And Back To One

Greetings from Spring Green!

This week, about 15 of us are in Wisconsin attending summer sesshin, seven days of intensive Zen training. We spend many hours doing zazen.

At the start of the week my mind sounds something like this: Check your posture. Breathe into hara. Count the breaths, onnnnnnnnnneeeee…twoooooooo. Sit up straighter. I wonder how my mom is doing? Relax the shoulders. Ouch, my right leg is falling asleep, if I just move it a t-i-n-y little bit, will the jiki yell, “Don’t move!”?

We’ve all been there – meditating while a thundering herd of thoughts runs through our minds.

Of all the guidelines I use during zazen, the one I use most regularly is counting my exhalations and, when I lose count, coming back to one.

It’s reassuring: I lose count, I catch myself, and I can always start again with sincere effort.

“Back to one” is especially resonant right now. As you may have heard, IZL’s sister organization the International Zen Dojo of Wisconsin has purchased an old mission church near downtown Madison. Our new Madison dojo needs a lot of TLC. Every time we start one project, we discover another. “And back to one,” I remind myself.

If you can, please add your sincere effort to help the Madison dojo reach its “$20K in 20 days” goal and check out the revamped website, thanks to Anita Taylor.

PS The Higgs boson, or “God particle,” is considered the building block of the universe and lasts only a millionth of a millionth of a millionth of a millionth of a second—taking tiny ferociously fast loops into and out of existence—so that the universe is continuously being reborn. Read more about “going back to one” in this context in this article from the winter solstice edition of Tricycle magazine: https://tricycle.org/trikedaily/winter-solstice-buddhism/

Please join us at an upcoming Zen Leader program:

FEBI-4U: Aug 2024

August 27

Explore your personality through 4 mind-body energy patterns and learn to access whichever serves best.

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Master Class: Sept 2024

September 12 – September 15

Annual training for coaches and instructors of Zen Leadership.

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FEBI Certification: Fall 2024

September 24 – November 5

Add this powerful mind-body personality assessment to your coaching and facilitation.

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HEAL 1: Sept 2024

September 26 – September 29

Apply the basic flips of ZL to healthcare with results and resilience in this accredited program.

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Zen Leader 1: Sept 2024

September 26 – September 29

Embody the basic flips of Zen Leadership from transforming problems to realizing a desired future.

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Zen Leader 2: Oct 2024

October 24 – October 27

Experience the freedom of reframing fears and conflict and the power of strengthening relationships.

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HEAL 2: Oct 2024

October 24 – October 27

HEAL 2 is where we work at removing fear, first in ourselves and then helping others. We’ll trace the roots of fear and share several ways to overcome it, along with skills to resolve conflict, empower others and deepen relationships.

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