Enlightenment Study Group

Posted on September 6, 2014 by Dorena

Free! Drop in / Ongoing Fellowship Group

Lead by Dorena Rode

When:
Every Thursday at 7pm

Group Format:
Each meeting will start with a talk and/or questions from participants, followed by a short (~7 minute) silent meditation or reflection period and then group sharing.

Participants are encouraged to share on their experience with their spiritual path and how they are changing. We share with each other the challenges, our progress on the path to enlightenment, and insights gained, in order to further our growth, and inspire and support each other.

People are encouraged to make a commitment to attend the group regularly for a few months in order to establish deeper connection with other participants and create a positive fellowship environment.

Group Description:
This group is for:
1) people interested in learning more about the path to enlightenment
2) people seeking the fellowship of others living a spiritual life aimed at enlightenment
3) people seeking support and/or direction with their spiritual practice
4) people that are following a path to enlightenment including Buddhists and Christian Contemplatives
5) people that use the 12 steps (of AA) as a foundation for their spiritual practice

Contact:
Dorena Rode
dorena@tesli.org
(623) 242-5310

Location:
The Enlightenment & Simple Living Institute
Hatcher and 9th Ave
Call for exact location and directions

Cost: FREE

Mid-Life Crisis

Posted on September 5, 2014 by Dorena

I was 32 years old when I had my “mid-life crisis”. It was at that time I had achieved, or nearly achieved, everything I wanted in my life. My foundation seemed complete and everything else was on cruise control. This plummeted me into an emotional place where I could rally no happiness or contentment.

My August 1, 1997 journal entry:

June/July were very difficult. I was doing 5+ meetings a week; treading water, not feeling any relief. I was without words to accurately describe it. Sometimes it was strong emotional pain without a current cause to explain it. Then I was feeling dissatisfaction. I was walking around saying, “I have everything” and not feeling the way I expected. I expected joy to happen when I had everything.

What I was reacting to, with my depression, was the realization that my outside circumstances do not make me happy. What is outside me is transient and even if something gives me pleasure it is a pleasure that does not last. On the path to enlightenment this would be considered the first step.

I would not have sought to end my suffering with a spiritual solution if I had not realized first that the material world could not provide me with satisfaction. My depression was simply a reaction to the loss of that illusion. If I had not so strongly thought that getting a stable home and the community I was looking for could bring me happiness I would not have been so pained when I realized it was not true.

It wasn’t until a decade later that I “discovered” that the Buddha taught how to find everlasting peace and joy. Perhaps, my dark period would not have been so difficult if I had know there really was an alternative. I was told I had to accept life on life’s terms. While that is good advice for finding peace in the moment, the Buddha taught how to take control and change life to create a “perfect” world.

This is coming up today for me, because on Sunday, September 7th I will be teaching the first class in the Asian Classics Institute Course 1 – The Principal Teachings of Buddhism. It is with great joy I share with others how to change their world and create eternal bliss. I am looking forward to being with people that also want to end suffering.

Thought Addiction

Posted on August 27, 2014 by Dorena

Yesterday we began a discussion of checking out reality by observing our mind. One of the first things you notice when you begin to watch the mind is that you cannot find anyone in control of it. It seems to “have a mind of its own”. In reality the 90% of our mind that is subconscious is what is actually ruling the show. The 10% that is conscious is what makes it through the filters of our subconscious. How to establish a unified mind will be the topic of a future post. Today, lets talk about one type of automatic thought pattern.

This pattern I call thought addiction. It involves repetitious thoughts that lead to chemical changes in the body. Here is a personal example of it in action.

About two months ago, my work settled down into a nice pattern. I had lost a major client earlier in the year, but a second client showed up with additional work. As I planned a summer vacation, I noticed that I was constantly thinking about how great my work was. I also kept noting how for the first time in over five years I had enough money to cover my expenses. These thought were quite pleasant, but also quite repetitious.

I realized how much energy was going into repeating these thoughts over and over. The pay off was that they were pleasant and I imagined that they helped me release some happy chemical as I repeated them again and again. This is why I called it a thought addiction. In my case I was addicted to a happy chemical, but I imagine many people use obsessive worry to produce a similar change in biochemistry. Other people find the chemicals released with anger to be stimulating as well.

The release of happy chemicals is one of the premises behind the power of positive thinking. I was learning first hand how thinking positively actually makes one feel better. I can appreciate that this practice releases a powerful endogenous drug, however, I’m actually trying to weed out all addiction and behaviors that are based on clinging to certain states. I can imagine a better state beyond such petty addiction.

Yesterday, I noticed a similar thing happening as I performed my last massage. I kept thinking about my day off today and what I was going to do. Again, I can only see the purpose as creating “happy chemicals”. I was avoiding the moment and the richness of the moment, perhaps because I was a little tired and the massage was a two hour one so the novelness of the activity was wearing off.

True freedom comes when I no longer distract myself from the moment by essentially meaningless thoughts. True freedom comes with equanimity and equanimity comes from the insights that are gained by exploring and investigating how I think and act.