♦ Thera’piya ::
Therapy
/ To Heal
HOW LONG
Does
Therapy Take ?
WHAT
KIND of Therapy ?
• How Ever Long It Takes….
( sorry: terrible but a truthful
and real honest
response )
• What Kind of Therapy ?
Complete or Incomplete
or Partial. It Takes What It Takes.
Nobody 'completes' therapy any more --
• What Kind of Therapy ?
Complete or Incomplete
or Partial. It Takes What It Takes.
Nobody 'completes' therapy any more --
Now we’re learning a self-empowering,
self-administered practice called ‘meditation’
-- it works ! You
could become a Buddha ?
Therapy today aims for feeling much 'Better'
thru many eclectic techniques, modes and methods
of awakening Mindfulness • Facilitated by a warm
engaging counselor • How Many Visits ?
Some say it's endless...
Some say it's endless...
...probably is
BUT -- Not For Too Long ! It's Addictive.
One’s therapy can become Co-dependent
The School of Learned Hel[p-Less-Ness.
-- 'Therapy' could also becoming 'Enabling'.
The School of Learned Hel[p-Less-Ness.
-- 'Therapy' could also becoming 'Enabling'.
SHORT term,
you do get to function much ‘Better’.
LONG term,
you can get into some deep re-discovery.
First -- we're looking together at basic function patterns.
We need to explore your
operating relationship with other Human Beings simply being Human. We'll also need to listen and explore your operating
relationships with ‘Time’, ‘Money’, ‘Closeness’ and ‘Distance’ --, Do,
Undo, Re-do and Restore’ and How well you play nicely or not with the other
boys and girls. We'll explore ‘Expectation’, 'Disappointment', ‘Critique’,
Rejection‘, Success’, 'Assumptions'.-- we'll need to explore your
operating relationship with ‘Judgment’,
‘Achievement’, 'Avoidence'. 'Joy'
and 'Acceptance' tends to heal 'Blame' and 'Shame' we’ll explore your relationship with other
People
and deeply private Experiences of Satisfaction or openly shared ‘Appreciation’ and Self-compassion Relationships that are Voiced and those Silent, Emptiness and then there is inconsolable Loss --it's the dear, dear people lost to us hurts the most.
and deeply private Experiences of Satisfaction or openly shared ‘Appreciation’ and Self-compassion Relationships that are Voiced and those Silent, Emptiness and then there is inconsolable Loss --it's the dear, dear people lost to us hurts the most.
...
stuff like that. "Looking at the way you do
one thing, is it the way you do everything ?"~
Question: ? How Long ?
• Therapy takes Time
• Therapy takes Effort.
• Therapy takes Determination and Will-power and it’s all supported on a fresh, new, calm base of mindfulness-energy where Depression just doesn't have a chance. Instead of anger or numb paralysis, or mal-function or a shut down-- meditation becomes the preferred mode of working on oneself.
________________________________
• One of the most classic, on-site 'Truths' gained in most Therapy' comes as a deep personal realization and a pointed reminder ( or the wrong end of a pointed stick )... that working on yourself, your difficult issues and wounded feelings - Feelings that took your whole life-time to develop - will certainly take some time to turn around....
Question: ? How Long ?
• Therapy takes Time
• Therapy takes Effort.
• Therapy takes Determination and Will-power and it’s all supported on a fresh, new, calm base of mindfulness-energy where Depression just doesn't have a chance. Instead of anger or numb paralysis, or mal-function or a shut down-- meditation becomes the preferred mode of working on oneself.
________________________________
• One of the most classic, on-site 'Truths' gained in most Therapy' comes as a deep personal realization and a pointed reminder ( or the wrong end of a pointed stick )... that working on yourself, your difficult issues and wounded feelings - Feelings that took your whole life-time to develop - will certainly take some time to turn around....
Again....
It’s a
core-understanding.
Please read it again.
Your difficult issues
and wounded feelings...
Are Feelings that took
your whole life-time
to develop -- they
will certainly take
some quality-time
to turn around...
-----------------------------
"Looking at the way
you do one thing --
is probably the way
you do most everything ?"
Your difficult issues
and wounded feelings...
Are Feelings that took
your whole life-time
to develop -- they
will certainly take
some quality-time
to turn around...
-----------------------------
"Looking at the way
you do one thing --
is probably the way
you do most everything ?"
“ It is still up
to you to choose ~
to join with ‘truth’ or with ‘illusion’.
But remember, that to choose one
is to let go of the other.
to join with ‘truth’ or with ‘illusion’.
But remember, that to choose one
is to let go of the other.
-------------------------------------------
When the way comes to an end,
then change - having changed,
you can then pass through." ~ The Tao
then change - having changed,
you can then pass through." ~ The Tao
The Struggle of Living Through Things
------------------------------------------------------
When wiggling through a hole,
the 'difficult' world looks different ~
than when scrubbed clean
by the wiggle and looking back. ~ Mark Nepo
the 'difficult' world looks different ~
than when scrubbed clean
by the wiggle and looking back. ~ Mark Nepo
“ I love you, gentlest of Ways –
you who ripened us ...
as we wrestled with you.” ~ Rilke ( Paris 1908 )
“ Individual people
stumble over pebbles,
never over mountains. ~ Emilie Cady
--------------------------------------
How Long then… ?
It does take Time.
It does take Time.
T I M E to Effect CHANGE.
Change in How Many Visits ?
.. How Long
Does
....'Therapy'
Take ?
......This
is a huge
........indefinable
..........indefinite
...........question
............
It takes
.............T
I M E .
MOSTLY, what Your Therapy
is asking you to ask of yourself
is for you to allow the growth and
the development of ONE # 1 major
'contributing factor': the cultivation
of Self-Compassion. Then it will start to work !
Therapy takes time and therapy takes work. Good weekly therapy is not just a good session with good facilitation in your therapist’s office -- but what you mindfully put into it in your day to day -- call it ‘All-the-time-Awareness’ towards a spacious, calm, clear and richer mindfulness that opens you for a much more aware Living Experience of Living.
"You've gotta plan on giving it some really open-ended exploratory time – Honestly: I really don't know yet - it's really person by person. Inner-Healing of any kind takes its own time –individually, person by person, situation by situation. And it's 'Teachable !!! Certainly one session is not enough to be effective and semi-lasting except as a basic introduction for the client and counselor to simply check each other out.
AND for the client to 'confirm' for them self - that they are hopefully doing something good by the active decision itself to seek counseling. In a preliminary session - maybe we can observe a rudimentary, basic 'diagnosis'. Let’s listen and look at all sorts of symptoms … Maybe. Maybe I can inform you in a few first sessions what we may be looking at as to how "a therapy" might develop, or maybe I could refer you somewhere that could work in a better balance with your particular needs.
Let's just consider seeing if even a common ground of open communication exists – and might grow between you and me, your counselor. You gotta' give 'it' a chance. What else can I say?... " We just ain't got No easy answers... Therapy takes Time and therapy takes Trust and Risk. One of the most classic therapy-gained truths comes as a personal realization and a pointed reminder --"... that working on yourself, your difficult issues and wounded feelings, Feelings that took your whole life-time to develop - will certainly take some time to turn around.
That's why there is offered a FREE phone consultation - First - before coming in here for the first time. Inner-Healing MUST be a very, very 'Human' thing. A 'therapist' or a 'counselor' is a special new 'human' In your life. Beginning 'therapy' is sort of a professional Blind-Date. Do you two even 'Like' each other… The FIT needs to be somewhat good.
So go easy on the
immediate impulse
to judge or evaluate
the first few session's
heightened impressions.
So give a fresh
new experience
a fresh new chance !
Therapy takes time and takes work and takes some money arrangements.
We're
looking at ‘how’ or ‘how not’ have you spent self-improvement
money on yourself before - And please,
do not expect only a few sessions to be sufficient: 'Self-healing'
your difficult issues and wounded feelings that took
your whole life-time to develop -will certainly take some CONSISTENT
PRACTICE-TIME TO OFF-SET THE DAMAGE DONE - Time to turn it around. There
are NO silver bullets, no magic pharmaceutical pills or divine interventions.
At some point: No fantasies. There IS a lot of 'resistance'. Of course
there is, that's how you muscled-up and survived so far... You and your
counselor, are going to have to work and walk and talk in each
other’s one-to-one presence – and simply be who you are - openly
truthful, trusting and honest. Baby Steps: Change
takes a willingness to actually ‘work’ the 'change' --and give an awakening
attentiveness the time it needs.
“ If Nothing
Changes,
Nothing Changes ! “
And at times you will experience
painful , sobbing moments, even days of it - and even 'scrape
bottom' where hopelessness lies... be brave. After a short time actually -
you will begin to consciously process as you progress - towards a
healthy noticeable 'shift' in your very own 'experience' of
yourself. Yet, it's gonna take some TIME.
“ Small victories are
self-realized baby-steps
that give back authentic,
realistic motivation to
the growing momentum
to your Restoration Journey.
I will promise you an awakening
of some small victories ! “ ~ Akasa Levi
" While one person hesitates because they
'feel' inferior and 'think' insecure thoughts –
The other is just busy making mistakes aplenty
and becoming quite superior."....~ The Tao
_________________________________
• You may be a very 'individual' or 'introverted'or 'introspective' person - all very good things.
Simply, you do turn naturally 'inward' – some
• You may be a very 'individual' or 'introverted'or 'introspective' person - all very good things.
Simply, you do turn naturally 'inward' – some
turn naturally 'outward',
you turn naturally 'inward'.
Maybe you're "born" creative or spiritually-oriented.
Maybe you're "born" creative or spiritually-oriented.
Yet you're struggling to
get everyday ‘worldly’ problems
and emotional issues handled realistically and with
a sort of 'sacred integrity' as well – yet without you
having to commit to any out-dated or un-relatable
therapies or 'religious paths' whatsoever.
• On the other hand, many Western styles of therapy
and emotional issues handled realistically and with
a sort of 'sacred integrity' as well – yet without you
having to commit to any out-dated or un-relatable
therapies or 'religious paths' whatsoever.
• On the other hand, many Western styles of therapy
or ‘self-help programs' or
personal growth seminars
can sound quite 'scripted' and kinda corporate flavored
can sound quite 'scripted' and kinda corporate flavored
-- and just not your bag at all - as us old
hippies would say.
The spirituality of contemporary Buddhism is so flexibly open and universal ( and agnostic ) - that it canalways be expressed in your own way. Right at start, it's all about you." Working on yourself, your difficult issues and wounded feelings, feelings that took your whole life-time to develop - will certainly take some time to turn around.
• So you probably need a 'Non-traditional Therapist' who is them-self “non-mainstream” minded:a counselor who genuinely understands what it is to be 'Unconventional' – empathicallyunderstanding what is an 'uncommon' lifestyle - or a life in the arts
or intellect – and truly
"gets" it about special people who are quite different, unique or
gifted, unusual or non-ordinary – but quite unhappy.
"But therapy is not a one-shot deal. There are no 'miracles'. No silver bullets. It'll take months of consciously applied inner-practice-Work. Like doing the Gym. You've gotta' accept that you yourself are the front end of the best of miracles ...
"But therapy is not a one-shot deal. There are no 'miracles'. No silver bullets. It'll take months of consciously applied inner-practice-Work. Like doing the Gym. You've gotta' accept that you yourself are the front end of the best of miracles ...
... your Life."
• At Spiritual Adulthood Counseling we offer
• At Spiritual Adulthood Counseling we offer
NO 'religious'
preaching or dogma - nothing
to blindly
"Believe" in. Here, Healthy "Doubt" reigns.
♦ THERAPY:
HOW LONG ?
Does Therapy Take ?
How Ever Long It Takes.
( sorry: terrible but truthful,
. real.honest response )
• What Kind of Therapy ?
Complete or Incomplete
or Partial. It Takes What It Takes.
Nobody 'completes' Therapy any more --
You'd be a Buddha ? Therapy today
aims for feeling 'Better' thru many eclectic
modes and methods • How Many Visits ?
Some say it's endless...
...probably is
BUT -- Not Too Long ! It's Addictive.
The School of Learned Hel[p-Less-Ness.
Otherwise-- 'Therapy' could also be 'Enabling'.
SHORT term, you get to function much ‘Better’.
LONG term, you get into deep discovery.
Maybe. maybe not... First -- we're looking together at basic function patterns.
We need to explore your operating relationship with other Human Beings simply being Human.
We'll also need to listen and explore your operating relationships with ‘Time’, ‘Money’, ‘Closeness’ and ‘Distance’ --, Do, Undo, Re-do and Restore’ and How well you play nicely or not with the other boys and girls. We'll explore ‘Expectation’, 'Disappointment', ‘Critique’, Rejection‘, Success’, 'Assumptions'.-- we'll need to explore your operating relationship with ‘Judgment’, ‘Achievement’, 'Avoidence'. 'Joy' and 'Acceptance' tends to heal 'Blame' and 'Shame'
we’ll explore your relationship with other People and deeply private Experiences of Satisfaction or
openly shared ‘Appreciation’ and Self-compassion Relationships that are Voiced
and those Silent,
Emptiness and then there is inconsolable Loss --
it's the dear, dear people lost to us hurts the most.
... stuff like that.
"Looking at the way you do one thing, is it the way you do everything ?"~
Queation: ? How Long ?
• Therapy takes Time
• Therapy takes Effort.
• Therapy takes Will-power
and a mindfulness-energy
Depression just doesn't have...
________________________________
• One of the most classic 'Truths' gained in Therapy' comes as a deep personal realization and a pointed reminder ( or the wrong end of a pointed stick )... that working on yourself, your difficult issues and wounded feelings - Feelings that took your whole life-time to develop - will certainly take some time to turn around....
Again....
Your difficult issues
and wounded feelings...
feelings that took
your whole life-time
to develop --
will certainly take
some time
to turn around...
"Looking at the way
you do one thing,
is probably the way
you do everything ?"
“ It is still up to you to choose ~
to join with ‘truth’ or with ‘illusion’.
But remember, that to choose one
is to let go of the other.
When the way comes to an end,
then change - having changed,
you can then pass through." ~ The Tao
The School of Learned Hel[p-Less-Ness.
Otherwise-- 'Therapy' could also be 'Enabling'.
SHORT term, you get to function much ‘Better’.
Again....
Your difficult issues
and wounded feelings...
feelings that took
your whole life-time
to develop --
will certainly take
some time
to turn around...
"Looking at the way
you do one thing,
is probably the way
you do everything ?"
“ It is still up to you to choose ~
to join with ‘truth’ or with ‘illusion’.
But remember, that to choose one
is to let go of the other.
The Struggle of Living Through Things
-------------------------------------------------------then change - having changed,
you can then pass through." ~ The Tao
♦ Therapy:
HOW LONG Does Therapy Take ? • What Kind of Therapy ?
♦ THERAPY:
HOW LONG ?
Does Therapy Take ?
How Ever Long It Takes.
( sorry: terrible but truthful,
. real.honest response )
• What Kind of Therapy ?
Complete or Incomplete
or Partial. It Takes What It Takes.
Nobody 'completes' Therapy any more --
You'd be a Buddha ? Therapy today
aims for feeling 'Better' thru many eclectic
modes and methods • How Many Visits ?
Some say it's endless...
...probably is
BUT -- Not Too Long ! It's Addictive.
HOW LONG ?
Does Therapy Take ?
How Ever Long It Takes.
( sorry: terrible but truthful,
. real.honest response )
• What Kind of Therapy ?
Complete or Incomplete
or Partial. It Takes What It Takes.
Nobody 'completes' Therapy any more --
You'd be a Buddha ? Therapy today
aims for feeling 'Better' thru many eclectic
modes and methods • How Many Visits ?
Some say it's endless...
...probably is
BUT -- Not Too Long ! It's Addictive.
The School of Learned Hel[p-Less-Ness.
Otherwise-- 'Therapy' could also be 'Enabling'.
SHORT term, you get to function much ‘Better’.
LONG
term, you get into deep discovery.
Maybe. maybe
not...
First -- we're looking together at basic function patterns.
First -- we're looking together at basic function patterns.
We need to
explore your operating relationshipwith other Human Beings simply being Human.
We'll also
need to listen and explore your operating relationships with ‘Time’,
‘Money’, ‘Closeness’ and ‘Distance’ --, Do, Undo, Re-do and Restore’ and How
well you play nicely or not with the other boys and girls. We'll explore
‘Expectation’, 'Disappointment', ‘Critique’, Rejection‘, Success’,
'Assumptions'.-- we'll need to explore your operating relationship with
‘Judgment’, ‘Achievement’, 'Avoidence'. 'Joy'
and 'Acceptance' tends to heal 'Blame' and 'Shame'
we’ll
explore your relationship with other People
and deeply private Experiences of Satisfaction or
and deeply private Experiences of Satisfaction or
openly
shared ‘Appreciation’ and Self-compassion Relationships that are
Voiced and those Silent,
Emptiness
and then there is inconsolable Loss --
it's the
dear, dear people lost to us hurts the most.
... stuff like
that.
"Looking at the way you do one thing, is it the way you do everything ?"~
Queation: ? How Long ?
• Therapy takes Time
• Therapy takes Effort.
• Therapy takes Will-power
and a mindfulness-energy
Depression just doesn't have...
________________________________
• One of the most classic 'Truths' gained in Therapy' comes as a deep personal realization and a pointed reminder ( or the wrong end of a pointed stick )... that working on yourself, your difficult issues and wounded feelings - Feelings that took your whole life-time to develop - will certainly take some time to turn around....
"Looking at the way you do one thing, is it the way you do everything ?"~
Queation: ? How Long ?
• Therapy takes Time
• Therapy takes Effort.
• Therapy takes Will-power
and a mindfulness-energy
Depression just doesn't have...
________________________________
• One of the most classic 'Truths' gained in Therapy' comes as a deep personal realization and a pointed reminder ( or the wrong end of a pointed stick )... that working on yourself, your difficult issues and wounded feelings - Feelings that took your whole life-time to develop - will certainly take some time to turn around....
Again....
Your difficult issues
and wounded feelings...
feelings that took
your whole life-time
to develop --
will certainly take
some time
to turn around...
"Looking at the way
you do one thing,
is probably the way
you do everything ?"
“ It is still up to you to choose ~
to join with ‘truth’ or with ‘illusion’.
But remember, that to choose one
is to let go of the other.
-------------------------------------------
When the way
comes to an end,
then change - having changed,
you can then pass through." ~ The Tao
then change - having changed,
you can then pass through." ~ The Tao
The Struggle of Living Through Things
When wiggling through a hole,
the 'difficult' world looks different ~
than when scrubbed clean
by the wiggle and looking back. ~ Mark Nepo
the 'difficult' world looks different ~
than when scrubbed clean
by the wiggle and looking back. ~ Mark Nepo
“ I love you, gentlest of Ways –
you who ripened us ...
as we wrestled with you.”
~ Rilke ( Paris 1908 )
“ Individual people
stumble over pebbles,
never over mountains. ~ Emilie Cady
How Long ?
It takes Time…
T I M E .
How Many Visits ?
.. How Long Does
....'Therapy' Take ?
......This is a huge
........indefinable
..........indefinite
...........question
............ It takes
.............T I M E .
MOSTLY, what Your Therapy
is asking you to ask of yourself
is for you to allow the growth and
the development of ONE # 1 major
'contributing factor': the cultivation
of Self-Compassion. Then it will work !
Therapy takes time and therapy takes work. Good therapy is not just a good session with good facilitation in your therapist’s office -- but what you put into it in your day to day -- call it ‘All-the-time-Awareness’ towards a spacious, clear and richer mindfulness that opens you for a much more aware Living Experience of Living.
"You've gotta plan on giving it some really open-ended exploratory time – Honestly: I really don't know -
it's really person by person.
Inner-Healing of any kind takes its own time – individually, person by person, situation by situation. And it's 'Teachable !
Certainly one session is not enough to be effective and semi-lasting except as a basic introduction for the client and counselor to simply check each other out.
AND for the client to 'confirm' for themself - that they are hopefully doing something good by the active decision itself to seek counseling. In a preliminary session - maybe I can observe a basic 'diagnosis'. Maybe. Maybe I can inform you in a few first sessions what we may be looking at as to how "a therapy" might develop, or maybe I could refer you somewhere that could work in a better balance with your particular needs. Maybe.....
Let's just consider seeing if even a common ground of open communication exists – and might grow between you and me, your counselor.
You gotta' give 'it' a chance. What else can I say?...
" We just ain't got No easy answers..."
" We just ain't got No easy answers..."
Therapy takes Time and therapy takes Trust and Risk.
One of the most classic therapy-gained truths comes
as a personal realization and a pointed reminder --"... that working on yourself, your difficult issues and wounded feelings, feelings that took your whole life-time to develop - will certainly take some time to turn around.
That's why I offer a FREE phone consultation -
First - before coming in here for the first time.
Inner-Healing MUST be a very, very 'Human' thing.
A 'therapist' or a 'counselor' is a special new 'human'
In your life. Beginning 'therapy' is sort of a professional Blind-Date. Do you two even 'Like' each other
So go easy on the
immediate impulse
to judge or evaluate
the first few session's
impressions.
So give a fresh
new experience
a fresh new chance !
Therapy takes time and takes work. We're also looking
at ‘how’ or ‘how not’ have you spent money on yourself before - And please, do not expect only a few sessions to be sufficient: 'Self-healing' your difficult issues and wounded feelings that took your whole life-time to develop - will certainly take some time to turn around. There are NO silver bullets, no magic pills or divine interventions. No fantasies. There IS a lot of 'resistance'. Of course there is, that's how you muscled-up and survived so far...
You and me, your counselor, are going to have to work and walk and talk in each other’s one-to-one presence -- very intimately – and be openly truthful, trusting and honest. Change takes a willingness to work the 'change' and give it time -- and for us to responsibly KNOW that....
“ If Nothing Changes, Nothing Changes ! “
And at times you will experience painful , sobbing moments, even days - and even 'scrape bottom' where hopelessness lies... be brave. After a short time actually - you will begin to consciously process as you progress - towards a healthy noticeable 'shift' in your very own 'experience' of yourself. Yet, it's gonna take some TIME.
And at times you will experience painful , sobbing moments, even days - and even 'scrape bottom' where hopelessness lies... be brave. After a short time actually - you will begin to consciously process as you progress - towards a healthy noticeable 'shift' in your very own 'experience' of yourself. Yet, it's gonna take some TIME.
“ Small victories, and
self realized baby-steps
give definite, authentic,
realistic motivation
and momentum
to the journey.
I will promise you
some small victories ! “ ~ Akasa Levi
" While one person hesitates because they
'feel' inferior and 'think' insecure thoughts –
The other is just busy making mistakes aplenty
and becoming quite superior."....~ The Tao _________________________________
• You may be a very 'individual' or 'introverted'
or 'introspective' person - all very good things.
Simply, you do turn naturally 'inward' – some
Simply, you do turn naturally 'inward' – some
turn naturally 'outward', you turn naturally 'inward'.
Maybe you're "born" creative or spiritually-oriented.
Maybe you're "born" creative or spiritually-oriented.
Yet you're struggling to get everyday ‘worldly’ problems
and emotional issues handled realistically and with
a sort of 'sacred integrity' as well – yet without you
having to commit to any out-dated or un-relatable
therapies or 'religious paths' whatsoever.
and emotional issues handled realistically and with
a sort of 'sacred integrity' as well – yet without you
having to commit to any out-dated or un-relatable
therapies or 'religious paths' whatsoever.
• On the other hand, many Western styles of therapy
or ‘self-help programs' or personal growth seminars
can sound quite 'scripted' and kinda corporate flavored
can sound quite 'scripted' and kinda corporate flavored
-- and just not your bag at all - as us old hippies would say.
The spirituality of contemporary Buddhism is so flexibly
open and universal ( and agnostic ) - that it can always be
expressed in your own way. Right at start, it's all about you.
" Working on yourself, your difficult issues and wounded feelings, feelings that took your whole life-time to develop - will certainly take some time to turn around.
• So you probably need a 'Non-traditional Therapist'
who is them-self “non-mainstream” minded:
a counselor who genuinely understands what it is
to be 'Unconventional' – empathically understanding
what is an 'uncommon' lifestyle - or a life in the arts
or intellect – and truly "gets" it about special peoplewhat is an 'uncommon' lifestyle - or a life in the arts
who are quite different, unique or gifted, unusual
or non-ordinary – but quite unhappy.
"But therapy is not a one-shot deal.
"But therapy is not a one-shot deal.
There are no 'miracles'. No silver bullets.
It'll take months of consciously applied
inner-practice-Work. Like doing the Gym.
You've gotta' accept that you yourself
You've gotta' accept that you yourself
are the front end of the best of miracles ...
... your Life."
• At Spiritual Adulthood Counseling we offer
• At Spiritual Adulthood Counseling we offer
NO 'religious' preaching or dogma - nothing
to blindly "Believe" in. Here, "Doubt" reigns.
We just ain't got No easy answers . . . .
Just the natural emergence of your own individual True 'Knowing’ and personal excellence !It's taken you a long time to become your very own "Bodhisattva" - a sort of "Buddha-in-the-making". An there you are Becoming Happy as the True You.
• We mentor you in your very own inner-discovery
of a very 'natural unfolding' – a calm, true unshakable
balance of boundless wisdom and joy. And finding
your own innate good humor.
Liberating a new sense of caring and connectedness
with yourself, other people and the universe around you.
Discover and unfold a rich, enhanced, expanded
inner-acceptance and outer-effectiveness.
inner-acceptance and outer-effectiveness.
But it's not a one-shot deal. It'll take Work.
• ‘True’ Happiness – reasonably independent of the
• ‘True’ Happiness – reasonably independent of the
unavoidable effects of ‘everyday’ life-circumstances
and conditions. Yet, totally independent of the
and conditions. Yet, totally independent of the
"Self"-created 'Stories' and 'Drama' you habitually
hurt yourself with. Find really 'true inner-freedom' as
hurt yourself with. Find really 'true inner-freedom' as
they've spoken about in ancient Asian teachings
for many millennia !
• At 'The Spiritual Adulthood Counseling Project'
• At 'The Spiritual Adulthood Counseling Project'
we offer a uniquely combined East/West counseling:
an innovative, wholistic, Eastern/Asian influenced
an innovative, wholistic, Eastern/Asian influenced
'spiritual variation' of the mind-therapies, clearly based
in the grounded, pragmatic, practical, highly rational
Buddhist psychology teachings. Created for intelligent
and sensitive people - intellectual, gifted or creative
people - odd, wonderfully uncommon people…
"You began as a Creation.
Now become a Creator. Never, never wait at a barrier." ~ Rumi
"You began as a Creation.
Now become a Creator. Never, never wait at a barrier." ~ Rumi
"Our 'constant inquiry' is our passion –
and our passion itself is our daily task.
'Inquiry' is our passion. From there –
the rest is the marvelous madness of art."
~ Henry James, "The Middle Years"
_________________________
.
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here /\ I
OK ~ So, How L o n g Does 'Therapy' Take ?
“ It is still up to you to choose ~
to join with ‘truth’ or with ‘illusion’.
But remember, that to choose one
is to let go of the other.
“ I love you, gentlest of Ways –
you who ripened us ...
as we wrestled with you.”
“ Individualist people
stumble over pebbles,
never over mountains.” ~ Emilie Cady
You've gotta plan on giving it some really open-ended exploratory time – Honestly: I really don't know - it's really person by person. Inner-Healing of any kind takes its own time – individually, person by person, situation by situation. And it's 'Teachable !
Certainly one session is not enough to be effective and semi-lasting except as a basic introduction for the client and counselor to simply check each other out.
AND for the client to 'confirm' for Themself - that they are hopefully doing something good by the active decision itself to seek counseling. In a preliminary session - maybe I can observe a basic 'diagnosis'. Maybe. Maybe I can inform you in a few first sessions what we may be looking at as to how "a course of therapy" might develop, or maybe I could refer you somewhere that could work in a better balance with your particular needs. Maybe. Let's just consider seeing if even a common ground of open communication exists – and might grow between you and me, your counselor.
Therapy is where
two people sit down
and work on one
of them -- together.
Therapy takes Time and therapy takes Trust and Risk. One of the most classic therapy-gained truths comes as a personal realization and a pointed reminder ( or a pointed stick )
"... that working on yourself, your difficult issues and wounded feelings -- feelings that took your whole life-time to develop - will certainly take some time to turn around."
That's why I offer a FREE phone consultation -
“ Small victories, and
" While one person hesitates because they
'feel' inferior and 'think' insecure thoughts –
The other is just busy making mistakes aplenty
and becoming quite superior."....~ The Tao
The Cultural Creatives
• So you probably need a 'Non-traditional Therapist'
• At Spiritual Adulthood Counseling we offer
“ It is still up to you to choose ~
to join with ‘truth’ or with ‘illusion’.
But remember, that to choose one
is to let go of the other.
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here /\ I
( 5 ) • HOW LONG Does Therapy Take ?
• What Kind of Therapy ? • How Many Visits ?
Some say it's endless... probably is
There's whole assortments of human
There's whole assortments of human
cultural artifact behind all this.
This goes for absolutely everyone.
OK ~ So, How L o n g Does 'Therapy' Take ?
There are a lot of basic factors involved ~
Hidden in these poetic quotes that 'prompt' you,
are some forthright responses to this Question:
Therapy takes Time and therapy takes Effort.
Hidden in these poetic quotes that 'prompt' you,
are some forthright responses to this Question:
Therapy takes Time and therapy takes Effort.
___________________________________
One of the most classic therapy-gained truths comes as a personal realization and a pointed reminder ( or a pointed stick ) "... that working on yourself, your difficult issues and wounded feelings - feelings that took your whole life-time to develop - will certainly take some time to turn around."
“ It is still up to you to choose ~
to join with ‘truth’ or with ‘illusion’.
But remember, that to choose one
is to let go of the other.
When the way comes to an end,
then change - having changed,
you can then pass through." ~ The Tao
then change - having changed,
you can then pass through." ~ The Tao
----------------------------------------------------
The Struggle of Living Through Things
The Struggle of Living Through Things
------------------------------------------------------
When wiggling through a hole,
the 'difficult' world looks different ~
than when scrubbed clean
by the wiggle and looking back. ~ Mark Nepo
the 'difficult' world looks different ~
than when scrubbed clean
by the wiggle and looking back. ~ Mark Nepo
“ I love you, gentlest of Ways –
you who ripened us ...
as we wrestled with you.”
~ Rilke on Buddhism ( Paris 1908 )
“ Individualist people
stumble over pebbles,
never over mountains.” ~ Emilie Cady
It takes Time…
T I M E .
How Many Visits ?
.. How Long Does
....'Therapy' Take ?
......This is a huge
........indefinable
..........indefinite
...........question
............ It takes
.............T I M E .
Again -- How L o n g
Does 'Therapy' Take ?
Long term, Short term,
Does 'Therapy' Take ?
Long term, Short term,
We need to explore
your whole operating
relationship with "Time"
your whole operating
relationship with "Time"
We need to explore
your whole relationship
with "Achievement"
your whole relationship
with "Achievement"
and "Accomplishment"
and private Experiences
of personal Satisfaction
and private Experiences
of personal Satisfaction
and inconsolable Loss...
stuff like that.
Hidden in these wonderful, 'vague' teaching-quotes are some sincere responses to this quite ancient Question:
Therapy takes time and therapy takes work. Good therapy is not just in your therapist’s office -- but what you put into it in your day to day -- call it ‘All-the-time-Awareness’ towards a spacious, clear and richer mindfulness that opens you for a much more aware Living Experience of Living.
Therapy takes time and therapy takes work. Good therapy is not just in your therapist’s office -- but what you put into it in your day to day -- call it ‘All-the-time-Awareness’ towards a spacious, clear and richer mindfulness that opens you for a much more aware Living Experience of Living.
You've gotta plan on giving it some really open-ended exploratory time – Honestly: I really don't know - it's really person by person. Inner-Healing of any kind takes its own time – individually, person by person, situation by situation. And it's 'Teachable !
Certainly one session is not enough to be effective and semi-lasting except as a basic introduction for the client and counselor to simply check each other out.
AND for the client to 'confirm' for Themself - that they are hopefully doing something good by the active decision itself to seek counseling. In a preliminary session - maybe I can observe a basic 'diagnosis'. Maybe. Maybe I can inform you in a few first sessions what we may be looking at as to how "a course of therapy" might develop, or maybe I could refer you somewhere that could work in a better balance with your particular needs. Maybe. Let's just consider seeing if even a common ground of open communication exists – and might grow between you and me, your counselor.
Therapy is where
two people sit down
and work on one
of them -- together.
You gotta' give 'it' a chance. What else can I say?...
" We just ain't got No easy answers...."
" We just ain't got No easy answers...."
Therapy takes Time and therapy takes Trust and Risk. One of the most classic therapy-gained truths comes as a personal realization and a pointed reminder ( or a pointed stick )
"... that working on yourself, your difficult issues and wounded feelings -- feelings that took your whole life-time to develop - will certainly take some time to turn around."
That's why I offer a FREE phone consultation -
First - before coming in here for the first time.
Inner-Healing MUST be a very, very 'Human' thing.
Inner-Healing MUST be a very, very 'Human' thing.
A 'therapist' or a 'counselor' is a special new 'human'
in your life. Beginning to go to 'therapy' is sort of a professional Blind-Date. Do you two even 'Like' each other ?
So go easy on the immediate impulse to judge or evaluate these first few session impressions. So give a fresh new experience a fresh new chance
Therapy takes time and takes work. We're also looking at ‘how’ or ‘how not’ have you spent money on yourself before - And, please, do not expect only a few sessions to be sufficient: 'Self-healing' your difficult issues and wounded feelings - feelings that took your whole life-time to develop - will certainly take some time to turn around.
There are NO silver bullets, no magic pills or divine interventions. No fantasies. There IS a lot of 'resistance'. Of course there is, that's how you muscled-up and survived so far...
You and me, your counselor, are going to have to work, walk and talk in each other’s one-to-one presence -- very intimidating and ‘creepy’ intimate – and be openly truthful, trusting and honest. Change takes a willingness to work and give time -- and responsibly KNOW that….
“ If Nothing Changes, Nothing Changes ! “
And at times you will experience painful, sobbing moments, even days - and even 'scrape bottom' where hopelessness lies... be brave. After a short time actually - you will begin to consciously process as you progress in your mindfulness meditation - towards a healthy noticeable 'shift' in your very own 'experience' of yourself. Yet, it's gonna take some TIME.
And at times you will experience painful, sobbing moments, even days - and even 'scrape bottom' where hopelessness lies... be brave. After a short time actually - you will begin to consciously process as you progress in your mindfulness meditation - towards a healthy noticeable 'shift' in your very own 'experience' of yourself. Yet, it's gonna take some TIME.
“ Small victories, and
self realized baby-steps
give definite, authentic,
realistic motivation
and momentum
to the journey.
I will promise you
some small victories ! “ ~ Doc Akasa-ji
" While one person hesitates because they
'feel' inferior and 'think' insecure thoughts –
The other is just busy making mistakes aplenty
and becoming quite superior."....~ The Tao
_________________________________
The Cultural Creatives
by P. Ray and S. Anderson.
• There is now a rapidly growing number
of uncharted, bright American people
who basically need a whole other level,
who basically need a whole other level,
a much higher meta-level, an intelligent,
deeper level of personally self-created
Inner-Unfolding of Spirit.
They are not seeking 'religion'
– and we wish to assist you
as you bring yourself
to this new level of a natural,
highly conscious, sensitive awareness
– and fearless unfolding...
below the surface of American culture,
below the surface of American culture,
An awake, new, American indigenous
'revolutionary' movement is emerging.
.
• You may be a very 'individual' or 'introverted'
or 'introspective' person - all very good things.
Simply, you do turn naturally 'inward' – some
Simply, you do turn naturally 'inward' – some
turn naturally 'outward', you turn naturally 'inward'.
Maybe you're "born" creative or spiritually-oriented.
Maybe you're "born" creative or spiritually-oriented.
Yet you're struggling to get everyday ‘worldly’ problems
and emotional issues handled realistically and with
a sort of 'sacred integrity' as well – yet without you
having to commit to any out-dated or un-relatable
therapies or 'religious paths' whatsoever.
• On the other hand, many Western styles of therapy
or ‘self-help programs' or personal growth seminars
can sound quite 'scripted' and kinda corporate flavored
can sound quite 'scripted' and kinda corporate flavored
-- and just not your bag at all - as us old hippies would say..
The spirituality of contemporary Buddhism is so flexibly
open and universal ( and agnostic ) - that it can always be
expressed in your own way. Right at start, it's all about you.
One of the most classic therapy-gained truths comes as a personal realization and a pointed reminder ( or a pointed stick ) "... that working on yourself, your difficult issues and wounded feelings, feelings that took your whole life-time to develop - will certainly take some time to turn around.
open and universal ( and agnostic ) - that it can always be
expressed in your own way. Right at start, it's all about you.
One of the most classic therapy-gained truths comes as a personal realization and a pointed reminder ( or a pointed stick ) "... that working on yourself, your difficult issues and wounded feelings, feelings that took your whole life-time to develop - will certainly take some time to turn around.
• So you probably need a 'Non-traditional Therapist'
who is them-self “non-mainstream” minded:
a counselor who genuinely understands what it is
a counselor who genuinely understands what it is
to be 'Unconventional' – empathically understanding
what is an 'uncommon' lifestyle - or a life in the arts
what is an 'uncommon' lifestyle - or a life in the arts
or intellect – and truly "gets" it about special people
who are quite different, unique or gifted, unusual
who are quite different, unique or gifted, unusual
or non-ordinary – but quite unhappy.
"But therapy is not a one-shot deal.
"But therapy is not a one-shot deal.
There are no 'miracles'. No silver bullets.
It'll take months of consciously applied
inner-practice-Work. Like doing the Gym.
You've gotta' accept that you yourself
You've gotta' accept that you yourself
are the front end of the best of miracles ...
... your Life."
• At Spiritual Adulthood Counseling we offer
NO 'religious' preaching or dogma - nothing
to blindly "Believe" in. Here in Buddhism,
healthy "Doubt" reigns supreme !
We just ain't got No easy answers . . . .
Just the natural emergence of your own individual True 'Knowing’ and personal excellence !It's taken you a long time to become your very own "Bodhisattva" - a sort of "Buddha-in-the-making". And there you are Becoming Happy as the True You.
• We mentor you in your very own inner-discovery
• We mentor you in your very own inner-discovery
of a very 'natural unfolding' – a calm, true unshakable
balance of boundless wisdom and joy. And finding
your own innate good humor.
Liberating a new sense of caring and connectedness
with yourself, other people and the universe around you.
Discover and unfold a rich, enhanced, expanded
inner-acceptance and outer-effectiveness.
inner-acceptance and outer-effectiveness.
But it's not a one-shot deal. It'll take Work.
• ‘True’ Happiness – reasonably independent of the
• ‘True’ Happiness – reasonably independent of the
unavoidable effects of ‘everyday’ life-circumstances
and conditions. Yet, totally independent of the
and conditions. Yet, totally independent of the
"Self"-created 'Stories' and 'Drama' you habitually
hurt yourself with. Find really 'true inner-freedom' as
hurt yourself with. Find really 'true inner-freedom' as
they've spoken about in ancient Asian teachings
for many millennia !
• At 'The Spiritual Adulthood Counseling Project'
• At 'The Spiritual Adulthood Counseling Project'
we offer a uniquely combined East/West counseling:
an innovative, wholistic, Eastern/Asian influenced
an innovative, wholistic, Eastern/Asian influenced
'spiritual variation' of the mind-therapies, clearly based
in the grounded, pragmatic, practical, highly rational
Buddhist psychology teachings. Created for intelligent
and sensitive people - intellectual, gifted or creative
people - odd, wonderfully uncommon people…
"You began as a Creation.
Now become a Creator.
Never, never wait at a barrier." ~ Rumi
"Our 'constant inquiry' is our passion –
and our passion itself is our daily task.
'Inquiry' is our passion. From there –
the rest is the marvelous madness of ar
~ Henry James, "The Middle Years"
“ It is still up to you to choose ~
to join with ‘truth’ or with ‘illusion’.
But remember, that to choose one
is to let go of the other.
When the way comes to an end,
then change - having changed,
you can then pass through." ~ The Tao
AWARENESS MEDITATION
by Akasa Levi
"There's an Art to becoming a realized human being.
Training exists. And it works."
Sri Ananda Maitreya (Maha Nayake Thera)
1895-1998 Balangoda, Sri Lankahttp://www.artofliving.com/blog/home.php?&a=5
What do you want for yourself?
then change - having changed,
you can then pass through." ~ The Tao
AWARENESS MEDITATION
by Akasa Levi
"There's an Art to becoming a realized human being.
Training exists. And it works."
Sri Ananda Maitreya (Maha Nayake Thera)
1895-1998 Balangoda, Sri Lankahttp://www.artofliving.com/blog/home.php?&a=5
What do you want for yourself?
Buddhist Style Meditation & Self-Inquiry is an Invitation to Be Willing to Sit within Your Very Own Mind. It is a uniquely sane approach to mental Clarity, which can offer you vital access to Human Kindness & Self Transformation. You want that for yourself? What do you want for yourself?
By means of meditation we can teach our mind to be calm & balanced: Calm. Then, within this calmness itself is found an already resident richness and a potent potential, an innate creativity, a ready-to-go inner-knowledge which can gift our lives to be boundlessly satisfying and meaningful. Then we can tap the true healing qualities of our mind. While the mind may be what traps us in unhealthy patterns of stress and imbalance, it is also the mind which can free us.
The practice of a Buddhist-style Awareness Meditation uncovers the awakened state of mind. That's what it does. In order to understand what is meant by "awakened", it is necessary to understand what is meant by the opposite of awakened.
The opposite of awake is "asleep". Being asleep refers to the joyless cycle of conflict and hassle which pervades so much of our daily lives. We shuttle between feeling that things are terrific or that things are terrible, and we become wrapped up in continuous anxiety trying to establish some sort of solid ground. This suffering produces fear, anger, frustration and confusion - that blocks and shuts down our true ongoing experience of ourselves. What a loss!
In meditation -- for a little while (in the beginning). In meditation, by seeing, by softening, by giving up and letting go of this habitual knee-jerk struggle, we are able to fully appreciate each "experience" and the exquisite power, the"in-the-moment" richness of what it means to just be alive. With clarified awareness, we no longer see our "experiences"just in marketable terms of what it can get or do for us or how it can hurt us. This grand appreciation is the first glimpse of what it means to be awake.
Meditation is the heart of the practice. Although it starts with specific techniques, Awareness Meditation is ultimately a path of very clear seeing and a wholesomely spontaneous way of being. No spiritual contortions, contrivances or gimmicks. Meditation is a process of slicing through the views, opinions, commentary and judgments which normally cloud our experience of life. No, the intellect or feelings are not rejected -- they are liberated from the bondage of both hope and fear, becoming less confused and more enhanced and vivid to awareness. Meditation is, quite simply, just being in the present moment, clear -- between the "this" & the "that" - Media. Right here in the "middle". The middle of the moment. That's what "meditation" means.
In an Awareness Meditation Class or Retreat, you work with silence, stillness and inquiry, to train the mind to come back again and again to the here and now. Here & Now. Directly experiencing just "what is" - and just what "isn't". The practice of meditation and the goal of meditation are the same: to be Awake.
So, are you sincerely interested in giving up your notions of self-protection, the need to be "right", the need to be in"control"-- and in letting go of out-dated thought patterns, heavy programmed agenda, naive belief systems and confusing attachment-avoidance tendencies -- and taking up a self-perpetuating process by which you can wake yourself up? Then you will be treated to a constantly expanding spacious clarity of life based on non-clinging and non-confusion. You'll know what's what! And you'll be free!
Complete awakening has been achieved by ordinary human beings. Enlightened awakening is not a promise, a heaven, a dream or an idea. It is actually possible to seek out our own liberation and to attain a completely awakened state of mind. Just as sleep belongs to us, is inside us, so a meditatively clear wakefulness is inside us. Wakefulness is happening all the time, and the meditation practice consists of merely training ourselves to become aware of it. That makes sense, doesn't it. Sure it does.
We say "Buddhist-style meditation", not "Buddhist". We are not at all interested in you having a relationship with Buddha (he's dead) or in you becoming a "Buddhist," (you can't, there is no such thing). These meditation approaches are merely human developments in evolving human consciousness over the course of time. We offer no salvation and there is nothing to save.
The Laughing Buddha Sangha
From Dhamma Wiki
The Laughing Buddha Sangha:
Address: 2046 Fourteenth Street Santa Monica CA 90405
Tradition: Theravada, Sri Lanka Amarapura Nikaya
Affiliation: Dharma Vijaya Vihara Los Angeles
Phone: 310 450 2268
Website: www.zentrance.com
Spiritual Director: Akasa Levi (Phone: 310 450 2268)
Notes and Events:
The LAUGHING BUDDHA SANGHA offers a very eclectic "Inquiry into Self" practice combining the calm observation approach of traditional Vipassana Mindfulness with the crazy wisdom irrationality of Zen Non-Duality which short-circuits the obsessive self-absorbed, self-identified mind.
Newcomers: Beginners very welcome! You will be very patiently guided. Newcomers are asked to please inquire first by phone to see if this group is possibly even for you. This sitting group encourages highly inquisitive, unflappable people with a natural, deep love of learning who relish the abstract, and even the absurd - with a genuine taste for the indefinable existential stuff.
Experienced Meditators who are seeking a much deeper questioning into Self - and a de-mystifying, open-minded, caring conversation into Wisdom, Empathy and Spiritual Reality in our Western life-style + some poetry and laughing! Our practice is informed by traditional Theravada Buddha Dharma for clarity of view.
"BUDDHA: The JOYOUS ICONOCLAST" Study Series – offers a much more outside-the-box-Buddhism! Heart filled 'heresy' for a more maverick spirited inner-quest – for nourishing an iconoclast intelligence and compassionate critical thinking with a caring heart thru some refreshing, risky, even radical spiritual considerations of Reality by developing a Dharma informed mind.
The Open Meditation Class is 7:30 to 9:30 PM, Monday Evenings and Includes: Guided Instruction a 35 minute Silent Meditation Dharma text study with Q&A dialogue Metta-style Loving Kindness Meditation with sacred poetry to conclude. The Core Study Group meets with Akasa on Tuesday evening, The Zen-Men Group on Thursdays. Sangha Shabat one Friday evening a month. Please Phone for Details.
Akasa Levi was one of the few Americans of the counter culture generation that lived a decade in Asia during the 70's, to be directly with the last living spiritual teachers of the pre-global era. He was a Buddhist forest monk for six years - trained and ordained into the Theravada monastic lineage by the revered Maha Nayake Ananda Maitreya of Sri Lanka. Originally a Vajrayana initiate of Lama Thubten Yeshe and Zopa Rinpoche at Kopan, Nepal - and later, a Vipassana student of S.N. Goenka and Anagarika Munindra in Bodhgaya, India - and practicing Non-Duality Advaita in satsang with Nisargadatta Maharaj in Bombay. Akasa is a Bodhi-Acharya lineage holder of the Theravada teaching transmission. He is known for his spontaneity and wry unpredictable humor.
For more information call 310 450 2268.
You can also visit his webpage at http://zentrance.com
The Laughing Buddha Sangha
From Dhamma Wiki
The Laughing Buddha Sangha:
Address: 2046 Fourteenth Street Santa Monica CA 90405
Tradition: Theravada, Sri Lanka Amarapura Nikaya
Affiliation: Dharma Vijaya Vihara Los Angeles
Phone: 310 450 2268
Website: www.zentrance.com
Spiritual Director: Akasa Levi
(Phone: 310 450 2268)
Notes and Events:
The LAUGHING BUDDHA SANGHA offers a very eclectic "Inquiry into Self" practice combining the calm observation approach of traditional Vipassana Mindfulness with the crazy wisdom irrationality of Zen Non-Duality which short-circuits the obsessive self-absorbed, self-identified mind.
Newcomers: Beginners very welcome! You will be very patiently guided. Newcomers are asked to please inquire first by phone to see if this group is possibly even for you. This sitting group encourages highly inquisitive, unflappable people with a natural, deep love of learning who relish the abstract, and even the absurd - with a genuine taste for the indefinable existential stuff.
Experienced Meditators who are seeking a much deeper questioning into Self - and a de-mystifying, open-minded, caring conversation into Wisdom, Empathy and Spiritual Reality in our Western life-style + some poetry and laughing! Our practice is informed by traditional Theravada Buddha Dharma for clarity of view.
"BUDDHA: The JOYOUS ICONOCLAST" Study Series – offers a much more outside-the-box-Buddhism! Heart filled 'heresy' for a more maverick spirited inner-quest – for nourishing an iconoclast intelligence and compassionate critical thinking with a caring heart thru some refreshing, risky, even radical spiritual considerations of Reality by developing a Dharma informed mind.
The Open Meditation Class is 7:30 to 9:30 PM, Monday Evenings and Includes: Guided Instruction a 35 minute Silent Meditation Dharma text study with Q&A dialogue Metta-style Loving Kindness Meditation with sacred poetry to conclude. The Core Study Group meets with Akasa on Tuesday evening, The Zen-Men Group on Thursdays. Sangha Shabat one Friday evening a month. Please Phone for Details.
Akasa Levi was one of the few Americans of the counter culture generation that lived a decade in Asia during the 70's, to be directly with the last living spiritual teachers of the pre-global era. He was a Buddhist forest monk for six years - trained and ordained into the Theravada monastic lineage by the revered Maha Nayake Ananda Maitreya of Sri Lanka. Originally a Vajrayana initiate of Lama Thubten Yeshe and Zopa Rinpoche at Kopan, Nepal - and later, a Vipassana student of S.N. Goenka and Anagarika Munindra in Bodhgaya, India - and practicing Non-Duality Advaita in satsang with Nisargadatta Maharaj in Bombay. Akasa is a Bodhi-Acharya lineage holder of the Theravada teaching transmission. He is known for his spontaneity and wry unpredictable humor.
For more information call 310 450 2268.
You can also visit his webpage at http://zentrance.com• discussion
HOW LONG Does Therapy Take ?
• What Kind of Therapy ? • How Many Visits ? ( 5 )
Some say it's endless... probably is
"Where are you coming from..." is a major influence factor: Everyone knows that. There's a whole assortment of human cultural artifact in the language, mood and tone we are using behind the simple utterance: "How Long is IT going to take ?" -- "How Long is THIS going to take ?" -- based on "Who" you 'think' you are: your paradigm, your mind-set, your establishment thinking, your privilege thinking, your entitlement thinking, and your resentment of/at even being here. And like this is already ( sigh ) going to take some of My Precious Time -- and our upper middle class values pull us around "to being served" ... actually, to begin with - I'm the end product of being served: Me -- Serving My Self as 'my best' every 39 seconds, serving and pleasing, serving and pleasing - how could there not be resentment waiting for some alone time to arise so IT can chew your Dick off... And there's all this constant fidgety personal 'adjustment' for each one of us. This goes on inside absolutely everyone.
OK ~ So, How L o n g Does 'Therapy' Take ?
Then again, there are a lot of "basic conditioning factors" involved.
Hidden in these savvy poetic quotes that 'prompt' you, are some forthright responses to this Question: How Long ?
• Therapy takes Time and therapy takes Effort.
______________________________________________
• One of the most classic therapy-gained Truths comes as a deep personal realization and a pointed reminder ( or wrong end of a pointed stick )... that working on yourself, your difficult issues and wounded feelings - Feelings that took your whole life-time to develop - will certainly take some time to turn around....
Your difficult issues
and wounded feelings,
feelings that took
your whole life-time
to develop -
will certainly take
some time
to turn around...
“ It is still up to you to choose ~
to join with ‘truth’ or with ‘illusion’.
But remember, that to choose one
is to let go of the other.
When the way comes to an end,
then change - having changed,
you can then pass through." ~ The Tao
The Struggle of Living Through Things
_________________________________
then change - having changed,
you can then pass through." ~ The Tao
The Struggle of Living Through Things
_________________________________
When wiggling through a hole,
the 'difficult' world looks different ~
than when scrubbed clean
by the wiggle and looking back. ~ Mark Nepo
the 'difficult' world looks different ~
than when scrubbed clean
by the wiggle and looking back. ~ Mark Nepo
“ I love you, gentlest of Ways –
you who ripened us ...
as we wrestled with you.”
~ Rilke on Buddhism ( Paris 1908 )
“ Individual people
stumble over pebbles,
never over mountains. ~ Emilie Cady
It takes Time…
T I M E .
How Many Visits ?
.. How Long Does
....'Therapy' Take ?
......This is a huge
........indefinable
..........indefinite
...........question
............ It takes
.............T I M E .
Hidden in these wonderful, 'vague' teaching- quotes
are some sincere responses to this quite ancient Question:
Therapy takes time and therapy takes work. Good therapy
Therapy takes time and therapy takes work. Good therapy
is not just in your therapist’s office -- but what you put into it
in your day to day -- call it ‘All-the-time-Awareness’ towards a spacious, clear and richer mindfulness that opens you for a much more aware Living Experience of Living.
You've gotta plan on giving it some really open-ended exploratory time – Honestly: I really don't know -
it's really person by person.
Inner-Healing of any kind takes its own time – individually, person by person, situation by situation. And it's 'Teachable !
Certainly one session is not enough to be effective and semi-lasting except as a basic introduction for the client and counselor to simply check each other out.
AND for the client to 'confirm' for themself - that they are hopefully doing something good by the active decision itself to seek counseling. In a preliminary session - maybe I can observe a basic 'diagnosis'. Maybe. Maybe I can inform you in a few first sessions what we may be looking at as to how "a therapy" might develop, or maybe I could refer you somewhere that could work in a better balance with your particular needs. Maybe.....
Let's just consider seeing if even a common ground of open communication exists – and might grow between you and me, your counselor.
You gotta' give 'it' a chance. What else can I say?...
" We just ain't got No easy answers..."
" We just ain't got No easy answers..."
Therapy takes Time and therapy takes Trust and Risk.
One of the most classic therapy-gained truths comes
as a personal realization and a pointed reminder --"... that working on yourself, your difficult issues and wounded feelings, feelings that took your whole life-time to develop - will certainly take some time to turn around.
That's why I offer a FREE phone consultation -
First - before coming in here for the first time.
Inner-Healing MUST be a very, very 'Human' thing.
A 'therapist' or a 'counselor' is a special new 'human'
In your life. Beginning 'therapy' is sort of a professiona
Blind-Date. Do you two even 'Like' each othe
So go easy on the immediate impulse to judge or evaluate these first few session impressions. So give a fresh new experience a fresh new chance.
Th
erapy takes time and takes work. We're also looking
at ‘how’ or ‘how not’ have you spent money on yourself before - And please, do not expect only a few sessions to be sufficient: 'Self-healing' your difficult issues and wounded feelings that took your whole life-time to develop - will certainly take some time to turn around. There are NO silver bullets, no magic pills or divine interventions. No fantasies. There IS a lot of 'resistance'. Of course there is, that's how you muscled-up and survived so far...
You and me, your counselor, are going to have to work and walk and talk in each other’s one-to-one presence -- very intimately – and be openly truthful, trusting and honest. Change takes a willingness to work the 'change' and give it time -- and for us to responsibly KNOW that....
“ If Nothing Changes, Nothing Changes ! “
And at times you will experience painful , sobbing moments, even days - and even 'scrape bottom' where hopelessness lies... be brave. After a short time actually - you will begin to consciously process as you progress - towards a healthy noticeable 'shift' in your very own 'experience' of yourself. Yet, it's gonna take some TIME.
And at times you will experience painful , sobbing moments, even days - and even 'scrape bottom' where hopelessness lies... be brave. After a short time actually - you will begin to consciously process as you progress - towards a healthy noticeable 'shift' in your very own 'experience' of yourself. Yet, it's gonna take some TIME.
“ Small victories, and
self realized baby-steps
give definite, authentic,
realistic motivation
and momentum
to the journey.
I will promise you
some small victories ! “ ~ Akasa
" While one person hesitates because they
'feel' inferior and 'think' insecure thoughts –
The other is just busy making mistakes aplenty
and becoming quite superior."....~ The Tao _________________________________
The Cultural Creatives
by P. Ray and S. Anderson.
There is now a rapidly growing number
of uncharted, bright American people
who basically need a whole other level,
who basically need a whole other level,
a higher meta-level, an intelligent, deeper
level of self-created Inner-Unfolding of Spirit.
level of self-created Inner-Unfolding of Spirit.
They are not seeking 'religion' – and we wish
to assist you as you bring yourself to this
new level of a natural, highly conscious,
sensitive awareness – a future human --
and fearless unfolding...
Below the surface of American culture,
to assist you as you bring yourself to this
new level of a natural, highly conscious,
sensitive awareness – a future human --
and fearless unfolding...
Below the surface of American culture,
a slow, new, American indigenous
'revolutionary' movement
is emerging.
• You may be a very 'individual' or 'introverted'
or 'introspective' person - all very good things.
Simply, you do turn naturally 'inward' – some
Simply, you do turn naturally 'inward' – some
turn naturally 'outward', you turn naturally 'inward'.
Maybe you're "born" creative or spiritually-oriented.
Maybe you're "born" creative or spiritually-oriented.
Yet you're struggling to get everyday ‘worldly’ problems
and emotional issues handled realistically and with
a sort of 'sacred integrity' as well – yet without you
having to commit to any out-dated or un-relatable
therapies or 'religious paths' whatsoever.
and emotional issues handled realistically and with
a sort of 'sacred integrity' as well – yet without you
having to commit to any out-dated or un-relatable
therapies or 'religious paths' whatsoever.
• On the other hand, many Western styles of therapy
or ‘self-help programs' or personal growth seminars
can sound quite 'scripted' and kinda corporate flavored
can sound quite 'scripted' and kinda corporate flavored
-- and just not your bag at all - as us old hippies would say.
The spirituality of contemporary Buddhism is so flexibly
open and universal ( and agnostic ) - that it can always be
expressed in your own way. Right at start, it's all about you.
" Working on yourself, your difficult issues and wounded feelings, feelings that took your whole life-time to develop - will certainly take some time to turn around.
• So you probably need a 'Non-traditional Therapist'
who is them-self “non-mainstream” minded:
a counselor who genuinely understands what it is
to be 'Unconventional' – empathically understanding
what is an 'uncommon' lifestyle - or a life in the arts
or intellect – and truly "gets" it about special peoplewhat is an 'uncommon' lifestyle - or a life in the arts
who are quite different, unique or gifted, unusual
or non-ordinary – but quite unhappy.
"But therapy is not a one-shot deal.
"But therapy is not a one-shot deal.
There are no 'miracles'. No silver bullets.
It'll take months of consciously applied
inner-practice-Work. Like doing the Gym.
You've gotta' accept that you yourself
You've gotta' accept that you yourself
are the front end of the best of miracles ...
... your Life."
• At Spiritual Adulthood Counseling we offer
• At Spiritual Adulthood Counseling we offer
NO 'religious' preaching or dogma - nothing
to blindly "Believe" in. Here, "Doubt" reigns.
We just ain't got No easy answers . . . .
Just the natural emergence of your own individual True 'Knowing’ and personal excellence !It's taken you a long time to become your very own "Bodhisattva" - a sort of "Buddha-in-the-making". An there you are Becoming Happy as the True You.
• We mentor you in your very own inner-discovery
of a very 'natural unfolding' – a calm, true unshakable
balance of boundless wisdom and joy. And finding
your own innate good humor.
Liberating a new sense of caring and connectedness
with yourself, other people and the universe around you.
Discover and unfold a rich, enhanced, expanded
inner-acceptance and outer-effectiveness.
inner-acceptance and outer-effectiveness.
But it's not a one-shot deal. It'll take Work.
• ‘True’ Happiness – reasonably independent of the
• ‘True’ Happiness – reasonably independent of the
unavoidable effects of ‘everyday’ life-circumstances
and conditions. Yet, totally independent of the
and conditions. Yet, totally independent of the
"Self"-created 'Stories' and 'Drama' you habitually
hurt yourself with. Find really 'true inner-freedom' as
hurt yourself with. Find really 'true inner-freedom' as
they've spoken about in ancient Asian teachings
for many millennia !
• At 'The Spiritual Adulthood Counseling Project'
• At 'The Spiritual Adulthood Counseling Project'
we offer a uniquely combined East/West counseling:
an innovative, wholistic, Eastern/Asian influenced
an innovative, wholistic, Eastern/Asian influenced
'spiritual variation' of the mind-therapies, clearly based
in the grounded, pragmatic, practical, highly rational
Buddhist psychology teachings. Created for intelligent
and sensitive people - intellectual, gifted or creative
people - odd, wonderfully uncommon people…
"You began as a Creation.
Now become a Creator. Never, never wait at a barrier." ~ Rumi
"You began as a Creation.
Now become a Creator. Never, never wait at a barrier." ~ Rumi
"Our 'constant inquiry' is our passion –
and our passion itself is our daily task.
'Inquiry' is our passion. From there –
the rest is the marvelous madness of art."
~ Henry James, "The Middle Years"
_________________________
.
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here
OK ~ So, How L o n g Does 'Therapy' Take ?
“ It is still up to you to choose ~
to join with ‘truth’ or with ‘illusion’.
But remember, that to choose one
is to let go of the other.
“ I love you, gentlest of Ways –
you who ripened us ...
as we wrestled with you.”
“ Individualist people
stumble over pebbles,
never over mountains.” ~ Emilie Cady
You've gotta plan on giving it some really open-ended exploratory time – Honestly: I really don't know - it's really person by person. Inner-Healing of any kind takes its own time – individually, person by person, situation by situation. And it's 'Teachable !
Certainly one session is not enough to be effective and semi-lasting except as a basic introduction for the client and counselor to simply check each other out.
AND for the client to 'confirm' for Themself - that they are hopefully doing something good by the active decision itself to seek counseling. In a preliminary session - maybe I can observe a basic 'diagnosis'. Maybe. Maybe I can inform you in a few first sessions what we may be looking at as to how "a course of therapy" might develop, or maybe I could refer you somewhere that could work in a better balance with your particular needs. Maybe. Let's just consider seeing if even a common ground of open communication exists – and might grow between you and me, your counselor.
Therapy is where
two people sit down
and work on one
of them -- together.
Therapy takes Time and therapy takes Trust and Risk. One of the most classic therapy-gained truths comes as a personal realization and a pointed reminder ( or a pointed stick )
"... that working on yourself, your difficult issues and wounded feelings -- feelings that took your whole life-time to develop - will certainly take some time to turn around."
That's why I offer a FREE phone consultation -
“ Small victories, and
" While one person hesitates because they
'feel' inferior and 'think' insecure thoughts –
The other is just busy making mistakes aplenty
and becoming quite superior."....~ The Tao
The Cultural Creatives
• So you probably need a 'Non-traditional Therapist'
• At Spiritual Adulthood Counseling we offer
“ It is still up to you to choose ~
to join with ‘truth’ or with ‘illusion’.
But remember, that to choose one
is to let go of the other.
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GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
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here
( 5 ) • HOW LONG Does Therapy Take ?
• What Kind of Therapy ? • How Many Visits ?
Some say it's endless... probably is
There's whole assortments of human
There's whole assortments of human
cultural artifact behind all this.
This goes for absolutely everyone.
OK ~ So, How L o n g Does 'Therapy' Take ?
There are a lot of basic factors involved ~
Hidden in these poetic quotes that 'prompt' you,
are some forthright responses to this Question:
Therapy takes Time and therapy takes Effort.
Hidden in these poetic quotes that 'prompt' you,
are some forthright responses to this Question:
Therapy takes Time and therapy takes Effort.
___________________________________
One of the most classic therapy-gained truths comes as a personal realization and a pointed reminder ( or a pointed stick ) "... that working on yourself, your difficult issues and wounded feelings - feelings that took your whole life-time to develop - will certainly take some time to turn around."
“ It is still up to you to choose ~
to join with ‘truth’ or with ‘illusion’.
But remember, that to choose one
is to let go of the other.
When the way comes to an end,
then change - having changed,
you can then pass through." ~ The Tao
then change - having changed,
you can then pass through." ~ The Tao
----------------------------------------------------
The Struggle of Living Through Things
The Struggle of Living Through Things
------------------------------------------------------
When wiggling through a hole,
the 'difficult' world looks different ~
than when scrubbed clean
by the wiggle and looking back. ~ Mark Nepo
the 'difficult' world looks different ~
than when scrubbed clean
by the wiggle and looking back. ~ Mark Nepo
“ I love you, gentlest of Ways –
you who ripened us ...
as we wrestled with you.”
~ Rilke on Buddhism ( Paris 1908 )
“ Individualist people
stumble over pebbles,
never over mountains.” ~ Emilie Cady
It takes Time…
T I M E .
How Many Visits ?
.. How Long Does
....'Therapy' Take ?
......This is a huge
........indefinable
..........indefinite
...........question
............ It takes
.............T I M E .
Again -- How L o n g
Does 'Therapy' Take ?
Long term, Short term,
Does 'Therapy' Take ?
Long term, Short term,
We need to explore
your whole operating
relationship with "Time"
your whole operating
relationship with "Time"
We need to explore
your whole relationship
with "Achievement"
your whole relationship
with "Achievement"
and "Accomplishment"
and private Experiences
of personal Satisfaction
and private Experiences
of personal Satisfaction
and inconsolable Loss...
stuff like that.
Hidden in these wonderful, 'vague' teaching-quotes are some sincere responses to this quite ancient Question:
Therapy takes time and therapy takes work. Good therapy is not just in your therapist’s office -- but what you put into it in your day to day -- call it ‘All-the-time-Awareness’ towards a spacious, clear and richer mindfulness that opens you for a much more aware Living Experience of Living.
Therapy takes time and therapy takes work. Good therapy is not just in your therapist’s office -- but what you put into it in your day to day -- call it ‘All-the-time-Awareness’ towards a spacious, clear and richer mindfulness that opens you for a much more aware Living Experience of Living.
You've gotta plan on giving it some really open-ended exploratory time – Honestly: I really don't know - it's really person by person. Inner-Healing of any kind takes its own time – individually, person by person, situation by situation. And it's 'Teachable !
Certainly one session is not enough to be effective and semi-lasting except as a basic introduction for the client and counselor to simply check each other out.
AND for the client to 'confirm' for Themself - that they are hopefully doing something good by the active decision itself to seek counseling. In a preliminary session - maybe I can observe a basic 'diagnosis'. Maybe. Maybe I can inform you in a few first sessions what we may be looking at as to how "a course of therapy" might develop, or maybe I could refer you somewhere that could work in a better balance with your particular needs. Maybe. Let's just consider seeing if even a common ground of open communication exists – and might grow between you and me, your counselor.
Therapy is where
two people sit down
and work on one
of them -- together.
You gotta' give 'it' a chance. What else can I say?...
" We just ain't got No easy answers...."
" We just ain't got No easy answers...."
Therapy takes Time and therapy takes Trust and Risk. One of the most classic therapy-gained truths comes as a personal realization and a pointed reminder ( or a pointed stick )
"... that working on yourself, your difficult issues and wounded feelings -- feelings that took your whole life-time to develop - will certainly take some time to turn around."
That's why I offer a FREE phone consultation -
First - before coming in here for the first time.
Inner-Healing MUST be a very, very 'Human' thing.
Inner-Healing MUST be a very, very 'Human' thing.
A 'therapist' or a 'counselor' is a special new 'human'
in your life. Beginning to go to 'therapy' is sort of a professional Blind-Date. Do you two even 'Like' each other ?
So go easy on the immediate impulse to judge or evaluate these first few session impressions. So give a fresh new experience a fresh new chance
Therapy takes time and takes work. We're also looking at ‘how’ or ‘how not’ have you spent money on yourself before - And, please, do not expect only a few sessions to be sufficient: 'Self-healing' your difficult issues and wounded feelings - feelings that took your whole life-time to develop - will certainly take some time to turn around.
There are NO silver bullets, no magic pills or divine interventions. No fantasies. There IS a lot of 'resistance'. Of course there is, that's how you muscled-up and survived so far...
You and me, your counselor, are going to have to work, walk and talk in each other’s one-to-one presence -- very intimidating and ‘creepy’ intimate – and be openly truthful, trusting and honest. Change takes a willingness to work and give time -- and responsibly KNOW that….
“ If Nothing Changes, Nothing Changes ! “
And at times you will experience painful, sobbing moments, even days - and even 'scrape bottom' where hopelessness lies... be brave. After a short time actually - you will begin to consciously process as you progress in your mindfulness meditation - towards a healthy noticeable 'shift' in your very own 'experience' of yourself. Yet, it's gonna take some TIME.
And at times you will experience painful, sobbing moments, even days - and even 'scrape bottom' where hopelessness lies... be brave. After a short time actually - you will begin to consciously process as you progress in your mindfulness meditation - towards a healthy noticeable 'shift' in your very own 'experience' of yourself. Yet, it's gonna take some TIME.
“ Small victories, and
self realized baby-steps
give definite, authentic,
realistic motivation
and momentum
to the journey.
I will promise you
some small victories ! “ ~ Doc Akasa-ji
" While one person hesitates because they
'feel' inferior and 'think' insecure thoughts –
The other is just busy making mistakes aplenty
and becoming quite superior."....~ The Tao
_________________________________
The Cultural Creatives
by P. Ray and S. Anderson.
• There is now a rapidly growing number
of uncharted, bright American people
who basically need a whole other level,
who basically need a whole other level,
a much higher meta-level, an intelligent,
deeper level of personally self-created
Inner-Unfolding of Spirit.
They are not seeking 'religion'
– and we wish to assist you
as you bring yourself
to this new level of a natural,
highly conscious, sensitive awareness
– and fearless unfolding...
below the surface of American culture,
below the surface of American culture,
An awake, new, American indigenous
'revolutionary' movement is emerging.
.
• You may be a very 'individual' or 'introverted'
or 'introspective' person - all very good things.
Simply, you do turn naturally 'inward' – some
Simply, you do turn naturally 'inward' – some
turn naturally 'outward', you turn naturally 'inward'.
Maybe you're "born" creative or spiritually-oriented.
Maybe you're "born" creative or spiritually-oriented.
Yet you're struggling to get everyday ‘worldly’ problems
and emotional issues handled realistically and with
a sort of 'sacred integrity' as well – yet without you
having to commit to any out-dated or un-relatable
therapies or 'religious paths' whatsoever.
• On the other hand, many Western styles of therapy
or ‘self-help programs' or personal growth seminars
can sound quite 'scripted' and kinda corporate flavored
can sound quite 'scripted' and kinda corporate flavored
-- and just not your bag at all - as us old hippies would say..
The spirituality of contemporary Buddhism is so flexibly
open and universal ( and agnostic ) - that it can always be
expressed in your own way. Right at start, it's all about you.
One of the most classic therapy-gained truths comes as a personal realization and a pointed reminder ( or a pointed stick ) "... that working on yourself, your difficult issues and wounded feelings, feelings that took your whole life-time to develop - will certainly take some time to turn around.
open and universal ( and agnostic ) - that it can always be
expressed in your own way. Right at start, it's all about you.
One of the most classic therapy-gained truths comes as a personal realization and a pointed reminder ( or a pointed stick ) "... that working on yourself, your difficult issues and wounded feelings, feelings that took your whole life-time to develop - will certainly take some time to turn around.
• So you probably need a 'Non-traditional Therapist'
who is them-self “non-mainstream” minded:
a counselor who genuinely understands what it is
a counselor who genuinely understands what it is
to be 'Unconventional' – empathically understanding
what is an 'uncommon' lifestyle - or a life in the arts
what is an 'uncommon' lifestyle - or a life in the arts
or intellect – and truly "gets" it about special people
who are quite different, unique or gifted, unusual
who are quite different, unique or gifted, unusual
or non-ordinary – but quite unhappy.
"But therapy is not a one-shot deal.
"But therapy is not a one-shot deal.
There are no 'miracles'. No silver bullets.
It'll take months of consciously applied
inner-practice-Work. Like doing the Gym.
You've gotta' accept that you yourself
You've gotta' accept that you yourself
are the front end of the best of miracles ...
... your Life."
• At Spiritual Adulthood Counseling we offer
NO 'religious' preaching or dogma - nothing
to blindly "Believe" in. Here in Buddhism,
healthy "Doubt" reigns supreme !
We just ain't got No easy answers . . . .
Just the natural emergence of your own individual True 'Knowing’ and personal excellence !It's taken you a long time to become your very own "Bodhisattva" - a sort of "Buddha-in-the-making". And there you are Becoming Happy as the True You.
• We mentor you in your very own inner-discovery
• We mentor you in your very own inner-discovery
of a very 'natural unfolding' – a calm, true unshakable
balance of boundless wisdom and joy. And finding
your own innate good humor.
Liberating a new sense of caring and connectedness
with yourself, other people and the universe around you.
Discover and unfold a rich, enhanced, expanded
inner-acceptance and outer-effectiveness.
inner-acceptance and outer-effectiveness.
But it's not a one-shot deal. It'll take Work.
• ‘True’ Happiness – reasonably independent of the
• ‘True’ Happiness – reasonably independent of the
unavoidable effects of ‘everyday’ life-circumstances
and conditions. Yet, totally independent of the
and conditions. Yet, totally independent of the
"Self"-created 'Stories' and 'Drama' you habitually
hurt yourself with. Find really 'true inner-freedom' as
hurt yourself with. Find really 'true inner-freedom' as
they've spoken about in ancient Asian teachings
for many millennia !
• At 'The Spiritual Adulthood Counseling Project'
• At 'The Spiritual Adulthood Counseling Project'
we offer a uniquely combined East/West counseling:
an innovative, wholistic, Eastern/Asian influenced
an innovative, wholistic, Eastern/Asian influenced
'spiritual variation' of the mind-therapies, clearly based
in the grounded, pragmatic, practical, highly rational
Buddhist psychology teachings. Created for intelligent
and sensitive people - intellectual, gifted or creative
people - odd, wonderfully uncommon people…
"You began as a Creation.
Now become a Creator.
Never, never wait at a barrier." ~ Rumi
"Our 'constant inquiry' is our passion –
and our passion itself is our daily task.
'Inquiry' is our passion. From there –
the rest is the marvelous madness of ar
~ Henry James, "The Middle Years"
“ It is still up to you to choose ~
to join with ‘truth’ or with ‘illusion’.
But remember, that to choose one
is to let go of the other.
When the way comes to an end,
then change - having changed,
you can then pass through." ~ The Tao
AWARENESS MEDITATION
by Akasa Levi
"There's an Art to becoming a realized human being.
Training exists. And it works."
Sri Ananda Maitreya (Maha Nayake Thera)
1895-1998 Balangoda, Sri Lankahttp://www.artofliving.com/blog/home.php?&a=5
What do you want for yourself?
then change - having changed,
you can then pass through." ~ The Tao
AWARENESS MEDITATION
by Akasa Levi
"There's an Art to becoming a realized human being.
Training exists. And it works."
Sri Ananda Maitreya (Maha Nayake Thera)
1895-1998 Balangoda, Sri Lankahttp://www.artofliving.com/blog/home.php?&a=5
What do you want for yourself?
Buddhist Style Meditation & Self-Inquiry is an Invitation to Be Willing to Sit within Your Very Own Mind. It is a uniquely sane approach to mental Clarity, which can offer you vital access to Human Kindness & Self Transformation. You want that for yourself? What do you want for yourself?
By means of meditation we can teach our mind to be calm & balanced: Calm. Then, within this calmness itself is found an already resident richness and a potent potential, an innate creativity, a ready-to-go inner-knowledge which can gift our lives to be boundlessly satisfying and meaningful. Then we can tap the true healing qualities of our mind. While the mind may be what traps us in unhealthy patterns of stress and imbalance, it is also the mind which can free us.
The practice of a Buddhist-style Awareness Meditation uncovers the awakened state of mind. That's what it does. In order to understand what is meant by "awakened", it is necessary to understand what is meant by the opposite of awakened.
The opposite of awake is "asleep". Being asleep refers to the joyless cycle of conflict and hassle which pervades so much of our daily lives. We shuttle between feeling that things are terrific or that things are terrible, and we become wrapped up in continuous anxiety trying to establish some sort of solid ground. This suffering produces fear, anger, frustration and confusion - that blocks and shuts down our true ongoing experience of ourselves. What a loss!
In meditation -- for a little while (in the beginning). In meditation, by seeing, by softening, by giving up and letting go of this habitual knee-jerk struggle, we are able to fully appreciate each "experience" and the exquisite power, the"in-the-moment" richness of what it means to just be alive. With clarified awareness, we no longer see our "experiences"just in marketable terms of what it can get or do for us or how it can hurt us. This grand appreciation is the first glimpse of what it means to be awake.
Meditation is the heart of the practice. Although it starts with specific techniques, Awareness Meditation is ultimately a path of very clear seeing and a wholesomely spontaneous way of being. No spiritual contortions, contrivances or gimmicks. Meditation is a process of slicing through the views, opinions, commentary and judgments which normally cloud our experience of life. No, the intellect or feelings are not rejected -- they are liberated from the bondage of both hope and fear, becoming less confused and more enhanced and vivid to awareness. Meditation is, quite simply, just being in the present moment, clear -- between the "this" & the "that" - Media. Right here in the "middle". The middle of the moment. That's what "meditation" means.
In an Awareness Meditation Class or Retreat, you work with silence, stillness and inquiry, to train the mind to come back again and again to the here and now. Here & Now. Directly experiencing just "what is" - and just what "isn't". The practice of meditation and the goal of meditation are the same: to be Awake.
So, are you sincerely interested in giving up your notions of self-protection, the need to be "right", the need to be in"control"-- and in letting go of out-dated thought patterns, heavy programmed agenda, naive belief systems and confusing attachment-avoidance tendencies -- and taking up a self-perpetuating process by which you can wake yourself up? Then you will be treated to a constantly expanding spacious clarity of life based on non-clinging and non-confusion. You'll know what's what! And you'll be free!
Complete awakening has been achieved by ordinary human beings. Enlightened awakening is not a promise, a heaven, a dream or an idea. It is actually possible to seek out our own liberation and to attain a completely awakened state of mind. Just as sleep belongs to us, is inside us, so a meditatively clear wakefulness is inside us. Wakefulness is happening all the time, and the meditation practice consists of merely training ourselves to become aware of it. That makes sense, doesn't it. Sure it does.
We say "Buddhist-style meditation", not "Buddhist". We are not at all interested in you having a relationship with Buddha (he's dead) or in you becoming a "Buddhist," (you can't, there is no such thing). These meditation approaches are merely human developments in evolving human consciousness over the course of time. We offer no salvation and there is nothing to save.
The Laughing Buddha Sangha
From Dhamma Wiki
The Laughing Buddha Sangha:
Address: 2046 Fourteenth Street Santa Monica CA 90405
Tradition: Theravada, Sri Lanka Amarapura Nikaya
Affiliation: Dharma Vijaya Vihara Los Angeles
Phone: 310 450 2268
Website: www.zentrance.com
Spiritual Director: Akasa Levi (Phone: 310 450 2268)
Notes and Events:
The LAUGHING BUDDHA SANGHA offers a very eclectic "Inquiry into Self" practice combining the calm observation approach of traditional Vipassana Mindfulness with the crazy wisdom irrationality of Zen Non-Duality which short-circuits the obsessive self-absorbed, self-identified mind.
Newcomers: Beginners very welcome! You will be very patiently guided. Newcomers are asked to please inquire first by phone to see if this group is possibly even for you. This sitting group encourages highly inquisitive, unflappable people with a natural, deep love of learning who relish the abstract, and even the absurd - with a genuine taste for the indefinable existential stuff.
Experienced Meditators who are seeking a much deeper questioning into Self - and a de-mystifying, open-minded, caring conversation into Wisdom, Empathy and Spiritual Reality in our Western life-style + some poetry and laughing! Our practice is informed by traditional Theravada Buddha Dharma for clarity of view.
"BUDDHA: The JOYOUS ICONOCLAST" Study Series – offers a much more outside-the-box-Buddhism! Heart filled 'heresy' for a more maverick spirited inner-quest – for nourishing an iconoclast intelligence and compassionate critical thinking with a caring heart thru some refreshing, risky, even radical spiritual considerations of Reality by developing a Dharma informed mind.
The Open Meditation Class is 7:30 to 9:30 PM, Monday Evenings and Includes: Guided Instruction a 35 minute Silent Meditation Dharma text study with Q&A dialogue Metta-style Loving Kindness Meditation with sacred poetry to conclude. The Core Study Group meets with Akasa on Tuesday evening, The Zen-Men Group on Thursdays. Sangha Shabat one Friday evening a month. Please Phone for Details.
Akasa Levi was one of the few Americans of the counter culture generation that lived a decade in Asia during the 70's, to be directly with the last living spiritual teachers of the pre-global era. He was a Buddhist forest monk for six years - trained and ordained into the Theravada monastic lineage by the revered Maha Nayake Ananda Maitreya of Sri Lanka. Originally a Vajrayana initiate of Lama Thubten Yeshe and Zopa Rinpoche at Kopan, Nepal - and later, a Vipassana student of S.N. Goenka and Anagarika Munindra in Bodhgaya, India - and practicing Non-Duality Advaita in satsang with Nisargadatta Maharaj in Bombay. Akasa is a Bodhi-Acharya lineage holder of the Theravada teaching transmission. He is known for his spontaneity and wry unpredictable humor.
For more information call 310 450 2268.
You can also visit his webpage at http://zentrance.com
The Laughing Buddha Sangha
From Dhamma Wiki
The Laughing Buddha Sangha:
Address: 2046 Fourteenth Street Santa Monica CA 90405
Tradition: Theravada, Sri Lanka Amarapura Nikaya
Affiliation: Dharma Vijaya Vihara Los Angeles
Phone: 310 450 2268
Website: www.zentrance.com
Spiritual Director: Akasa Levi
(Phone: 310 450 2268)
Notes and Events:
The LAUGHING BUDDHA SANGHA offers a very eclectic "Inquiry into Self" practice combining the calm observation approach of traditional Vipassana Mindfulness with the crazy wisdom irrationality of Zen Non-Duality which short-circuits the obsessive self-absorbed, self-identified mind.
Newcomers: Beginners very welcome! You will be very patiently guided. Newcomers are asked to please inquire first by phone to see if this group is possibly even for you. This sitting group encourages highly inquisitive, unflappable people with a natural, deep love of learning who relish the abstract, and even the absurd - with a genuine taste for the indefinable existential stuff.
Experienced Meditators who are seeking a much deeper questioning into Self - and a de-mystifying, open-minded, caring conversation into Wisdom, Empathy and Spiritual Reality in our Western life-style + some poetry and laughing! Our practice is informed by traditional Theravada Buddha Dharma for clarity of view.
"BUDDHA: The JOYOUS ICONOCLAST" Study Series – offers a much more outside-the-box-Buddhism! Heart filled 'heresy' for a more maverick spirited inner-quest – for nourishing an iconoclast intelligence and compassionate critical thinking with a caring heart thru some refreshing, risky, even radical spiritual considerations of Reality by developing a Dharma informed mind.
The Open Meditation Class is 7:30 to 9:30 PM, Monday Evenings and Includes: Guided Instruction a 35 minute Silent Meditation Dharma text study with Q&A dialogue Metta-style Loving Kindness Meditation with sacred poetry to conclude. The Core Study Group meets with Akasa on Tuesday evening, The Zen-Men Group on Thursdays. Sangha Shabat one Friday evening a month. Please Phone for Details.
Akasa Levi was one of the few Americans of the counter culture generation that lived a decade in Asia during the 70's, to be directly with the last living spiritual teachers of the pre-global era. He was a Buddhist forest monk for six years - trained and ordained into the Theravada monastic lineage by the revered Maha Nayake Ananda Maitreya of Sri Lanka. Originally a Vajrayana initiate of Lama Thubten Yeshe and Zopa Rinpoche at Kopan, Nepal - and later, a Vipassana student of S.N. Goenka and Anagarika Munindra in Bodhgaya, India - and practicing Non-Duality Advaita in satsang with Nisargadatta Maharaj in Bombay. Akasa is a Bodhi-Acharya lineage holder of the Theravada teaching transmission. He is known for his spontaneity and wry unpredictable humor.
For more information call 310 450 2268.
You can also visit his webpage at http://zentrance.com• discussion
OK ~ So, How L o n g Does 'Therapy' Take ?
Then again, there are a lot of "basic conditioning factors" invol
The Cultural Creatives
by P. Ray and S. Anderson.
There is now a rapidly growing number
of uncharted, bright American people
who basically need a whole other level,
who basically need a whole other level,
a higher meta-level, an intelligent, deeper
level of self-created Inner-Unfolding of Spirit.
level of self-created Inner-Unfolding of Spirit.
They are not seeking 'religion' – and we wish
to assist you as you bring yourself to this
new level of a natural, highly conscious,
sensitive awareness – a future human --
and fearless unfolding...
Below the surface of American culture,
to assist you as you bring yourself to this
new level of a natural, highly conscious,
sensitive awareness – a future human --
and fearless unfolding...
Below the surface of American culture,
actually, a slow, new, American indigenous
'revolutionary' movement
is emerging.
AKASA LEVI .q(~?~)p. THERA'PIA
www.dharmaherenotnow.blogspot.com
Insight Mentoring Mindfulness Meditation
The LAUGHING BUDDHA SANGHA - LA
Individual Sessions - Santa Monica 90405
1-310-450-2268 -- akasalevizz@msn.com
Mind-FULLY ♦ "WE Must Be The Change
We Wish To See In The World" - Gandhi
Insight Mentoring Mindfulness Meditation
The LAUGHING BUDDHA SANGHA - LA
Individual Sessions - Santa Monica 90405
1-310-450-2268 -- akasalevizz@msn.com
Mind-FULLY ♦ "WE Must Be The Change
We Wish To See In The World" - Gandhi
AKASA LEVI .q(~?~)p. THERA'PIA
www.dharmaherenotnow.blogspot.com
Insight Mentoring Mindfulness Meditation
The LAUGHING BUDDHA SANGHA - LA
Individual Sessions - Santa Monica 90405
1-310-450-2268 -- akasalevizz@msn.com
Mind-FULLY ♦ "WE Must Be The Change
We Wish To See In The World" - Gandhi
Insight Mentoring Mindfulness Meditation
The LAUGHING BUDDHA SANGHA - LA
Individual Sessions - Santa Monica 90405
1-310-450-2268 -- akasalevizz@msn.com
Mind-FULLY ♦ "WE Must Be The Change
We Wish To See In The World" - Gandhi