Portland Shambhala Day 2024: I-Ching Throw Interpretation

I-Ching Throw Interpretation by Gardner Murphy On Shambhala Day, the Portland Shambhala community has a tradition of throwing the I-Ching for the coming year.  This year we carried out this tradition after sitting meditation, the international broadcast, and after serving up coffee and pastries.  One notable innovation was that online participants helped throw one line … Continue 

Exploring the 2023 five wisdom energies retreat

This is a time of exploration and reflection in Shambhala. We are exploring new forms of administration, of teaching and learning. That creative approach was wonderfully illustrated in our retreat on the Five Wisdom Energies led by Holly Gayley and Rick Merrill.  So I decided to get creative myself and ask for feedback from participants … Continue 

October 2023 reflections and commitments

At a member’s gathering on Sunday October 15, we looked at ourselves, our community and our intentions going forward.  This blog post summarizes what we discussed and how we are going forward. We don’t have the energy or staff to support a “full-scale” space at this time. We will not pursue the Ford Building or … Continue 

2023 – PSMC Year of Water Rabbit I Ching Reading

At this year’s Shambhala Day Celebration on February 21st, 2023, we threw the I Ching for the Year of the Water Rabbit for our community. Gardner Murphy provides the following comments on hexagram #10 LU Correct Conduct, or Walking Your Path: The image of the trigram of Heaven over the trigram Lake are in their … Continue 

Tea time

More on meditation and resilience

The talks, discussions, and experience from Portland’s Winter Retreat that was conducted by Janet Bronstein continue to roll around in my mind.  The framing that I came away with could be expressed in an invitation: Come listen with us: To our own hearts Listening to our own hearts is fundamental and a very traditional idea … Continue 

The circle includes people from all over the world.

Reflections on our Winter Retreat

An end-of-year retreat has become a tradition at Portland Shambhala and this past one was the best one yet.  It demonstrated how far we’ve come and also poses some challenges for the years ahead. Almost 50 people signed up, including regular participants from our regular offerings and people from far away. Silent meditation for everyone … Continue 

Reflection on Shambhala as a social movement

Recently, a group of us at Portland Shambhala were considering these two questions: What would Shambhala as a social movement be like?  What could such a social movement bring to the world?    I feel it would be inauthentic to try to frame Shambhala as a social movement without interweaving the history (the good and … Continue 

A Dharma Program Invitation from Abbey

My Dear Shambhala Friends,  I’m writing to you now from South Florida, where I moved at the beginning of this year. I’m sorry that I didn’t get to say goodbye in person, but we were still in the pandemic. The Oregon climate has been challenging to my health for some time, and I find that … Continue 

A TRAIN RIDE WITHOUT DESTINATION: We Can See Where We Were and What We Did in 2021, but Not What Will Mysteriously and Magically Unfold in 2022

(He/Him/His)   In collaboration with John Smith   “Karma is like a game of chess. Wherever you are on the board at this moment is the result of your past actions. But whatever you are going to do in the next moment depends on the present situation. The present situation is partly influenced by the … Continue 

Questioning ourselves and Shambhala’s new Code of Conduct

Years ago, my efforts to reflect on and create a kind of mirror for the Portland Shambhala Community involved a lot of obviously uplifting stories such as a Harvest of Peace report or notes from a Drala Hike leadership retreat.  Even when the topics were more somber, like Practicing while incarcerated, Sukhavati for Ron Tomas, or Aging in Shambhala, … Continue