practices for living a full life
On October 9, 2005, Tempel Smith spoke at the GMBS on practices for living a full life.  In his talk, he spoke about how the internal practices of Buddhism had transported into the west wonderfully, but that the interpersonal aspects of the Buddhist life he found in the monasteries of Burma hadn't made the transpacific trip as well as the internal meditative practices.   He mentioned three practices he had found here in the west which allowed him to balance his meditative practice with a focus on these outward aspects of Buddhist practice.  Here is a summary of these resources and including links:
  1. The Buddhist Peace Fellowship's BASE (Buddhist Alliance for Social Engagement) program.  You can learn about BASE through this link:  http://www.bpf.org/html/current_projects/base/base.html.  From the BASE web page: 

    BASE provides six month support communities for the study and practice of socially engaged Buddhism. Participants work or volunteer in service or social action, and meet regularly for study, support, discussion, training, and meditation. Groups have weekly meetings and monthly retreat days.

    You can learn more about the Buddhist Peace Fellowship at their site:  http://www.bpf.org

  2. Non-Violent Communication study:  You can learn more about Bay Area Non-Violent Communication at their web site (http://www.baynvc.org):  From the Bay Area Non-Violent Communication website:

About Nonviolent Communication (NVC)

NVC can dramatically improve our relationships by helping us focus our attention on
1) Empathic understanding of others without compromising our own values, and
2) Expressing our real feelings and needs openly and honestly, yet without blame or criticism.

NVC delineates four components of communication:
1) Observations free of evaluations;
2) Feelings straight from the heart;
3) Needs, values and longings; and
4) Requests expressed clearly in positive action language.

Together these tools help create the kind of dialogue that can foster resolutions satisfying for everyone without painful sacrifice. Even in situations of longstanding conflict or hostility, the NVC process can open new doors to compassionate connection and action.

Learning NVC is Learning to:

  • Build relationships based on compassion and understanding
  • Accurately understand other people's feelings and needs
  • Be assertive and negotiable at the same time
  • Break patterns of thinking that lead to anger and depression
  1. Yoga practices -- "interpersonal intimacy" and "connective consciousness" -- which focus on developing skills in being fully present and connected to others as you interact with them.  We invariably and inescapably develop a mental "map" representing people as we deal with them day to day.  It's a skill that is useful in many, many ways - particularly when those people aren't present.  We may run into problems, however, if we are seduced into interacting with our "map" or ideas about others rather than the real person.  This practice focuses on letting go of the "map" of people and interacting with the being in front of us. 

One resource in learning this practice which Tempel mentioned is Insight Institute, (http://www.insightinstitute.net/index.html) which teaches classes at One Taste Retreat Center.  The two evening classes on Wednesdays and Thursdays were particularly recommended: 

WEDNESDAYS

IN Groups
7:45-10pm
Savor MORE in your life: more fun, more honesty, more intimacy. Join us for an evening of communication games and explore the sensations of friendship, community, and being seen.

Do you want more intimacy in your life? Do you want to learn about the art of sensuality? Learn about desire, seduction, relationships, communication, and the art of orgasmic meditation.

Cost: $10 or whatever.

THURSDAYS

Art of Intimacy: The Perfect First Date
7:45-10pm
A Mixer created by women for the enjoyment of everyone...."
Meet someone new. Get to know someone better.
For health-minded and meditative individuals.

The Art of Intimacy is a playground to explore your skills in relationship, a forum to learn about yourself and others. Learn what men really want, how women love to play and who we are at our deepest levels.

Create an honest connection with others. Drop your masks and choose to really be seen and in that being seen find yourself again.

"The Art of Intimacy changed my life. In one instant I saw how I love, who I am and how I can choose to connect in any given moment with another human being."
“This is the perfect event for single people who are fed up with going to bars and clubs and ending up with superficial connections.”

This is a forum designed and created by women for the enjoyment of everyone. $15 per person, $10 pre-register. Preregister by calling 415.503.1100. Space is limited. Singles, couples and others welcome.

To purchase tickets, please call the center at 415.503.1100

http://onetastesf.com/cgi-bin/calendar.pl?calendar=default&view=Event&event_id=289

 

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