Dharma Bum

Thanksgiving 2009

So Michele asked that we spend Thanksgiving with just the two of us. Since September we both have been very busy and she was feeling like we needed to spend some quality time together. So today was just the two of us...and a video camera. Thought I'd make her a video too. Enjoy:

Thanksgiving 2009 - Michele & Chris from Dharma Bum on Vimeo.

Taco's, Taco's, Taco's!!

So last night while my wife went to watch some vampire movie with a cute boy, Courtney and I grabbed our bikes and ran up to the FOCA space in Chinatown to participate in Brian Boyer's Not Los Angeles - Taco Ride which was part of his current exhibit New Atlas at the FOCA space. Many art world aficionado's were there like curator/artist Marshall Astor, Artist Jeff Foye, Painter Devon Tsuno, FS instigator Ed Giardina, atist Macha Suzuki and of course MOCA's lovely Andrea Stang. As usual I had a blast. It was a great night for a ride and I had a taco at all three spots. I even ventured, with Courtney, to try a "stomach" taco. All of which is captured in the accompanying video. Enjoy..

Not Los Angeles - Taco Ride from Dharma Bum on Vimeo.

At the Un-National Monument Along the Canadian Border

This is the field where the battle did not happen,
where the unknown soldier did not die.
This is the field where grass joined hands,
where no monument stands,
and the only heroic thing is the sky.

Birds fly here without any sound,
unfolding their wings across the open.
No people killed — or were killed — on this ground
hallowed by neglect and an air so tame

that people celebrate it by forgetting its name.

- William Stafford

Tomorrow I will be loosened/from bonds that hold me fast

That the chains all hung around me/will fall away at last

Art Day

For those that don't know, I have been pretty involved in the art world over the last several years. I have made art, shown art, supported art and have just been an all around art lover. Well it's been a little while since I made the trek up to LA to check out some art, but this weekend my friends Sharon and Courtney wanted to take a little art field trip and I was happy to oblige. We started at MOCA then ran over to the Chinatown galleries and finished the evening in Santa Ana. And as usual I ended the evening once again feeling inspired and moved, remembering why I love art so much. Here's a few pics from our adventures:

When You Smile, The Sun, It Peaks Through The Clouds..

"The question we need to ask ourselves is whether there is any place we can stand in ourselves where we can look at all that’s happening around us without freaking out, where we can be quiet enough to hear our predicament, and where we can begin to find ways of acting that are at least not contributing to further destabilization." - Ram Dass

VIA

Do What You Love..

I found this letter via Merlin Mann that one of my all time favorite authors Kurt Vonnegut wrote to his father. If you have never read Slaughterhouse Five you must. Anyway, this letter really captures it for me. As I'm embarking on this journey of following my dreams certain fears start to come up, mostly around financial insecurity. However when I read the line "I'm happier then I have been for a good many years" the fears tend to fall away, and I say to myself...me too.

You know that committee in your head that is the voice of judgment, telling you a myriad of stories about how you aren't good enough, smart enough and why bother because you're just going to fail?? Well this is what it looks like...

VIA

Shoveling Snow With Buddha

In the usual iconography of the temple or the local Wok
you would never see him doing such a thing,
tossing the dry snow over a mountain
of his bare, round shoulder,
his hair tied in a knot,
a model of concentration.

Sitting is more his speed, if that is the word
for what he does, or does not do.

Even the season is wrong for him.
In all his manifestations, is it not warm or slightly humid?
Is this not implied by his serene expression,
that smile so wide it wraps itself around the waist of the universe?

But here we are, working our way down the driveway,
one shovelful at a time.
We toss the light powder into the clear air.
We feel the cold mist on our faces.
And with every heave we disappear
and become lost to each other
in these sudden clouds of our own making,
these fountain-bursts of snow.

This is so much better than a sermon in church,
I say out loud, but Buddha keeps on shoveling.
This is the true religion, the religion of snow,
and sunlight and winter geese barking in the sky,
I say, but he is too busy to hear me.

He has thrown himself into shoveling snow
as if it were the purpose of existence,
as if the sign of a perfect life were a clear driveway
you could back the car down easily
and drive off into the vanities of the world
with a broken heater fan and a song on the radio.

All morning long we work side by side,
me with my commentary
and he inside his generous pocket of silence,
until the hour is nearly noon
and the snow is piled high all around us;
then, I hear him speak.

After this, he asks,
can we go inside and play cards?

Certainly, I reply, and I will heat some milk
and bring cups of hot chocolate to the table
while you shuffle the deck.
and our boots stand dripping by the door.

Aaah, says the Buddha, lifting his eyes
and leaning for a moment on his shovel
before he drives the thin blade again
deep into the glittering white snow.

- Billy Collins

Truth?

"If you think you’re enlightened go spend a week with your family." - Ram Dass

Via Psychobabble

Continuing The Zen Beginner Theme..

Via Still Point Buddhist Temple via MZ

Admonitions to Beginners

by Chapak Patrick Smith

Finish what you start.

Pick a path – any path – and stick with it.

Examine your motives: If you’re doing it for yourself, you won’t see it through.

Never forget, there was a time before you knew how to breathe.

Cry. Not just weeping, either, but hot sobbing tears and dripping snot. People are dying, goddammit!

You think it will get easier, but it won’t. You, however, will get stronger.

You really don’t know what to expect.

Enlightenment is not the goal. Changing diapers – and I mean really changing diapers. That’s the goal.

There’s no difference between you and me. Except of course, I’m me and you’re not.

The Dalai Lama is totally and fully awake, but if your car won’t start you’re better off with a mechanic.

No teacher – no matter what – can sit for you.

It’s all part of the process. Even – no, especially – spending a 20 minute meditation period wondering what happened to the kid from “Growing Pains.”

Persistence is sufficient.

No one deserves your kindness more than you.

It matters. Even if no one ever knows or cares, it matters.

No one can tell you who you are. Some people, however, can tell you how to find out.

Karmically speaking, you will someday have to pay for eating that bacon. Do it anyway.

Nothing teaches compassion like suffering.

You can’t run from the circumstances of your life. No matter where you go, it’s going to be there.

The earth will hold you up. The earth will never fail to catch you, no matter how far you fall.

Everyone dies. You are not the exception.

Don’t worry about what happens after you die. Try to figure out what happens before you die.

It’s more useful and at least possible.

When you want to sit, sit. When you don’t want to sit, sit.

Five minutes every morning is better than 6 hours on Sunday.

It’s important to screw up. That’s what the rules are there for. No, seriously.

You’re never done. As long as you’re drawing breath, there’s work to do.

Everyone is holy, sacred, and precious. That includes George Bush, whether we like it or not.

Whether you sit in the front of the room or in the back; whether it’s full of people or you’re there alone; it’s the same damn room.

Don’t waste time. You’re going to waste time, you can’t avoid it. Try to avoid it anyway.

Intention matters.

You can’t wash a dish so well you never have to wash it again.

That asshole who cut you off in traffic is a better teacher than Thich Nhat Hahn. When was the last time you and The Thich shared a road?

The path will get hard. It won’t last.

The path will get easy. It won’t last.

The best way to learn to sit zazen is to sit zazen.

You can do this. I will help you. We all will.

Aimless Love

This morning as I walked along the lakeshore,
I fell in love with a wren
and later in the day with a mouse
the cat had dropped under the dining room table.

In the shadows of an autumn evening,
I fell for a seamstress
still at her machine in the tailor’s window,
and later for a bowl of broth,
steam rising like smoke from a naval battle.

This is the best kind of love, I thought,
without recompense, without gifts,
or unkind words, without suspicion,
or silence on the telephone.

The love of the chestnut,
the jazz cap and one hand on the wheel.

No lust, no slam of the door –
the love of the miniature orange tree,
the clean white shirt, the hot evening shower,
the highway that cuts across Florida.

No waiting, no huffiness, or rancor –
just a twinge every now and then

for the wren who had built her nest
on a low branch overhanging the water
and for the dead mouse,
still dressed in its light brown suit.

But my heart is always propped up
in a field on its tripod,
ready for the next arrow.

After I carried the mouse by the tail
to a pile of leaves in the woods,
I found myself standing at the bathroom sink
gazing down affectionately at the soap,

so patient and soluble,
so at home in its pale green soap dish.
I could feel myself falling again
as I felt its turning in my wet hands
and caught the scent of lavender and stone.

~ Billy Collins ~

via Upaya

Showing Up..

Ever since I decided to do this little career change I'm going through I decided it was probably in my best interest to get active in some organizations that educate and promote the profession. One (of the many) organizations I participate in is the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists. I'm active at the state level but also here in Orange County. Over the last several months I was part of the development team that started a networking district in the OC. Well after several months of planning we finally kicked off our first meeting at the Tustin Ranch Golf Club. We had 90+ people and it was a smashing success. We had a great mix of students (like me!), LMFT's and Psychologists. Even in my business life I have always found value in networking and participating with peers in events such as these, many doors have opened for me just because of my willingness to show up, even when all my insecurities scream to stay home. I look forward to participating in many more. Here's some photos of the event:

"After all, many of us entered this profession in the first place because of an interest in resolving our own issues along the path of helping others. I am embarrassed to admit that although I did and do feel a commitment toward altruism, a significant part of my motivation to become a therapist came from my needs to make sense of the world, to stave off my fear of mediocrity, to find acceptance, to satisfy my desire for control, to win approval and gratitude." - Jeffrey Kottler, On Being a Therapist

Via

Only Don't Know

My Zen teacher Paul Lynch, JDPSN has written a great "letter to a beginning student". It captures a lot about his teaching style and why I like studying with him. I wanted to point some people over there who might be interested in starting a practice. Ocean Eyes Zen Center meets every Sunday morning in Huntington Beach and all are invited. Have any questions? drop me a line.

This Kinda Reminded Me of Therapy Today..

The Past Reappears On Facebook..

Patrick Tasselli

HI BOGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that happens because you use to send me to Santa Ana when i was 14 and i would have to drive your yellow carolla that went 30 miles an hr. to get a nickel for you when you were hungover

Chris Hoff

Patrick my friend. That is the funniest/saddest thing anybody has put on my FB. I showed Idge and he was laughing because it's true. Good to hear from you. Hope your well in Costa Rica.

Patrick Tasselli

No worries I was already corrupted by my brothers don't be sad i had fun driving with no license luv u Boge!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes. I had a Nickname..

Making Time..

so much depends
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens.

So the other night I was meeting a friend for dinner and she let me know she was running late. I took the extra time to head over to my sanctuary, aka Barnes and Noble. It wasn't long before I found myself in the poetry section. As I was thumbing through one of the anthology's I thought to myself, God I love poetry. Ever since I started Grad school a lot of things I enjoy have had to take a back seat to writing term papers and reading text books. As I was standing there it occurred to me that I really need to make the time to sit down and write again, to send of poems to lit journals and to receive the rejection letters and who knows, maybe get another one published. I love the whole process. I left with a couple of books that night and when Michele saw them she asked if we could go back to a poetry reading again. Yes, I would like that.