Dear Friends,
Fall is here, cooler temperatures have arrived, and Halloween is just around the corner. At Long Beach Meditation (LBM) we have been slowly but surely finding our way forward, in recent months adopting a hybrid offering of conjoined in-person and online meetings. Looking back over the past few months there is plenty to celebrate. The Sangha has benefited from our continued partnership with the annual Long Beach Gives fundraising event. Thank you again for your generosity! Following the fundraiser, we held an in-person Serene Mountain weekend retreat at Yokoji Zen Mountain Center! For those who were able to join, this retreat was a particularly bright note of late. It was well-attended, and it felt particularly good to reunite and connect with friends face to face while enjoying the beautiful autumn weather in the San Jacinto Mountains. We received such excellent feedback following the retreat that after discussion within the LBM board, we have decided to offer this retreat twice in the coming year, tentatively in April and October with specific dates yet to be confirmed.
At times it feels that the pandemic is slowly yet steadily abating; still, there is an underlying concern that it is doggedly persisting. Please continue to take care of yourselves and others. We are still wearing masks inside of Bay Shore Church. Many people are still justifiably cautious about returning to in person gatherings of this kind just yet. Lately, there seems to be a collective feeling of treading water as we wait to know more. I am incredibly encouraged and inspired that throughout many ongoing pandemic related challenges our members have continued to show up to sit, week after week, meeting after meeting, whether in-person or online. Some of us are experiencing Zoom fatigue and all of us, I think, look forward to putting this time of trial behind us. A positive quality of impermanence is found in the well-worn adage: This too will change. Still, the place of practice, the only place of true realization is this place. Always right beneath our feet; always right before our eyes.
As we move deeper into this year and the holiday season to come, I feel grateful for the special connections found in being part of a dharma community. Maintaining a gently supportive container for practice in our world helps each one of us enact and bring to life the wonderfully direct and subtle art of stillness. We foster an invaluable and rare opportunity. Through the revolutionary position of simply stopping, our hearts and minds are not fully governed by the unfolding content and chaos of the day to day; rather, we find the space to respond with freedom and creativity. Please reflect upon the fact that your continued practice is transmitted to all those in your many spheres of activity. Dharma practice is a vital practice, perhaps now more than ever. Let us continue to support and uphold our individual and collective commitments trusting that the positive effects ripple out far and wide.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude for your continued presence and contributions. As always, I welcome your reaching out directly: jokai@longbeachmeditation.org. I look forward to seeing you soon, whether online or in-person. Please continue to ensure that the fundamentals of your practice are nourished, seen, and felt.
Bows and thanks,
Jokai