Dharma suited my spiritual and recovery needs a little better. Before connecting with Recovery Dharma I did recovery for many years, but I relapsed many times. Getting clean and sober for me was a bit of a journey - a gradual transition.

I started consuming substances as a form of escape at a pretty young age. By my teen years I had been struggling with overeating for some time, but then I found other substances like drugs and alcohol, which caused quite a bit of trouble in my life. I got into legal trouble at a young age and stayed in trouble for many years. I did really poorly in high school, having changed school once on my own, then again due to expulsion. I graduated on time, but I only made it by the skin of my teeth.

After graduating high school, I moved out, as a young adult, and began my journey of self discovery, which really started with alcoholism within my first year of living on my own. I really struggled to be with myself, my pain and confusion. My younger years were pretty troubled and I felt like I was running from them as quickly as I could, and I felt that substances could help.

I got a DUI when I was 19, and started going to A.A. somewhat irregularly. I struggled to connect with the A.A. fellowship, at first, and with recovery in general. But I tried! I showed up, when I could.

I was introduced to Buddhism in my early twenties and I began meditating sporadically, even during struggles with addiction. I think my recovery grew, despite my substance use, at certain times in my life. I currently commit to being clean and sober and I love it! But there were times in my life where the best I could do was try to show up to some meetings, meditate a bit, and read materials that I thought deepened my spiritual life (often dharma books), even though I couldn’t maintain abstinence from substances. I definitely recommend abstinence for people who really have substance abuse disorder (addiction), but I also think it’s possible to do recovery after and even during a relapse. At least this was true for me.

Despite relapsing many times, I kept trying to heal, grow, learn, and to get clean and sober for good. One thing that really helped me along my path was the deep realization that getting away from unpleasant things doesn’t really benefit me very deeply. And getting what I want doesn’t provide lasting happiness. For me, deep meaning, purpose and joy come from connecting with people (and other beings) in a present and authentic manner. I think this connection forms the foundation for service, opportunities for us to help one another when we need help.

Practicing the eightfold path gives me a good, practical approach to cultivating a healthy connection with the world, and the four noble truths help me remember that critical lesson, that fervently pursuing what I want, and fleeing from what I don’t want, will lead me toward suffering.

After getting clean, I did go on to achieve what some consider “good marks.” I finished college and grad school, and I started down a good career path. After attaining these things, I say with fair certainty that I could have been pretty happy without them, although they do provide certain forms of joy and security. What really brings me the most joy, now, is connecting with people and staying present to life, and Recovery Dharma provides me lots of opportunities to practice.

If you ever see me around, please feel free to wave me down! I love connecting with people and I’m sure I’d love to meet you!

***

Want to be featured in the next newsletter? Email [email protected] with your story and picture, or request to be included anonymously. 

Recovery Dharma the book and its program are founded on, and inspired by, Buddhism that originated in India and later on flourished in other regions of Asia (e.g., South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia). We deeply appreciate the Buddhist heritage that was protected and freely offered by the ancestors of these cultures.

Click below to read the book online, listen to a recorded version, or buy your own hardcopy.

Get the book →

Want to connect with a wise friend on the path?

• Support each other and provide accountability by exploring the Eight Fold Path and Four Noble Truths together.
• Reach out to [email protected] to be connected to another member of the community.
• Or, start your own partnership or small group using the "Wise Friends" guidebook here.

This powerful guided meditation available on the free Plum Village App https://plumvillage.app/ is about our inter-connected relation with Mother Earth.

This video consists of three parts:

1. Introduction 00:00

2. Morning chant 6:47

3. Guided meditation 12:17

"Breathing in, I recognize that Mother Earth is sick. That climate disruption is a manifestation of a grave illness and imbalance in her elements.

Breathing out, I contemplate on how her sickness is reflected in the sickness and suffering in humans and other species, as antibiotic resistant infections, pandemics, devastating floods, wildfires, species extinctions, ....

Mother Earth is sick.

Therefore we are sick."

There is only one way out. We have to heal ourselves. Healing ourselves we will heal the Earth at the same time. It is a daily practice of cultivating presence and awareness, which will change our habits and bring about wholesome transformation and true healing.

Enjoy your meditation!

We do not have to be ashamed of what we are. As sentient beings we have wonderful backgrounds. These backgrounds may not be particularly enlightened or peaceful or intelligent. Nevertheless, we have soil good enough to cultivate; we can plant anything in it.

― Chögyam Trungpa, Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism