Larry Christensen, Ph.D. on Zen, psychotherapy and recovery. Larry spoke at the 12-Step Buddhist Group in Portland, OR on June 28th, 2010
 
Thanks to Clay Giberson for the podcast music. 

Episode 014 - Zen Therapy w Larry Christensen - the Three As

Readings and meditations from sacred Buddhist masters. Discussion of methods, techniques and essential principles of Buddhist recovery.

Now we're integrating the next level. Are you ready to drop into the deep work?  The correct answer is yes!
 
Based on the groundbreaking new book, Compassionate Recovery: Mindful Healing for Trauma and Addictions (2022 Rainbow Light Media). 

AA deals with the cunning, baffling and powerful nature of addictions. 
Here, we go down to the roots, with ACEs, Western neuropsychology, and the application of scientifically tested training methods  that are based on the wisdom of Tibetan Buddhist, Yoga other systems. 

Learn to practice easy to follow methods, with powerful effects. Enhance and strengthen your emotional stability in recovery. Discover self-compassion, the wisdom of generosity and more. 

For a foundation in Buddhist recovery and Dharma recovery, read The 12-Step Buddhist 10-Year Anniversary Edition (2018 Atria\Beyond Words) anywhere books are sold.

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The Joy of Living: Don't Miss the Bliss The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast Episode 112 How do we connect with the joy of living, even when it's not so easy? Discussion of Dharma in recovery from addictions on this week's show. OK, we do that every week! THE FIVE POWERS Devotion Joyful Effort Mindfulness Concentration Wisdom  From Restricted Text: Two Venerable Khenpos Alternate title: Keith Dowman    

The Joy of Living: Don't Miss the Bliss

Suffering as Compassion, Humility as Medicine: How to Overcome Arrogance The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast Episode 111 from Dodrupchen Jigme Tenpe Nyima, "Dropping the Attitude of Being Entirely Unwilling to Suffer Think about all the depression, anxiety and irritation we put ourselves through by always seeing suffering as unfavourable, something to be avoided at all costs. Now, think about two things: how useless this is, and how much trouble it causes. Go on reflecting on this repeatedly, until you are absolutely convinced. Then say to yourself: “From now on, whatever I have to suffer, I will never become anxious or irritated.” Go over this again and again in your mind, and summon all your courage and determination. 2 Cultivating the Attitude of Being Joyful when Suffering Arises Seeing suffering as an ally to help us on the path, we must learn to develop a sense of joy when it arises. Yet whenever suffering strikes, unless we have some kind of spiritual practice to bring to it, one which matches the capacity of our mind, no matter how many times we might say to ourselves: ‘Well, as long as I’ve got roughly the right method, I’ll be able to use suffering and obtain such and such a benefit’, it’s highly unlikely that we’ll succeed. We’ll be as far from our goal, the saying goes, as the earth is from the sky. Therefore, use suffering as the basis for the following practices: c. Using Suffering to Overcome Arrogance As I explained before, [as long as we are in samsara] we are never independent or truly free or in control of our lives. On the contrary, we are always dependent on and at the mercy of suffering. So we must eliminate ‘the enemy that destroys anything that is wholesome and good’, which is arrogance and pride; and we must do away with the evil attitude of belittling others and considering them as inferior. Transforming Suffering https://podcast.compassionaterecovery.us/all-podcast-teachings/transformsuffering/ Sapiens https://amzn.to/3GEBkId  

Humility as Medicine: How to Overcome Arrogance

It's well understood in the recovery community that an attitude of gratitude isa potent antidote to much of what ails us addicts in recovery. We all know how to make our gratitude lists. But how do Buddhists in Recovery use the Dharma (teachings) to further explore the medicine of true appreciation? Tune in, we'll get into it with a meditation so simple, you'll be amazed before we are halfway through. Word. Appreciating the Now: How to Train Our Minds to Feel Better The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast Episode 110 Grab a copy of The 12-Step Buddhist for someone that you love.  Compassionate Recovery: Mindful Healing for Trauma and Addictions Available in Kindle, Trade Paperback, Hardcover

Appreciating the Now: How to Train Our Minds to Feel Better

The 12-Step Buddhist Podcast Episode 109 We're often told that what happens may be out of our control, but how we respond is up to us. That's easy for regulated people to say.  For those who suffer with CPTSD and other problems due to ACEs have more work to do to get to the level where we can "pause when agitated,"  and not send that text or make that post! The Dharma offers us trainings that help us be fit for maximum service. Let's talk about it.   

Genghis Khan or Thich Nhat Hanh - How Do We Respond in Recovery?

What is the nature of our relationship to psychedelics? As people in recovery, we've probably abused them at one time or another. Some people have taken mass overdoses and lost total control. So why would anyone in recovery consider the use, medicinal or otherwise, of something that seems pretty risky?  It's OK. You can and it'll be alright.  Let's talk about it on today's show, Episode 108.  St. Theresa of Avila "The time has come to love more and think less. Sit in a deep quiet in which love is translating you into God." Meditation: what we're powerless to attain is attaining us in our inability to attain it inhale breathing in God, into the unresolved questions. Exhale give yourself in love. from James Finley, "Mystical Sobriety." The number 108 has a variety of significances across different fields:   Mathematics:  It's an abundant and a semiperfect number. A tetranacci number. The hyperfactorial of 3, as it is of the form 11⋅22⋅3311⋅22⋅33. Divisible by the value of its φ function, which is 36. Divisible by the total number of its divisors (12), making it a refactorable number. The angle in degrees of the interior angles of a regular pentagon in Euclidean space. Palindromic in several bases and a Harshad number in multiple bases.    Religion and the Arts:  Sacred in Dharmic Religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. In Hindu tradition, there are 108 attendants of Shiva, and in Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Krishna had 108 followers known as gopis. The Sri Vaishnavite Tradition has 108 Divya Desams (temples of Vishnu). The Sudarshana Chakra, a weapon in Hindu mythology, has 108 serrated edges. The total number of Upanishads is 108 as per the Muktikā canon. In Tibetan Buddhism, malas or rosaries are usually 108 beads. Zen priests wear juzu, a ring of prayer beads, consisting of 108 beads. The Lankavatara Sutra has sections where 108 questions are asked and 108 statements of negation are listed.    Martial Arts:  Many East Asian martial arts, due to their ties to Buddhism, consider 108 an important symbolic number. According to Marma Adi and Ayurveda, there are 108 pressure points in the body. The ultimate Gōjū-ryū kata, Suparinpei, translates to 108. The Yang Taijiquan long form and Wing Chun wooden dummy form taught by Ip Man have 108 moves.    Literature:  There are 108 outlaws in the Chinese classic "Water Margin/Outlaws of the Marsh." "Astrophil and Stella," the first English sonnet sequence, has 108 love sonnets. Edgar Allan Poe's poem "The Raven" has 108 lines.    Science:  Hassium, a chemical element, has the atomic number 108. The human body's vital organs begin to fail at an internal temperature of 108 degrees Fahrenheit. The distance of Earth from the Sun is about 108 times the diameter of the Sun.    Technology:  108 Mbit/s is a non-standard extension of IEEE 802.11g wireless network using channel bonding.    Sports:  An official Major League Baseball baseball has 108 stitches. The Chicago Cubs won the World Series in 2016 for the first time in 108 years.    Card Games:  There are 108 cards in a deck of UNO cards.    Other Fields:  In India, 108 is the toll-free emergency telephone number.   

Episode 014 - Zen Therapy w Larry Christensen - the Three As

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