The Joy of Living: Don't Miss the Bliss
The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast Episode 112
How do we connect with the joy of living, even when it's not so easy? Discussion of Dharma in recovery from addictions on this week's show. OK, we do that every week!

THE FIVE POWERS

Devotion
Joyful Effort
Mindfulness
Concentration
Wisdom

From Restricted Text:

Two Venerable Khenpos

Alternate title:
Keith Dowman

Suffering as Compassion, Humility as Medicine: How to Overcome Arrogance
The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast Episode 111

from Dodrupchen Jigme Tenpe Nyima,

"Dropping the Attitude of Being Entirely Unwilling to Suffer
Think about all the depression, anxiety and irritation we put ourselves through by always seeing suffering as unfavourable, something to be avoided at all costs. Now, think about two things: how useless this is, and how much trouble it causes. Go on reflecting on this repeatedly, until you are absolutely convinced. Then say to yourself: “From now on, whatever I have to suffer, I will never become anxious or irritated.” Go over this again and again in your mind, and summon all your courage and determination.

2 Cultivating the Attitude of Being Joyful when Suffering Arises
Seeing suffering as an ally to help us on the path, we must learn to develop a sense of joy when it arises. Yet whenever suffering strikes, unless we have some kind of spiritual practice to bring to it, one which matches the capacity of our mind, no matter how many times we might say to ourselves: ‘Well, as long as I’ve got roughly the right method, I’ll be able to use suffering and obtain such and such a benefit’, it’s highly unlikely that we’ll succeed. We’ll be as far from our goal, the saying goes, as the earth is from the sky.

Therefore, use suffering as the basis for the following practices:

c. Using Suffering to Overcome Arrogance
As I explained before, [as long as we are in samsara] we are never independent or truly free or in control of our lives. On the contrary, we are always dependent on and at the mercy of suffering. So we must eliminate ‘the enemy that destroys anything that is wholesome and good’, which is arrogance and pride; and we must do away with the evil attitude of belittling others and considering them as inferior.

Transforming Suffering

https://podcast.compassionaterecovery.us/all-podcast-teachings/transformsuffering/

Sapiens

https://amzn.to/3GEBkId

Stabilizing Our Recovery with Dharma Practice 
The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast Episode 102
Sutra of Golden Light: Chapter 6 on Emptiness

Dharma has to help, otherwise it's of no value. For it to work, we study, hear words, see things and do practices. Dharma has to be abporped into our lives over time. Our ability to turn confusion into peace without fighting anything comes with time and consistent effort. Never stop trying. Don't give up on the dharma, because the dharma wll never give up on you. This work is for everyone, as it conflicts with nothing. For those taking refuge in recovery, practicing dharma recovery and participating in all manner of yoga recovery and other healing modalities, clarify and deepen your recovery with the King of Glorious Sutras called the Exalted Sublime Golden Light, a Mahayana Sutra. Oral transmission and teachings by Lama Zopa Rinpoche over many retreats. I don't think we finished it, but we got a lot. Here's a main point in the Chapter on Emptiness.

Host Darren Littlejohn speaks with author Kevin Griffin about his new book, a Burning Desire. 

Website: http://the12stepbuddhist.com

Format: 128kbps MP3 Time: 24:28

Highlights:

• Thanks to jazz pianist Clay Giberson for the show intro
• Meditation from The Dark Red Amulet, 2009 Snow Lion, Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche, Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche
• Upcoming retreat at Breitenbush Hot Springs Jan. 8-10th, 2010
• Webcasts Beginning 10-21-09 4pm PST and by appointment
  

Website: http://the12stepbuddhist.com Format: 128kbps MP3 Time: 23:07

Highlights:

• Thanks to jazz pianist Clay Giberson for the show intro
• Meditation from A Guide to the Deities of the Tantra (Meeting the Buddhas)">A Guide to the Deities of the Tantra by Vessantara
• Upcoming retreat at Breitenbush Hot Springs Jan. 8-10th, 2010
• Webcasts, Workshops, Study Groups

Website: http://the12stepbuddhist.com Format: 128kbps MP3 Time: 27:55

• Thanks to jazz pianist Clay Giberson for the show intro
• Discussion of the principles and methods of acupuncture as they apply to a comprehensive treatment approach for addiction

Website: http://the12stepbuddhist.com Format: 128kbps MP3 Time: 29:31

Highlights:

• Thanks to jazz pianist Clay Giberson for the show intro
• Recitation of the Extraordinary Aspiration of the Practice of Samantabhadra - the King of Prayers
• Advice for applying this sutra in daily practice as a recovering addict
• Some criticism of 12-Step fundamentalism

Website: http://the12stepbuddhist.com Format: 128kbps MP3 Time: 44:31

Highlights:

• Thanks to jazz pianist Clay Giberson for the show intro
• Ask the 12-Step Buddhist - audience question: from a listener, "I'm a Buddhist and a sex addict, what can I do?"
• Answer: An interview with
• Sarah Ullman, Ph.D.
• Clinical Psychology
• Neuropsychology
• http://drsarahullman.com
• http://thesexaddictedbrain.com
• http://twitter.com/drsarahullman
• Board Certified Expert in Traumatic Stress
• Specializing in the Social Neuroscience of
• Sexual Addiction and Arousal Dysregulation
• PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES
• 76 Ritttenhouse Place Ste #203
• Ardmore, PA 19003
• Tel # 610-642-4454
• Fax # 610-795-7127

• Tibetan Buddhist Death Dissolution Meditation
• Discussion with Donn C. on his experience with the meditation in light of the recent death of his father
• Thanks to jazz pianist Clay Giberson for the show intro

Highlights:

• Analytical Meditation: Longchenpa, The Way of Abiding, Emptiness and Step Three.
• Thanks to jazz pianist Clay Giberson for the show intro
• Finding a spiritual teacher
• Avoiding fundamentalists and fundamentalism.
• Website features: Stats, new features, Web 3.0 tools
• Ask the 12-Step Buddhist - audience question: How do I become a (12-Step) Buddhist?
• Win a T-Shirt - the best question by October 1st wins a free 12-Step Buddhist T-Shirt
• Coming Soon - Book reviews, retreats and more.

Addiction and Trauma: A Basis for the Practice of Recovery
The Dysregulated Addict: Finding Spiritual Regulation Series Pt. 6
The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast Episode 101

Review of this series so far. 

**Understanding ACEs:**
- **Definition and Types:** Physical abuse, emotional scars, a home where chaos reigns. These are ACEs, wounds that shape us, echoes of the storms we explored in the nervous system. They are the unseen baggage we carry, the ghosts that haunt our minds.
- **Prevalence:** You're not alone. Millions bear these scars, these memories that refuse to fade. They linger, affecting our health, our relationships, our very essence, adding to the allostatic load we discussed earlier.

**The Neurobiology of ACEs:**
- **Brain Structure and Function:** Imagine your brain, a delicate machine, wired for love, trust, joy. Now imagine it altered, scarred by trauma. The prefrontal cortex, the seat of reason, impaired. The hippocampus, the keeper of memories, wounded. It's not just science; it's a tragedy played out in the very fabric of our being.
- **Stress Response System:** A child in constant fear, a body always ready to fight or flee. The stress hormones flood, the balance is lost, and the dance becomes a battle. It's the window of tolerance, shattered and fragmented. It's not just biology; it's a daily struggle for peace, for normality.

**ACEs and the Path to Addiction:**
- **Increased Vulnerability:** The path from ACEs to addiction is not a straight line; it's a twisted road, filled with pitfalls and traps. The brain changes, the balance tips, and the allure of substances becomes a siren's call. It's the allostatic load, heavy and burdensome, leading us astray.
- **Compounding Damage:** Addiction is not a choice; it's a compounding of pain, a response to a brain altered by ACEs. It's a cycle, a whirlpool that pulls you in, deeper and deeper, beyond the window of tolerance, into the abyss.

**The Science of ACEs and Addiction:**
- **Neurotransmitters and Addiction:** Dopamine, serotonin, words that sound distant, but they are the music of our minds. ACEs disrupt this music, turning harmony into discord. It's not just chemistry; it's the melody of our moods, our desires, our very selves.
- **Brain Regions Affected:** The amygdala, the nucleus accumbens, names that might seem foreign, but they are the chambers of our fears, our pleasures. ACEs invade these chambers, altering our responses, shaping our addictions. It's not just anatomy; it's the architecture of our emotions, our cravings.

**Mindfulness and Neuroplasticity:**
ACEs and addiction are not just emotional scars; they leave tangible marks on the brain, altering its very structure and function. The effects are profound, affecting critical regions like the prefrontal cortex and amygdala.

-

**Specific Mindfulness Techniques for Recovery:**
Mindfulness is not a one-size-fits-all approach; it's a diverse and adaptable set of practices, each with unique benefits and applications. For those on the path of recovery from ACEs and addiction, these techniques offer targeted healing, addressing specific aspects of the brain, mind, and body.

- **Mindful Breathing:** A foundational practice, mindful breathing focuses on the breath as an anchor to the present moment. It can calm the sympathetic nervous system, reduce anxiety, and enhance focus. For those with ACEs and addiction, it's a way to find stability, grounding, and presence.

- **Body Scan Meditation:** This practice involves systematically bringing attention to different parts of the body. It can increase body awareness, reduce stress, and promote relaxation. For those affected by ACEs and addiction, it's a path to reconnecting with the body, healing the disconnection often caused by trauma and addiction.

- **Loving-Kindness Meditation:** Focusing on cultivating compassion for oneself and others, loving-kindness meditation can enhance empathy, self-compassion, and emotional well-being. It's a balm for the emotional wounds of ACEs and addiction, a way to nurture the heart and soul.

- **Mindful Movement Practices (e.g., Yoga, Tai Chi):** These practices combine movement with mindfulness, promoting physical health, flexibility, and balance. They can be particularly healing for those with ACEs and addiction, addressing the physical toll of addiction and enhancing the mind-body connection.

- **Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT):** MBCT integrates mindfulness practices with cognitive therapy, targeting patterns of thinking that can lead to depression and relapse. It's a targeted approach for those with ACEs and addiction, addressing the cognitive challenges and patterns that often accompany these experiences.

- **The Personalized Path of Mindfulness:** The journey of mindfulness is a personalized one, guided by individual needs, challenges, and goals. For those on the path of recovery from ACEs and addiction, these techniques offer a tailored approach, a way to heal the specific wounds, restore balance, and reclaim life. It's a promise of transformation, a promise grounded in practice, illuminated by hope.

• Five Minute Meditation: of the rock
• Thanks to jazz pianist Clay Giberson for the show intro
• Darren's background 10-0-10
• Definition of addiction, abstinence in different programs
• Website features: How Many Buddhas?
• Ask the 12-Step Buddhist - audience question: How to do 12-Step recovery as an agnostic in a mostly Christian town
• Daily Meditation SMS program - Sign up for 12-Step Buddhist inspirational text messages
• Recitation from the Sutra of Golden Light, per Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Highlights:

• Meditation: Being present to our condition as addicts.
• About the book - pre-order price guarantee on Amazon.
• About the podcast - what to expect in future episodes.
• Podcast musical intro by pianist Clay Giberson
• Discussion of the new website features.
• New Blog: "Getting Naked with the Guru."
• Ask the 12-Step Buddhist - audience comments and questions.
• How to practice as a 12-Step Buddhist.

The Dysregulated Addict: Finding Spiritual Regulation Series Pt. 5
The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast Episode 100

Part 5: Mindfulness for Addicts with ACEs 

The Impact of ACEs on the Brain and the Path to Addiction**

**Introduction:**
Remember our journey through the nervous system, the dance of the sympathetic and parasympathetic, the weight of allostatic load, the boundaries of the window of tolerance? Now, let's delve into ACEs, the unseen wounds that shape us, the scars that linger in our brains, our hearts, our very souls.

**Understanding ACEs:**
- **Definition and Types:** Physical abuse, emotional scars, a home where chaos reigns. These are ACEs, wounds that shape us, echoes of the storms we explored in the nervous system. They are the unseen baggage we carry, the ghosts that haunt our minds.
- **Prevalence:** You're not alone. Millions bear these scars, these memories that refuse to fade. They linger, affecting our health, our relationships, our very essence, adding to the allostatic load we discussed earlier.

**The Neurobiology of ACEs:**
- **Brain Structure and Function:** Imagine your brain, a delicate machine, wired for love, trust, joy. Now imagine it altered, scarred by trauma. The prefrontal cortex, the seat of reason, impaired. The hippocampus, the keeper of memories, wounded. It's not just science; it's a tragedy played out in the very fabric of our being.
- **Stress Response System:** A child in constant fear, a body always ready to fight or flee. The stress hormones flood, the balance is lost, and the dance becomes a battle. It's the window of tolerance, shattered and fragmented. It's not just biology; it's a daily struggle for peace, for normality.

This is the path of bodhisattvas, yogis and Buddhists in recovery.
"You can judge me, but please take what's in my hand."

Want to opine? Leave a message on The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast hotline.
Opine on the hotline (505) 219-1509‬

Compassionate Recovery: Mindful Healing for Trauma and Addictions
Available in Kindle, Trade Paperback, Hardcover

The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast Theme by Clay Giberson

Calming the Fire Alarms - Allostatic Load, Window of Tolerance
The Dysregulated Addict: Finding Spiritual Regulation Series Pt. 4
The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast Episode 099

https://podcast.compassionaterecovery.us

Part 4: Balance in the Nervous System -Allostatic Load, Window of Tolerance

This is where we encounter something called 'allostatic load.' Now, 'allostasis' is the process by which our body seeks to maintain stability, or homeostasis, through change. It's like a scale, constantly adjusting to keep balanced. But when we're exposed to repeated stressors, this scale can get tipped. The constant 'wear and tear' on our bodies, the continual need to adjust and readjust, can lead to what's known as allostatic load or overload.

In the context of addiction, this allostatic load can become a heavy burden. The compulsion to seek and take a drug, the loss of control in limiting intake, and the emergence of a negative emotional state when access to the drug is prevented, all contribute to this load.

Allostatic load is a term coined by Bruce McEwen and Eliot Stellar in 1993. It refers to the physiological consequences of chronic exposure to fluctuating or heightened neural or neuroendocrine response resulting from repeated or chronic stress. In simpler terms, it's the "wear and tear" on the body that accumulates as an individual is exposed to repeated or chronic stress.

In the context of addiction, allostatic load can become a heavy burden. The compulsion to seek and take a drug, the loss of control in limiting intake, and the emergence of a negative emotional state when access to the drug is prevented - all these can add to our allostatic load.

Balancing Our Nervous System - The CNS and Stress
The Disregulated Addict: Finding Spiritual Regulation Series Pt. 3
Happy First Turning of the Wheel of Dharma Day
The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast Episode 098

Part 3: Balance in the Nervous System - The CNS and Stress

can definitely say I wasn't not just struck by lightening
the first turning
the four noble truths
the truth of suffering, the cause of suffering, the end of suffering, the path to end suffering

"Welcome back to another episode of The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast. I'm your host, Darren Littlejohn, and today we're continuing our exploration of the nervous system and its role in addiction and recovery. In our last episode, we delved into the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, understanding their dance and how it affects our responses to stress. Today, we're going to focus on another crucial part of our nervous system - the Central Nervous System, or CNS, and how it interacts with stress.

The Disregulated Addict: Finding Spiritual Regulation Series Pt. 2
The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast Episode 097

Episode 2: The Dance of the Nervous System - Sympathetic and Parasympathetic

Deep dive into the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems

Their roles in stress, relaxation, and recovery

Practical ways to balance these systems for better mental health

Do you get distressed easily in sobriety? You may have a disregulated nervous system. If so, it's important to not compare your insides with anyone else's outsides. In Compassionate Recovery: Mindful Healing for Trauma and Addictions, we gain an overview of what is happening in our brain and body when it comes to trauma, addiction and recovery. All are welcome. No experience necessary. Join us for meditation and discussion on topics that you can apply to your recovery right away. 

Transcript

Host (Darren Littlejohn): "Hello, and welcome to The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast. I'm Darren Littlejohn, a fellow traveler on the path of recovery. I've been where you are, I've felt the pain, the confusion, the fear. I've been sixteen, lying in a fetal position on the bathroom floor, my face bruised from a beating, hair chopped, identity obliterated—out of my mind with debilitating agony. But I've also found a way out, a way forward, a way to heal. And that's what I want to share with you.

Darren: "In this new series, we're going to explore some of the key concepts from my book, 'Compassionate Recovery: Mindful Healing for Trauma and Addictions'. We're going to delve into the nervous system, stress, allostatic overload, the window of tolerance, and how all these elements intertwine with mindful healing for trauma and addictions.

Darren: "Today, we start with the nervous system. It's like the body's electrical wiring, a complex network of nerves and cells, known as neurons, that carry messages between the brain and the rest of the body. It's the body's communication superhighway, and it's as crucial to our survival as the air we breathe.

Darren: "But why should we, as recovering addicts, care about the nervous system? Because understanding it is key to understanding stress, and stress, my friends, is a major trigger for relapse. We need to understand our enemy to defeat it. And in this case, our enemy is not just the substance or behavior we're addicted to, but also the stress that pushes us towards it.

Darren: "The nervous system is split into two main parts: the central nervous system, our body's command center, and the peripheral nervous system, our body's messengers. Within the peripheral nervous system, we find the autonomic nervous system, the silent puppeteer controlling involuntary functions like heartbeat, digestion, and breathing.

Darren: "This system is further divided into the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. The sympathetic, our body's alarm system, preparing us for fight or flight. The parasympathetic, our body's peacekeeper, helping us to rest, digest, and heal.

Darren: "In the episodes to come, we'll delve deeper into these systems, and see how understanding them can help us navigate the stormy seas of stress, trauma, and addictions. We'll learn how to recognize when our body is preparing for a fight or flight response, and how to use mindfulness and compassion to bring ourselves back to a state of rest and healing.

Darren: "Thank you for joining me today. I hope this overview has sparked a flame of curiosity in you, and I look forward to fanning that flame as we explore these topics in more depth. Remember, recovery is a journey, and every journey begins with a single step. See you next time."

art from https://twitter.com/gerrydiamond71/status/1531341614999797768

Everything is the path to enlightenment. 
The ground is everywhere. 
We can't step anywhere exept deeper into Teaching.
More authentically into practice. 

As the smoke churned towards my face, plumes broiling hundreds of feet into the natural blue sky, my throat closed. Unable to inhale, vomiting on my knees, I looked up over my right shoulder to see about a half a dozen planes, some very big ones, and helicopters circling and dropping slurry on our mountains. They save our town, our structures, the animals and our lives. To all you fire professionals and first responders, God Bless You. And I say that as a Buddhist. 

The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast Episode 095

Today's show is dedicated to Dave Dotan Davis, a Buddhist in Recovery who passed away June 18th 2023. Join us. Add your lost loved ones into our practice and dedication. May we all be free of suffering. 

What is ego, and how does it affect our practice as Buddhists in Recovery? 
When we practice Dharma, are we taking refuge in our identity, apparently
concrete and permanent sense of self, or are we working to let go, to discover our real nature, same as all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the Three Times and the Ten Directions. No different. To understand this context, in this sense of the Teaching, one must find a qualified Master and receive detailed instructions on how to overcome samsara without resisting our suffering, or our Buddhahood. Listen in as we practice and discuss the how and why of Dharma in Recovery, instead of constructing an even more elaborate and sophisticated trap, called the Dharma Ego. 

The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast Episode 094

To empower ourselves into a trajectory beyond suffering we must clearly understand our condition. How to arrive at this understanding, and then integrate this real, non-artificial Buddha Superinteligence that is our real condition, as blind as most of us are to that. The teachings afford us opportunities to tap into, develop and maintain our true state of Absolute Compassion, the only deity we'll ever need. Let's yack about it and do some practice on this week's episode. 

The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast Episode 093

Compassionate Recovery: Mindful Healing for Trauma and Addictions
Available in Kindle, Trade Paperback, Hardcover

Want to opine? Leave a message on The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast hotline.
Opine on the hotline (505) 219-1509‬

Also available wherever you get your podcasts, such as iTunes, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio and Google Podcasts

It's well understood in the recovery community that an attitude of gratitude isa potent antidote to much of what ails us addicts in recovery. We all know how to make our gratitude lists. But how do Buddhists in Recovery use the Dharma (teachings) to further explore the medicine of true appreciation? Tune in, we'll get into it with a meditation so simple, you'll be amazed before we are halfway through. Word.

Appreciating the Now: How to Train Our Minds to Feel Better
The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast Episode 110

Grab a copy of The 12-Step Buddhist for someone that you love. 

Compassionate Recovery: Mindful Healing for Trauma and Addictions
Available in Kindle, Trade Paperback, Hardcover

Buddha's Birthday - Saka Dawa 
If you were born after the 70s, your ideas of Dharma are probably your grandmothers, or even great grandmothers. So this here what we do on the podcast, this ain'tcher granny's dharma, y'hear? Listen in and listen up as we break it down as to exactly what it means to be born into the birthless, just like Buddha. 

Speak to him, thou, for He heareth
And spirit with spirit can meet.
Closer is He than breathing.
And nearer than hands and feet. -Tennyson

As within, so without. Join us this week for a compassion meditation that is as close as you can possibly get to actual compassion. Apply this to recovery, as Dharma practitioners who are in recovery. I'm not an addict practicing Dharma. See the difference? Listen in for some clarity.

The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast: Episode 91

https://podcast.compassionaterecovery.us/episode-091/

Compassionate Recovery: Mindful Healing for Trauma and Addictions
Available in Kindle, Trade Paperback, Hardcover

The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast Theme by Clay Giberson

The notion of getting into a flow state, otherwise known as zen af, while maintaining our sobriety and living to our full potential. As Bodhisattvas on the path of recovery we can affect those around us with our own stable practice. To reach a calm state, and share gratitude, generosity and compassion with others from this place untouched by trauma, unscarred by addiction. Join us.

The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast: Episode 90

https://podcast.compassionaterecovery.us/episode-090/

The notion of getting into a flow state, otherwise known as zen af, while maintaining our sobriety and living to our full potential. As Bodhisattvas on the path of recovery we can affect those around us with our own stable practice. To reach a calm state, and share gratitude, generosity and compassion with others from this place untouched by trauma, unscarred by addiction. Join us. 

The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast: Episode 90

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi - Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience

New shows on Fridays. Tune in for practices integrated with words and sounds on this and all the shows!

 
All are welcome. Send questions to info@compassionaterecovery.us

Compassionate Recovery: Mindful Healing for Trauma and Addictions
Available in Kindle, Trade Paperback, Hardcover

The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast Theme by Clay Giberson

We've spent many sessions on refuge and bodhicitta, compassion. For this episode, let's get into something that I wrote about in Step 11 in The 12-Step Buddhist (Atria\Beyond Words 2018), in reference to the practice of Vajrasattva for purification. We'll cover the building blocks of practice, continuing w/ pt. 3, more on Dedication of Merits. 

New shows on Fridays. Tune in for practices integrated with words and sounds on this and all the shows!

All are welcome. Send questions to info@compassionaterecovery.us

This is the path of bodhisattvas, yogis and Buddhists in recovery.
"You can judge me, but please take what's in my hand."

Compassionate Recovery: Mindful Healing for Trauma and Addictions

The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast Theme by Clay Giberson

Also available wherever you get your podcasts, such as iTunes, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio and Google Podcasts

Instead of putting ourselves in a position to be hurt, we place ourselves in a position to be blessed. What is Grace? We can discuss in a traditional sense the meaning of grace. How do we get out of the way and let the blessings fall on us? How does the notion of Grace integrate with our Dharma practice in recovery? Continuing with our discussion of the components of practice sessions so that you can make a good one that suits you, Part 2. 

The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast: Episode 88

New shows on Fridays. Tune in for practices integrated with words and sounds on this and all the shows!

All are welcome. Send questions to info@compassionaterecovery.us

This is the path of bodhisattvas, yogis and Buddhists in recovery.
"You can judge me, but please take what's in my hand."

Compassionate Recovery: Mindful Healing for Trauma and Addictions

The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast Theme by Clay Giberson

Also available wherever you get your podcasts, such as iTunes, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio and Google Podcasts

We can apply our development of refuge and bodhicitta on the path of recovery. We use rituals that include motions, breathwork, sounds and visualizations. We can offer flowers and scents and all of our attachments to the Refuge Field. From this refuge field we practice with body, speech and mind to apply the rest of our practice session. All sessions include components. Join us as we discuss all of them and some great ways for you to apply Dharma to your recovery!

The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast: Episode 87
Dharma Recovery in Practice: Components of a Practice Session pt. 1

New shows on Fridays. Tune in for practices integrated with words and sounds on this and all the shows!

All are welcome. Send questions to info@compassionaterecovery.us

Compassionate Recovery: Mindful Healing for Trauma and Addictions
Available in Kindle, Trade Paperback, Hardcover

This is the path of bodhisattvas, yogis and Buddhists in recovery.
"You can judge me, but please take what's in my hand."

The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast Theme by Clay Giberson

Also available wherever you get your podcasts, such as iTunes, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio and Google Podcasts

Who is our Sangha? Choose wisely. In this aspect of the path, we study and try to understand our effect on other beings and our energy. The Buddha has shown itself in the sufferings of infinite karmas, filling bottomless oceans of beings who suffer but have not met the Dharma. To protect our commitments, to develop and strengthen our commitment to the path, we would be more helpful to ourselves if we find other like minded souls to take shelter with. Moreover, those with whom we share energy, space and time should also understand the path, at least to the extent that everyone understand what it means and is willing to take refuge together until all beings are free from suffering and become perfectly completed Buddhas.  

The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast: Episode 86

How to Take Refuge in Recovery: Refuge in the Sangha

This is the path of bodhisattvas, yogis and Buddhists in recovery.
"You can judge me, but please take what's in my hand."

New shows on Fridays. Tune in for practices integrated with words and sounds on this and all the shows!
All are welcome. Send questions to info@compassionaterecovery.us

Compassionate Recovery: Mindful Healing for Trauma and Addictions
Available in Kindle, Trade Paperback, Hardcover

What is this Dharma that we are offered to take refuge in? Can it be defined? Continuing our discussion of what, and what not to take refuge in. Now that we have some sense of the Buddha, the Four Noble Truths and basic principles, we'll add the Refuge Field, and all Dharmas in our next Object of Refuge: The Dharma. As always, we'll use the instructions as tools to unlock our realizations and insights that are beyond words and concepts. The path has many layers, join us as we delve into the second of the Three Jewels. 
Readings from The Life of Shabkar

The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast: Episode 85

Compassionate Recovery: Mindful Healing for Trauma and Addictions
Available in Kindle, Trade Paperback, Hardcover

New shows on Fridays. Tune in for practices integrated with words and sounds on this and all the shows!
All are welcome. Send questions to info@compassionaterecovery.us

Also available wherever you get your podcasts, such as iTunes, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio and Google Podcasts

This week we continue deepening our understanding of precisely what it means to us to take refuge, in the Buddha, in recovery. Last episode, we discussed the Four Kayas of a Buddha. This episode continues the discussion of Objects of Refuge, Refuge in the Buddha, The Five Wisdom aspects. Don't worry, we'll break it down simply, and do some practice to gain direct knowledge of refuge in the Buddha. 

From Essential Instructions on Refuge and Bodhicitta and rigpawiki.org

The Buddha is endowed with the Four Kayas and the Five Wisdoms.
We continue with the Five Wisdoms.

The Five Wisdoms
The wisdom of dharmadhātu, which is the inherent purity of absolute space.
Wisdom of dharmadhatu
Wisdom of dharmadhatu (Skt. dharmadhātujñāna; Tib. ཆོས་ཀྱི་དབྱིངས་ཀྱི་ཡེ་ཤེས་, Wyl. chos kyi dbyings kyi ye shes) — one of the five wisdoms. The wisdom of the dharmadhatu is the realization of the absolute truth, the natural state of all things.

The mirror-like wisdom, which is wisdom’s unceasing clarity aspect.
Mirror-like wisdom
Mirror-like wisdom (Skt. ādarśajñāna; Tib. མེ་ལོང་ལྟ་བུའི་ཡེ་ཤེས་, melong tabü yeshe, Wyl. me long lta bu'i ye shes) — one of the five wisdoms. Just as the clear surface of a mirror reflects everything before it, the wisdom of the absolute nature ‘reflects’ all the phenomena of samsara and nirvana. This clear reflection is the mirror-like wisdom.
The equalizing wisdom, which is the absence of attachment and aversion towards anyone or anything, near or far.

Wisdom of equality
Wisdom of equality (Skt. samatājñāna; Tib. མཉམ་ཉིད་ཡེ་ཤེས་, Wyl. mnyam nyid ye shes) — one of the five wisdoms. Just as all the reflections in a mirror are the same in being simply reflections, without any concept of good or bad, the wisdom of equality is to regard samsara and nirvana as equal, as having a single mode and one taste.
The wisdom of discernment, which knows objects without confusing or conflating them.

Wisdom of discernment
(Skt. pratyavekṣanājñāna; Tib. སོ་སོར་རྟོག་པའི་ཡེ་ཤེས་, Wyl. so sor rtog pa'i ye shes) — one of the five wisdoms. It is the knowledge that while from the point of view of the absolute nature all phenomena are the same in being equal, from the point of view of the phenomena themselves all things in samsara and nirvana are distinct and not confounded.

All-accomplishing wisdom which effortlessly brings about the welfare of others.
All-accomplishing wisdom (Skt. kṛtyānuṣṭhānajñāna; Tib. བྱ་བ་གྲུབ་པའི་ཡེ་ཤེས་, jawa drubpé yeshe, Wyl. bya ba grub pa'i ye shes) — one of the five wisdoms. Like a doctor who diagnoses a disease by taking the patient’s pulse and then does all he can to treat and remedy the disease, the buddhas, with their all-accomplishing wisdom, consider beings and the ways by which they might benefit them, and then appear spontaneously and effortlessly, without change or exertion, to benefit those beings.

Join me every Friday for practices integrated with words and sounds on this and all the shows!

All are welcome. Send questions to info@compassionaterecovery.us

This is the path of bodhisattvas, yogis and Buddhists in recovery.
"You can judge me, but please take what's in my hand."

Want to opine? Leave a message on The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast hotline.
Opine on the hotline (505) 219-1509‬

Compassionate Recovery: Mindful Healing for Trauma and Addictions
Available in Kindle, Trade Paperback, Hardcover

The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast Theme by Clay Giberson

Work with refuge in our meditations with "objects" to take refuge in. We started the topic on a simple way. Now, we get into the weeds on refuge in this ongoing series. Drawing from a rare translation on Refuge and Bodhicitta by Patrul Rinpoche and having received many teachings on esoteric texts by this amazing master, I comment in terms of the application of refuge in recovery.

The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast: Episode 83
How to Take Refuge in Recovery, Part 2: Objects of Refuge - The Buddha

Join me weekly on Fridays for practices integrated with words and sounds on this and all the shows! 

This is the path of bodhisattvas, yogis and Buddhists in recovery.
"You can judge me, but please take what's in my hand."

Want to opine? Leave a message on The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast hotline.
Opine on the hotline (505) 219-1509‬

Compassionate Recovery: Mindful Healing for Trauma and Addictions
Available in Kindle, Trade Paperback, Hardcover

All are welcome. Send questions to info@compassionaterecovery.us

Also available wherever you get your podcasts, such as iTunes, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio and Google Podcasts

The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast Episode 109
We're often told that what happens may be out of our control, but
how we respond is up to us. That's easy for regulated people to say. 
For those who suffer with CPTSD and other problems due to ACEs have
more work to do to get to the level where we can "pause when agitated," 
and not send that text or make that post!

The Dharma offers us trainings that help us be fit for maximum service.

Let's talk about it. 

Two weeks of dental suffering brought my practice, and my sobriety, to the test. This week we take a deeper look at refuge and it's application to our lives as Buddhists in recovery.  More personal sharing this week as I talk about managing pain, with an without an opiate at hand. This is how I dealt with it, in the context of refuge and bodhicitta - compassion, but Supreme, not only relative. https://podcast.compassionaterecovery.us

The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast: Episode 82

 Join me for practices integrated with words and sounds on this and all the shows! 

This is the path of bodhisattvas, yogis and Buddhists in recovery.
"You can judge me, but please take what's in my hand."

Want to opine? Leave a message on The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast hotline.
Opine on the hotline (505) 219-1509‬

Compassionate Recovery: Mindful Healing for Trauma and Addictions
Available in Kindle, Trade Paperback, Hardcover

To understand what is meant by refuge in recovery, we must first understand and integrate some basic Buddhist principles. Intellectual understanding is not sufficient, but we gotta start somewhere. We discuss the meaning of refuge in Buddhism. It There are many lineages and views to consider! It depends on what the Tibetans call Thowa, or the view that the teaching begins with and is based upon. Believe it or not, there are different views! Today we open a Series on Refuge in Recovery. Our show begins with the reasons why addicts would be motivated to make the move of Buddhist refuge as part of recovery from trauma, and recovery from addictions as it pertains to The Four Noble Truths, The Four Immeasurables and more. Join me for practices integrated with words and sounds on this and all the shows!

The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast: Episode 81
How to Take Refuge in Recovery: Part One

Compassionate Recovery: Mindful Healing for Trauma and Addictions
Available in Kindle, Trade Paperback, Hardcover

This is the path of bodhisattvas, yogis and Buddhists in recovery.
"You can judge me, but please take what's in my hand."

Want to opine? Leave a message on The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast hotline.
Opine on the hotline (505) 219-1509‬

All are welcome. Send questions to info@compassionaterecovery.us

Also available wherever you get your podcasts, such as iTunes, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio and Google Podcasts

If you've ever been to a 12-step meeting, you've probably seen the famous sign, "Easy Does It". Some who've clawed our way out of hell to scratch a morsel of serenity have done so out of sheer force, which can beg the question of how to go easy, when everything has always been hard? Others w/ACEs in recovery may react w/passivity, thus reinforcing a negative action toward ourselves not by what we do, but what we don't do to protect ourselves.

Concluding Practices of a Bodhisattva w/#37

This is the path of bodhisattvas, yogis and Buddhists in recovery.
"You can judge me, but please take what's in my hand."

Want to opine? Leave a message on The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast hotline.
Opine on the hotline (505) 219-1509‬

Compassionate Recovery: Mindful Healing for Trauma and Addictions
Available in Kindle, Trade Paperback, Hardcover

The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast Theme by Clay Giberson

Also available wherever you get your podcasts, such as iTunes, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio and Google Podcasts

Direct from Peru, Charo Verastegui (María del Rosario Verástegui Schmitt), a fellow practitioner of the Chod, as well as indigenous spiritual practices. See past and future books and episodes for more on Chod as the best tool available to cut the root of attachment, which is the root of addiction. Continuing with Practices of a Bodhisattva, #36.

This is the path of bodhisattvas, yogis and Buddhists in recovery.
"You can judge me, but please take what's in my hand."

All are welcome. Send questions to info@compassionaterecovery.us

Want to opine? Leave a message on The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast hotline.
Opine on the hotline (505) 219-1509‬

Compassionate Recovery: Mindful Healing for Trauma and Addictions
Available in Kindle, Trade Paperback, Hardcover

The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast Theme by Clay Giberson

Also available wherever you get your podcasts, such as iTunes, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio and Google Podcasts

Addicts are seekers. What do we seek? Transcendence. The mystical. The sacred. Why do we seek the type of experiences that are outside what we call ordinary consciousness? Rather than look for answers out of pure scientific curiosity, we're more likely seeking a way out of suffering, albeit in addictive ways. Yet, when we turn to twelve step programs for refuge, we're often told that suffering is optional. It's a popular meme, but is there any truth to it? Join me this week as we meditate, analyze and discuss this notion from the perspective of Buddhists in recovery, or whatever kind of seeker you may be.

All are welcome. Send questions to info@compassionaterecovery.us

Readings from Longchenpa

Drama of the Gifted Child, Alice Miller

Continuing w the 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva, #34
This is the path of bodhisattvas, yogis and Buddhists in recovery.
"You can judge me, but please take what's in my hand."

Want to opine? Leave a message on The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast hotline.
Opine on the hotline (505) 219-1509‬

Compassionate Recovery: Mindful Healing for Trauma and Addictions
Available in Kindle, Trade Paperback, Hardcover

Also available wherever you get your podcasts, such as iTunes, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio and Google Podcasts

As addicts in any form of Buddhist Recovery, Dharma Recovery, Refuge Recovery, we try to focus on mindful, compassionate presence in the four moments that Buddha described. Yet, when we have ACEs and are in working with Trauma and Recovery, our resistance seems to persists despite our best efforts. Or is it because of them? Learn how to apply the Backwards Law, and the Law of Inverse Proportion to release our deepest attachments -even our addiction to suffering.

Note: this show has been reuploaded due to a file error, but only a few hours after it was published. 

The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast: Episode 77

Readings from The Backwards Law, Enzelganger

For more, see The Backwards Law: The Twisted Trick for Getting Anything You Want

Continuing w the 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva, #34
This is the path of bodhisattvas, yogis and Buddhists in recovery.
"You can judge me, but please take what's in my hand."

Compassionate Recovery: Mindful Healing for Trauma and Addictions
Available in Kindle, Trade Paperback, Hardcover

Want to opine? Leave a message on The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast hotline.
Opine on the hotline (505) 219-1509‬

The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast Theme by Clay Giberson

Photo Credit: https://chemistrygod.com/boyle-law-graph

We can pretend that we're not angry, but it will make us feel less in control. How does anger affect us in our recovery? We're told in 12-Step meetings that anger is a dubious luxury for "normal" people. Yet it continues to arise and cause problems no matter how long we're sober. How can we deal with the root our anger as Buddhists in recovery to find compassion, peace and ease?

The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast Episode 076

Readings from How Anger Affects the Body, New York Times, December 17th 2022

Continuing w the 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva, #33

This is the path of bodhisattvas, yogis and Buddhists in recovery.
"You can judge me, but please take what's in my hand."

Available wherever you get your podcasts, such as iTunes, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio and Google Podcasts

What is the best thing that we can gift each other? Our mindful, compassionate presence. We discuss the mahayana *(greater) path of dharma, as it applies to recovery from addictions, at any stage. To overcome the root of our addiction, we utilize brain science, trauma psychology and Buddhist practice. In this episode, we will learn and do a practice that considers how to offer something extraordinary.

This is the path of bodhisattvas, yogis and Buddhists in recovery.

"You can judge me, but please take what's in my hand."

The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast - Episode 075
Continuing w the 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva, #32

Readings from Transforming Suffering and Happiness

Want to opine? Leave a message on The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast hotline.
Opine on the hotline.
(505) 219-1509‬

Compassionate Recovery: Mindful Healing for Trauma and Addictions Available in Kindle, Trade Paperback, Hardcover.

The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast Theme by Clay Giberson

Being present with loss and grief. while loss is universal, the experience of grief is individual. it cannot be compared to previous experiences, or those of other people. once we own our own process, grief and loss become part of the path. easier said than done, but this is the path of bodhisattvas, yogis and Buddhists in recovery.

Continuing w the 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva, #31.

The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast - Episode 074

Deal with loss, grief, trauma and recovery in the new guide to recovery:

Compassionate Recovery: Mindful Healing for Trauma and Addictions

Available in Kindle, Trade Paperback, Hardcover.

The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast Theme by Clay Giberson

celebrating 25 years of sobriety
12-4-97

how the past influences our perception and therefore experience of this infamous now. the holy now. the nowness of now. but is what we think is the now really the present moment, or a pervasive, consistent layer of trauma from the past?

Continuing w the 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva, #30

The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast - Episode 073

Readings from Internal Family Systems. Richard schwartz, Ph.d

Want to opine? Leave a message on The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast hotline.
Opine on the hotline.
(505) 219-1509‬

Compassionate Recovery: Mindful Healing for Trauma and Addictions Available in Kindle, Trade Paperback, Hardcover.

The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast Theme by Clay Giberson

What is the nature of our relationship to psychedelics? As people in recovery, we've probably abused them at one time or another. Some people have taken mass overdoses and lost total control. So why would anyone in recovery consider the use, medicinal or otherwise, of something that seems pretty risky? 

It's OK. You can and it'll be alright. 

Let's talk about it on today's show, Episode 108. 

St. Theresa of Avila
"The time has come to love more and think less. Sit in a deep quiet in which love is translating you into God."

Meditation: what we're powerless to attain is attaining us in our inability to attain it inhale breathing in God, into the unresolved questions. Exhale give yourself in love.

from James Finley, "Mystical Sobriety."

The number 108 has a variety of significances across different fields:

1. Mathematics:

   • It's an abundant and a semiperfect number.
   • A tetranacci number.
   • The hyperfactorial of 3, as it is of the form 11⋅22⋅3311⋅22⋅33.
   • Divisible by the value of its φ function, which is 36.
   • Divisible by the total number of its divisors (12), making it a refactorable number.
   • The angle in degrees of the interior angles of a regular pentagon in Euclidean space.
   • Palindromic in several bases and a Harshad number in multiple bases.

2. Religion and the Arts:

   • Sacred in Dharmic Religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.
   • In Hindu tradition, there are 108 attendants of Shiva, and in Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Krishna had 108 followers known as gopis.
   • The Sri Vaishnavite Tradition has 108 Divya Desams (temples of Vishnu).
   • The Sudarshana Chakra, a weapon in Hindu mythology, has 108 serrated edges.
   • The total number of Upanishads is 108 as per the Muktikā canon.
   • In Tibetan Buddhism, malas or rosaries are usually 108 beads.
   • Zen priests wear juzu, a ring of prayer beads, consisting of 108 beads.
   • The Lankavatara Sutra has sections where 108 questions are asked and 108 statements of negation are listed.

3. Martial Arts:

   • Many East Asian martial arts, due to their ties to Buddhism, consider 108 an important symbolic number.
   • According to Marma Adi and Ayurveda, there are 108 pressure points in the body.
   • The ultimate Gōjū-ryū kata, Suparinpei, translates to 108.
   • The Yang Taijiquan long form and Wing Chun wooden dummy form taught by Ip Man have 108 moves.

4. Literature:

   • There are 108 outlaws in the Chinese classic "Water Margin/Outlaws of the Marsh."
   • "Astrophil and Stella," the first English sonnet sequence, has 108 love sonnets.
   • Edgar Allan Poe's poem "The Raven" has 108 lines.

5. Science:

   • Hassium, a chemical element, has the atomic number 108.
   • The human body's vital organs begin to fail at an internal temperature of 108 degrees Fahrenheit.
   • The distance of Earth from the Sun is about 108 times the diameter of the Sun.

6. Technology:

   • 108 Mbit/s is a non-standard extension of IEEE 802.11g wireless network using channel bonding.

7. Sports:

   • An official Major League Baseball baseball has 108 stitches.
   • The Chicago Cubs won the World Series in 2016 for the first time in 108 years.

8. Card Games:

   • There are 108 cards in a deck of UNO cards.

9. Other Fields:

   • In India, 108 is the toll-free emergency telephone number.

So called insight meditation practices are perhaps the most widely diffused in the west, in terms of what people think of as buddhism. today we'll expand our view and understand something of value when it comes to the nature and meaning of the next level of dharma teaching as it pertains to concentration, insight into our recovery and ourselves as compassion seeking addicts in recovery. 

The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast - Episode 072

Continuing w the 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva, #29.

Readings from Longchenpa.

Want to opine? Leave a message on The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast hotline.
Opine on the hotline.
(505) 219-1509‬

Compassionate Recovery: Mindful Healing for Trauma and Addictions Available in Kindle, Trade Paperback, Hardcover.

The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast Theme by Clay Giberson

Emotional Surrender: How to Be Non-Toxic. Addicts are very sensitive, empathic, highly emotional creatures. The inability to be comfortable in our own skin creates suffering that contributes to our addiction and other dysfunction. How does Dharma deal with toxic emotions and people?

Continuing w the 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva, #28.
Readings from Entering the Way of the Bodhisattva: A New Translation and Contemporary Guide.

The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast - Episode 071

Want to opine? Leave a message on The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast hotline.
Opine on the hotline.
(505) 219-1509‬

Compassionate Recovery: Mindful Healing for Trauma and Addictions Available in Kindle, Trade Paperback, Hardcover.

The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast Theme by Clay Giberson

Teachings ask us to practice the perfection or paramita of patience. But as any good addict knows, it's never fast enough for us. We operate on our own time, often expecting the world to warp its perceptions to match ours. Yet, our impatience causes stress, can trigger us out of our Window of Tolerance into Allostatic Overload, leaving us in a state of alarm if not distress. The energy of our impatience extends like a net into the environment that we inhabit, affecting others in ways that we may or may not care to notice. How can we open up to the practice of patience as addicts with trauma in recovery with all of our triggers? As usual, the teachings of the Mayahana offer a clear path to compassion by the perfection of patience, among the other qualities of a bodhisattva.

Continuing w the 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva, #27.
Readings from Entering the Way of the Bodhisattva: A New Translation and Contemporary Guide.

The Supreme Source

The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast - Episode 070

Want to opine? Leave a message on The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast hotline.
Opine on the hotline.
(505) 219-1509‬

Compassionate Recovery: Mindful Healing for Trauma and Addictions Available in Kindle, Trade Paperback, Hardcover.

The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast Theme by Clay Giberson