Insights and Stories from Portland
Portland Shambhala Blog
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Community Gathering Recap: Finding a Way Forward Together
A lovely bouquet of flowers in the home of John and Nancy Smith.
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Meditation and the Amygdala: Mediating Emotions in the Brain
This blog post by Portland member and meditation instructor John Light first appeared on the shambhala.org blog. How does meditation affect the amygdala? Much has been written about meditation and the amygdala, but almost all of it was written from the perspective of 20th century understanding of the brain. The advent of the 21st century…
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The Portland Aging Group: Aging in Enlightened Society
The Portland Aging Group, Aging in Enlightened Society, is a social and study group for those who are experiencing aging – whether it be turning 40 or 80. It was started over 10 years ago by Ann Cason and friends, who also set up the Aging Hub website on the same topic. Initially, we met…
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The Dharma by any other name: fun
well our first poetry pocket eve measured “very high” on the official fun-o-meter. after a half-hour of meditation we re-arranged the shrine room into a dharma café. some donned berets, though – alas – there were no bongo drums in sight. robbie showed an animated video with voice over of former u.s. poet laureate, billy…
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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…
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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…
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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…