Home     Contact Us         Log in

Community Articles - Category Archive

Mar 21
Thursday

Gratitude for Human Resource

Filed under Community Articles, Editorial Staff

An Excerpt from the March 2024 Shambhala Touching the Earth Collective Newsletter

by Irene Woodard

There is a group of us in the Collective studying Joanna Macy’s Active Hope. And the start of her spiral is gratitude.

And so this is coming from that place, where someone has been so important to the Collective, that it needs a display of gratitude that goes beyond the customary or even special thanks.

I am speaking of the human resource, named Richard Peisinger.

Richard said yes when asked to be on the inaugural Steering Committee of the Shambhala Touching the Earth Collective. So, in October 2018 he was one of the Co-Founders of the Collective.

He quickly established himself as our facilitator of the weekly meetings. In order to get the idea of the Collective off the ground, or grounded so to speak, we met weekly and 5 plus years down the road we have continued to meet 3 of 4 weeks a month. He created the agendas and led the meetings.

He was instrumental in creating the Mission Vision and Values Statement the Collective has etched in its inner and outer expressions. He insisted we have a pin, and so we do. He provided a sounding board for editing the Newsletter. He kept a steady beat of the drum of discipline reminding us of prior commitments, budgets, and building membership. He maintained lists.

But most of all, for me anyway, he became my friend. He was sturdy to my wispy dreamy…

He was an ear that was always there. And through time, I softened to his bristle, and appreciated his deep voice…and what I slowly recognized as an important voice.

The Collective must appreciate this human resource. Richard Peisinger. He served on the Steering Committee for 5 and a half years, and is now stepping away from the post. The Collective is surely what it is today due to his passion and exertion for the sacred earth…

All the thanks sent in were read out loud, on the Feb 17th Collective New Year Meeting.

This sonnet was written for the occasion…

On the Steering Committee for five years

You brought order to the environment

You lead our meetings with such precision

You helped create values, mission vision

The Newsletter cemented our friendship

Our minds let loose on our monthly zoom calls

Crack the whip on the hourly calls you ruled

And kept to sixty minutes, we were schooled

Smiling Dorje Dradul above your head

Your orders from Makkyi your daily bread

A voice so deep, may be scary to some

But there is a joke, you too can be fun!

Thank you Richard, you never let me down

Master of all agendas you wear the crown!

LOVE

Irene

***

To read the full March 2024 Shambhala Touching the Earth Collective Newsletter please click here.

Entries filed under Community Articles


Sitting For the Climate: From the Touching the Earth Collective (part 1)

Sitting For the Climate: From the Touching the Earth Collective (part 1) – HIGHLIGHT

This invitation comes from the Touching the Earth Collective, a group of Shambhala environmentalists. Part 2 will include photos and stories from this demonstration.  Dear sangha, dear meditators, We would like to invite you and ask for your support during a full day meditation session on Rudolfplatz, that ... continue
Posted September 18, 2019 by archives-staff
Windhorse in the Andes

Windhorse in the Andes – HIGHLIGHT

Cajas National Park with alpacas Windhorse in the Andes – Vacation & Meditation in Ecuador, January 2020 Shambhala Cuenca Meditation Group invites you to visit us in Cuenca, Ecuador. Meditate and study as we offer Shambhala Studies Level 1 on January 11 & 12 and Levels 2 & 3 ... continue
Posted September 3, 2019 by archives-staff
Creating Zen Office Space

Creating Zen Office Space – HIGHLIGHT

By Mark Wilhelmi De-cluttering is a popular activity these days. Clutter can affect the way we do our jobs. Too much stuff can be distracting and claustrophobic. We may want to do something about our clutter, but we don’t know where to begin. We can find books ... continue
Posted August 27, 2019 by archives-staff
How Can Meditation Improve Heart Rate Variability?

How Can Meditation Improve Heart Rate Variability? – HIGHLIGHT

By “Jackie Writing Jackie” The focal point of Shambhala – the idea that all human beings have a fundamentally good nature – can play an important role in the way human beings live, eat, breathe and meditate, enabling them to improve their heart rate variability. As stated ... continue
Posted August 12, 2019 by archives-staff
Meditation and Corporate Socially Responsible Behavior

Meditation and Corporate Socially Responsible Behavior – HIGHLIGHT

Could there be a link between meditation practices and shifting corporate concerns to align with the greater good? Can coaching based on introspection and meditation programs in the business world impact the probability to act in a socially responsible way? Many popular books and scholarly articles have discussed ... continue
Posted August 6, 2019 by archives-staff
Coming Home to Yourself

Coming Home to Yourself – HIGHLIGHT

From www.thepresencepoint.com By Sarah Lipton We already have what we need. We are who we have always been. When we gaze out at the horizon, if we know how to look, we see our own mind mirrored back. It is time, I believe, to look to our roots. So how ... continue
Posted July 29, 2019 by archives-staff
Right Speech for Burma

Right Speech for Burma – HIGHLIGHT

By Larry Steele “The Buddha guided us with many discourses concerning Right Speech. If we want to make good use of our speech, then we need to carefully consider whether our ways of speaking follow the Buddha as he directed.” The Venerable Ashin Issariya repeats this basic Dharma ... continue
Posted June 11, 2019 by archives-staff
"Art Happens": The Parting Un-Vow

“Art Happens”: The Parting Un-Vow

Eileen Malloy, who works at a Shambhala Center, writes: “Feeling my reaction to people donating their Shambhala belongings, I wrote this un vow.” Level 5 Shambhala Training Pin Inimitable Shambhala. Say everything you ever wanted to say to anyone, But couldn’t because you were in polite society. Relinquish your pins. Release ... continue
Posted June 3, 2019 by Jennifer Holder
Dinner with Friends and a Strawberry Pie

Dinner with Friends and a Strawberry Pie – HIGHLIGHT

This Shambhala Day I lived out the mindfulness story, the very famous one about the cliff and the strawberry. A man is hiking and falls near the edge of a cliff. He is about to tumble to the ledge below where he sees a tiger waiting with ... continue
Posted May 5, 2019 by archives-staff
Touching the Earth: Earth Day 2019

Touching the Earth: Earth Day 2019 – HIGHLIGHT

This year, Earth Day carried spiritual undertones. It fell on a Monday following two religious holidays: the Jewish Passover on Saturday and Easter on Sunday. A collective force has been gathering and gathering, and the cry is one that is starting to feel oceanic—these salty tears, this salty ocean. The rivers ... continue
Posted April 29, 2019 by archives-staff
Boulder Shambhala Center to Host Conference on the Humanitarian Crisis in Myanmar

Boulder Shambhala Center to Host Conference on the Humanitarian Crisis in Myanmar – HIGHLIGHT

By Melanie Klein   I remember the heartsick feeling that arose after hearing that a faction of monks, Buddhist monks, supported violence against a minority population in Myanmar. Voices of Courage at Naropa University and the Boulder Shambhala Center. This faction, known as Ma Ba Tha (the Burmese acronym for ... continue
Posted April 15, 2019 by archives-staff
"Old News": Controversy Rocks Dorje Dzong, by a Stiff Raporter

“Old News”: Controversy Rocks Dorje Dzong, by a Stiff Raporter

April/May 1989 On March 15 a startling void was discovered in the basement hallway of Dorje Dzong in Boulder. The coin-operated soda-pop vending machines, which had stood for what seemed like kalpas outside the basement shrine room, had been moved. Only the carpet stains remained to indicate ... continue
Posted March 25, 2019 by Jennifer Holder
The "Old News Is Good News" Feature

The “Old News Is Good News” Feature – HIGHLIGHT

This article announces the new column “Old News is Good News!” You can read the first installment here.    Perhaps we can evoke our history to support our present through a new Shambhala Times feature titled “Old News Is Good News.” Since 2010, I have been hauling three sake ... continue
Posted March 25, 2019 by Jennifer Holder

Carta de Lady Diana Mukpo

Queridos miembros de la Comunidad Shambhala: Les escribo con un corazón apesadumbrado. Este es un momento increíblemente doloroso para todos nosotros. Sin embargo, de muchas maneras, siento que la situación en la que nos encontramos como comunidad era inevitable. La profunda disfunción y la falta de amabilidad ... continue
Posted February 22, 2019 by luz_rodriguez
Letter from Lady Diana Mukpo

Letter from Lady Diana Mukpo – HIGHLIGHT

Dear Members of the Shambhala Community, I write to you today with a very heavy heart. This is an incredibly painful time for all of us. However, in many ways, I feel that the situation we find ourselves in as a community was inevitable. The deep dysfunction ... continue
Posted February 19, 2019 by Ashley_Dinges

RSS feed for the Community Articles category

View all posts from authors in Community Articles: Jillian_Johnson



Website Development by Blue Mandala using Wordpress MU.
All content and source Copyright © 1994-2024. Shambhala International (Vajradhatu), Shambhala, Shambhala Meditation Center, Shambhala Training, Shambhala Center and Way of Shambhala are registered service marks of Shambhala USA
Privacy Policy
Translate »