Buddhist Recovery Network

This is the website for the Buddhist Recovery Network: www.buddhistrecovery.org

The speakers for the upcoming 2011 BRN Conference includes: Pablo Das, Kevin Griffin, Thérèse Jacobs-Stewart, Gregg Krech, Noah Levine, Darren Littlejohn, Professor G. Alan Marlatt, Jeffrey McIntyre, Joseph Rogers, Chönyi Taylor, Barbara West.

Bill Wilson Quotes

Here are a couple of Bill W. quotes I've shared with the group recently:

Is Happiness the Goal?
"I don't think happiness or unhappiness is the point. How do we meet the problems we face? How do we best learn from them and transmit what we have learned to others, if they would receive the knowledge?"

On Emotional Sobriety
"Nowadays my brain no longer races compulsively in either elation, grandiosity, or depression. I have been given a quiet place in bright sunshine."

The First Step in Buddhism & Recovery Is Letting Go by Kevin Griffin

Kevin Griffin has a nice article on the First Step in the now AOL-owned Huffington Post here. (Be sure you check out all of the comments on his article at the bottom!)

Here's a brief excerpt of his article:

The Buddha starts his teaching with the recognition of all the ways that life is challenging, physically and mentally: that we're often stuck with what we don't want or wishing we had something else; that we inevitably get old and sick and die. Just like Step One, he's trying to get us to see past the surface to what's really going on. The starting point of both paths, then, is to see the truth: in 12 Step terms, to come out of denial; in Buddhist terms, to shed delusion. To begin on any spiritual path, and to deal with the destructive power of addiction, we have to be honest with ourselves. 

Kevin Griffin will lead the group on Tuesday, February 22

Join Kevin Griffin, author of One Breath At a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps, on Tuesday, February 22 when he leads the group from 7:30 - 9 pm. As always, the group will meet in the Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda (near Solano Ave.) in North Berkeley.

Quotes About Mindfulness & Impulse Control

I recently read the Daily Reflections book for the date of January 20, and this is an excerpt:

"Today I humbly ask my Higher Power for the grace to find the space between my impulse and my action; to let flow a cooling breeze when I would respond with heat; to interrupt fierceness with gentle peace; to accept the moment which allows judgment to become discernment; to defer to silence when my tongue would rush to attack or defend."

And here's the quote on mindfulness I read last Tuesday from a 2008 dharma talk by Sylvia Boorstein:

"I think about mindfulness as that practice of making or allowing a space in the mind between the impulse that arises and the action that follows it."

Berkeley Dharma & Recovery Group - 2011 Schedule

The new Berkeley Dharma & Recovery meditation group (mainly for those in 12-Step Programs) meets every Tuesday night from 7:30 - 9 pm in the Northbrae Community Church (941 The Alameda, Berkeley, CA 94707--near Solano Ave). We meet upstairs in Room 1 (smaller room, not the big DRU room). Per request, please try not wear heavily scented products if possible. Beginners are always welcome!

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