Thich Nhat Hanh @ Magnolia Village - 8/30/09 Through 9/02/09

Days of Mindfulness with

Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh

and Plum Village monastic delegation

During the US Tour 2009 of Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh and Plum Village monastic delegation, we are very happy to announce to you that our teacher Thich Nhat Hanh and a number of Monks and Nuns from Plum Village will come to Magnolia Village 123 Towles Rd, Batesville, MS 38606 from Sunday, Aug 30 until Wednesday, Sept 02, 2009.

This is a rare opportunity for us to receive our beloved teacher TNH along with the monks and nuns from Plum Village during Those Days of Mindfulness on Aug 31 and Sept 01, 2009. Monday, Aug. 31, there will be a Day of mindfulness for Vietnamese speaking people with English translation. A Day of Mindfulness for English speaking people with Vietnamese translation will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 01, 2009.

We invite you to participate in those days. There is no charge for the retreat, but we are very happy to receive any kind of donation. If you are planning to come, please kindly contact the Magnolia Village via:

-E-mail at magnoliavillage123@yahoo.com;

-Telephone: (662)-578-2077 or ( 662)-832-1818

Limited Housing:
We currently completed a guest house more then 4500 sq/ft. Some of the rooms will be for the monastic’s and may be for some elderly members and family with small children. However our camp grounds are very large and flat with showers and toilets, suitable for your own camping.

In addition, you can call the nearby inns and hotels as followed:
-Baymont Inn & Suites ( 662)-563-6592
-Days Inn ( 662)-563-4999
-Hampton Inn ( 662)-578-5555
-Holidays Inn ( 662)-578-2332
-Ramada Inn Ltd ( 662)-563-4528

Transportation from Airport:
The closest airport to Magnolia Village is Memphis , Tennessee International airport in Memphis, TN at about 45 minutes drive from our center. You can call Angel Taxi at ( 662)-832-8294 or (662)-715-9382 which does offer transportation for a reasonable price. If any further question, please call Mr. Van An at (662)-274-4166.

Driving Directions:
From South of Batesville, MS, take I-55 North
From North of Batesville, MS, take I-55 South and follow the below directions:
1) EXIT # 243-b toward Batesville
2) Turn right on Hwy 6, go 1.8 mi.
3) Turn right on Eureka St, Keep straight and go 0.4 mi.
4) Eureka St becomes Panola Ave , Keep straight and go 1.1 mi.
5) Panola Ave becomes old Panola Rd. Keep straight for 2.7 mi.
6) Turn left on Wilson Rd, go another 1.2 mi.
7) Turn left on Towles Rd, Magnolia Village is on the right.

A few of our Sangha walking with Thay, Magnolia Village, 2005.

A Message from Marshall Tall Eagle, Mike Serna's Father, Asking for Assistance at Pine Ridge Reservation

Dear Relatives and Friends,

The recent news about the hard winter that has been facing the Lakota people on the Pine Ridge Reservation has been devastating. What most people don't know is about the storm that is going on throughout the year on the Pine Ridge. Over 85% unemployment rate, extremely high rate of addiction to alcohol and drugs, gang violence, high rate of dropouts in school, very low life expectancy rate, highest rate of suicide among young people in the United States. So why I am heading up a team to go a third world type situation in the middle of America?

The answer is not complicated. To help, not to preach, but to help. Our team is preparing themselves to work their butts off, as we help repair homes, while helping elders with developing and installing a two way radio system to help them become more independent. We want to open a line of communications with other groups so that we place the hard work in the right places and not to duplicate any efforts.

For too long many groups have gone to the Pine Ridge and the results have not been what they expected. We want to pool all the resources we can to help as many people and in many areas where help is needed. Here is a short list of stuff we need: Construction power tools, like heavy duty power saws, chain saws, carpenter belts, tape measures, heavy duty construction hammers, a 15 passenger van, a pick up truck to haul fire wood.

We also need funds for travel, food, lodging, and for the gifting to elders and tribal leadership. We do have a number of fundraisers going on, but we need more help. So we are asking to please open your check books and write us a check (big we pray) to help us do Creator's work. If you need more info please contact me.

May Creator Bless You,

Marshall "Tall Eagle"

503-982-2505 Office
503-989-0645 Cell

Earth Hour - March 28, 2009, at 8:30 pm

On Saturday, March 28, 2009, at 8:30 pm, for 1 hour, take part in Earth Hour, a global event in which millions of people will turn out their lights to make a statement of concern about our planet and climate change.

Sponsored by World Wildlife Fund, Earth Hour got started just two years ago and is now the largest event of its kind in the world. Last year, more than 50 million participated and the lights went out at the Empire State Building, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Sydney Opera House and the Coliseum in Rome, just to name a few. Even Google's homepage went black for the day! In Israel, President Shimon Peres personally turned off lights in Tel Aviv.

This year, Earth Hour will be even bigger-already 250 cities in 74 countries have agreed to take part including Atlanta, Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami and Nashville, with more signing up every day. Around the world cities like Moscow, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Shanghai and Mexico City will turn out their lights.

But Earth Hour isn't just for big cities-anyone can participate. To get a better sense of the event, check out this video at here.

Participating in Earth Hour is easy, fun and free. I hope you will participate in this amazing event. To sign up, visit this site where you'll learn more, including ways you can spread the word about Earth Hour, plus creative things to do when the lights go out in case you need inspiration!

We want the US to turn out more lights than any other country in the world during this historic event. Let's all turn out and take action on March 28 from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm.

Meditation eases minds in troubled times - More people turn to ancient practice in stressful times

Meditation was the focus in the Tuesday, March17, 2009, edition of The Tennessean, to which our group contributed.

It used to be that Maribeth Riggins-Loy's biggest worries were getting her work done at the office and trying to lose 10 pounds. Now she finds her head churning with fears of "job security, the national and global economy, and what the future will hold for our country." Riggins-Loy of Brentwood says she's increasingly turning to meditation to try and "quiet her mind." And according to local meditation instructors, she's in good company.

. . . .

"If you take 10 minutes to focus on your breathing, it will change your day and it will change the day of people you come into contact with," said Tanya Touchstone, meditation facilitator at Balance Bodywork. "Because you're more peaceful, they'll respond more peacefully to you."

The entire article can be found here

Imagine the Possibilities!

I always love the chance to speak to the people, and here's what I say.

If everyone would just help at least one other person and only ask in return for that person to selflessly help another person in need IMAGINE THE POSSIBILITIES!!!!!

Prayer is something we should all do for one another. Ussen tells me that our DIRECT LINE to him is smoke, the eagle, and of course prayer.

Giving selflessly makes Ussen smile! And when the BIG GUY is happy, we are all happy. Love one another......

Mike Serna, Keeper of The Wind

“I am a hole in a flute that the Divine's breath moves through. Listen to this music." Hafiz c.1320-1389

Playing with history

I was just telling Tanya a story the other day. She responded..."put that in the blog, that is so cool!" So here it goes:

I am not one to be starstruck (unless it’s Rodney Crowell…aahh). I have waited tables on Pat Green, John Michael Montgomery and Ty Herndon, brushed elbows with Dolly Parton, Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman. I’ve called Jason Mraz or Jimmy Wayne my friends. It’s not an uncommon thing in Nashville to be around people who are well known. Big deal. I guess sometimes you take those things for granted when you are around it all the time. Yesterday, I was telling a close friend of mine (Tanya) about an experience I had last month, writing with a new friend, AJ Croce. AJ is an incredible musician, songwriter, and intellect, who also happens to be the son of the late Jim Croce. (I highly recommend you give AJ a listen, he’s absolutely brilliant) Last time AJ and I wrote together, I left from home in such a hurry that I forgot my guitar. He said, ‘no problem, just use one of mine. Here, use this one, it sounds really great.’ He handed me this old worn guitar. It sounded stupendous. After AJ and I finished up our song we got to chatting. He told me about when he was younger and his house had burned down. They lost almost everything. He said they were only able to rescue one of his father’s guitars. He pointed over to the guitar sitting by the piano as he continued chatting. I started thinking to myself, ‘wait a minute, that’s the guitar I was just playing.’ I had been playing Jim Croce’s only surviving guitar and didn’t even know it. Something that a legend inspired the world with. What a trip. As AJ and I got together again yesterday to write, he pulled out the guitar (darn! I should’ve forgotten mine again!) And I thought to myself, ‘Wow, I got the chance to play that guitar. Shoot, I wrote a song on that guitar!’

Dani Carroll

Seven Spiritual Laws

In the Lakota way, we're taught that we should live by seven main spiritual laws or values.

The first law is to walk quietly. Walk humbly. Be gentle with everyone and everything on earth. Some people like to feel big and in control. But really we're not in control. We're created small and weak, so our Creator can fill us with power. We have nothing, do nothing, are nothing, without the gift of life.

The second law is to be respectful of everything in creation. We're all created by the same God, and the same holy spirit dwells within us. The very thing we waste or throw away may be the most important thing to someone else. And of course respect has to start with ourselves, respecting our bodies, minds, emotions, and feelings.

The third law is to be helpful, or generous, which are really the same thing. Whatever we have is not ours alone, but is a gift to be shared through us. One person may have money, and another not. One may be strong, one may be smart, and one may be a good cook. Whatever we have, it's something we all need.

The fourth law is to be compassionate. Everybody has a story. Everybody has their pain and joy. And when we see someone, we don't know what their story is, or the reasons for the way they act. We're in no position to judge.

The fifth law is to have a good attitude. This may be the most important value for our children, because the way we act is the way they'll act. So we don't have a good attitude only when life goes the way we think it should. We're to have a good attitude no matter what life brings our way.

The sixth law is to be forgiving. Everybody has been done wrong. We all have reasons to be mad and resentful. But that only shortens our own life. It's like drinking poison and hoping someone else dies. When we forgive, it sets everyone free. And we have to start by forgiving ourselves.

And the seventh law is to be pray and be thankful. Our lives are abundant. Not because we have this or that thing we want, but simply because we have life. If we're truly thankful, then the other laws will fall into place.

Different teachers may talk about these values a little differently, or call one or two by a different name. And there are many values in Lakota culture, including self control, courage, and patience, among other things. Personally, I enjoy hearing the seven laws in this way I've told them here. I find this list to be fully Christian, and compatible with many other faith walks. It's is the best prescription I've found for happy, peaceful day-to-day living.

Joe Johnston

The Seed that Grew

In 1999, my 15 year marriage ended. I was lost and didn’t know who I was any longer. Two years after that, everything else ended, including old friendships and a new romantic relationship which had meant a lot to me, and I found myself completely alone ... very sad, very empty, very lonely. This was new territory for me, and I presumed all was lost.

One Saturday afternoon, feeling very sorrowful, I decided to go to the bookstore and look for something, anything that might soothe my wounds.

I went to the Spiritual section and quite literally crawled on the floor so that I might see all the books that were at the bottom of the shelves. I was looking for books that were different, from every spiritual tradition. I was looking for answers, and I wanted to do this while building upon and remaining loyal to my own Christian foundation, not sure if this was possible.

I encountered names that were strange to me: Pema Chodron, Bear Heart, etc. I pulled those books from the shelf, and while doing so, I saw a name that was indeed strange, and quite different. That name was Thich Nhat Hanh, and the title of the book was “No Death, No Fear.” For some reason it comforted me to find a name I couldn’t pronounce, and determined there was possibly something there.  Perhaps this author would give me different answers as to what was happening to me and how to handle it.

After purchasing the books by putting them on my already cramped credit card, I proceeded home and placed them beside my chair. I read for days. The books slowly started to change me and my thinking, and I learned that my ‘thinking’ was exactly the problem. I learned a new way of being, and I saw, through Thich Nhat Hanh’s careful, simple guidance, that I could embrace all teachings while at the same time deepening my own Christian roots. I was on to something, finally. I had needed to hear another voice - a voice that spoke in union with the Bible, and I not only heard that voice, but I heard him speaking to me about the fruits of my own Christian tradition, in a Vietnamese accent, and I knew I was home.

A few months later I ran across an ad stating that Thich Nhat Hanh would be speaking in Chicago. Something inside me stirred, and I knew I very much wanted to go. However, I had little to no money and my credit cards were full. Still, I knew I needed to be there. A little prayer was uttered, asking that if I were supposed to be there that a way be made.

I held my breath and went through the steps of charging a ticket to the event. The tickets were only $30, but at the time that may as well have been $1,000,000. The card accepted the charge. I was amazed! Then, I went through the same process for airline tickets. I found a special, “$35 each way to Chicago“! Holding my breath I entered my card number and it went through! Things were getting exciting now, and also scary - I did not know how I would get around in Chicago or where I would stay. I had never been to Chicago!

A friend taught me about the train system and I learned about hostels. I was able to plan this trip and the entire trip cost less than $150.  I only ate once and walked everywhere the train would not take me. I was on a spiritual quest. I took myself, my backpack, and nothing else.

When I arrived in Chicago, I felt a deep sense of pride, because in the past I would have never gone to a new place like Chicago by myself. I had deep fears about such things. That may sound silly now, but those fears were quite real. I made my way to the hostel, checked in, and then walked to the train station.  I was now on my way to the local University. Departing the train, I decided to have my one meal.  I was halfway through the adventure, and it was time to eat.  I then made my way to the University and sat under a tree in front of the auditorium, knowing I had a 7 hour wait. I was prepared to wait. I noticed a worker opening the auditorium, and I walked over to inquire -- I had wondered about restroom facilities during the 7 hour wait. He invited me in. I was grateful.

I noticed there was a line of people going into the auditorium, so with my newly found adventurous nature, I got in line! I was second row, center. I soon learned I had wandered into a special presentation the University was giving for a new student orientation … they would be giving an honorary degree to ... Thich Nhat Hanh for his peace work! Well!

Thich Nhat Hanh, or Thay (pronounced Tie, meaning ‘teacher’ in Vietnamese), made his way to the stage to accept the award. He incorporated walking meditation, which I had only read about in his books, and I watched him move slowly, like a snail, toward the stage to accept his honor.  I had new understanding.

Later that evening, approximately 5,000 people entered the auditorium to hear him speak. I saw 10,000 shoes sitting by the front entrance of the auditorium and there was complete silence. On stage there were 100 monks and nuns meditating, and in front of them sat Thich Nhat Hanh, inviting the bell of mindfulness and leading the audience in mindful meditation.

The sound system was lacking that night, but the message was received, in thundering silence. It was about 10pm.  I made my way several blocks to the train, and then walking six blocks to the hostel. Not once was I fearful. This was very new to me. I stayed up the entire night reading Thay’s books.

When I arrived in Nashville, even though I had been up all night and was really tired from the trip, I went to Radnor Lake and walked all the way around. I even went through the dark and once scary places I used to avoid.

As I looked out over the lake, I said to myself, “I’m starting a meditation group.”

I was able to get space at a local church for hardly any fee and I used my marketing skills to announce free meditation. At first there were three of us, and then the other two became infrequent due to schedules and travel challenges. For many months, and over a couple of years, I often sat alone in the space, and started to wonder if I was going in the right direction. My friends Eric and Bliss sat with me now and then, but it was often just me. My other friend Eric, the “other Eric” as we call him, encouraged me throughout to not end the group, because I had told him I was considering doing so.

Based on Eric’s encouragement, I continued. After a short while, I started to see people show up, and I changed some of the elements of the group, incorporating the fruits of all spiritual traditions, including my own background in dream interpretation and metaphysical studies, and I saw the group begin to blossom. A Circle of Friends blossoms to this day.

There is a teaching: When you lose something, it creates space, and then that space is filled, beautifully. This is what happened to me.

I cannot imagine life without all the beautiful souls I have come to know and who I call my Sangha, or spiritual family. I know that they all feel the same.

This is the seed that was planted

This is the seed that grew

And this is the seed that will continue to grow.

This is the story of A Circle of Friends and how it came to be.

With sincere metta, I bow to you,

Tanya
Founder and Facilitator
A Circle of Friends Sangha, Nashville, TN (Est. September 2, 2004)

Only a few of A Circle of Friends, Winter Retreat - 2008