Nice and dry on a dark and stormy Halloween
About 25 people gathered at the Portland Shambhala Center to stay dry at our Halloween hang out on Saturday October 31 — during one of the hardest rainstorms so far this season. Costumes and food — what a combo! Michele Caulkins did the food: Deborah Kuprunas, Margaret Bell, and Jude Cope did the decorations. Food … Continue
How do you see it?
If meditation gradually shifts how we see the world, a community of meditators has the extra benefit of giving us a glimpse of how other meditators see it. Our website and this blog is a great place for sharing what you see, whether it’s an event like what happened at an event, thoughts on your … Continue
October Council Meeting Summary and Meeting Notes
The PSMC Governing Council met on Thursday, October 15th, 2015- the meeting notes, where you can find more details about what was discussed at our meeting, are accessible here: Public Agenda and Meeting Notes- Council Meeting 10/15/15 Here is a short summary of the meeting: The Council reviewed a financial report from our Chagdzö, Jack Bodner, reviewing … Continue
Relationships and Parkinson’s Disease
Since my diagnosis with PD I have received an incredible amount of support from friends and family members. I don’t exactly know how to be worthy of this, but it has touched me very deeply. But I always suspected that my diagnosis with PD would mean the end of intimate relationships. I figured that no … Continue
Notes from the Director’s HoP State of the Center Address
Welcome to our annual celebration at the time of the autumnal equinox. This is a time of fruition, harvesting and celebrating our richness as individuals and as a community. In that spirit I would to share some of the highlights of what we’ve accomplished this year and all that is arising out of that. And … Continue
September Council Meeting Summary and Meeting Notes
The PSMC Governing Council met on Thursday, September 17th, 2015- the meeting notes, where you can find more details about what was discussed at our meeting, are accessible here: Public Agenda and Meeting Notes- Council Meeting 9-17-15 Here is a short summary of the meeting: The Council welcomed our new Rusung, Dan Rubin. The Council discussed … Continue
Connecting MailChimp and the SDB at the Portland Shambhala Center
This long blog post describes a pilot project to connect the Shambhala Database (SDB) and MailChimp, a popular email service (http://mailchimp.com) that the Portland Shambhala Center uses to compose and send out its newsletter. Although the bulk of the work described below took place a year ago, we’ve delayed publishing this report pending some careful … Continue
Appointment of Rusung Dan Rubin
The Portland Governing Council is pleased to announce the appointment of Dan Rubin as our new Rusung. The Rusung is the head of the local Dorje Kasung regiment, who manifest the ‘protector principle’ in our local community- practicing their path of service at community events including our Nyida Days as well as when visiting senior … Continue
How much is enough?
Research clearly shows that exercise helps preserve physical and mental functioning, and helps to slow the progression of PD. Furthermore, research indicates that, as long as you are capable of doing it, more is better. There doesn’t appear to be a level of exercise where the benefits drop off. The web site of the National … Continue
Graceful Exit: preparing for a good death
Isn’t good death an oxymoron like sweet sorrow? How could Andrew Holecek teach a workshop called Graceful Exit: Preparing for a Good Death? What is it that we are preparing for? The Good Death, February 1997, is the name of a beautifully written book by Marilyn Webb. She encouraged people and society to use drugs … Continue
