All Sangha Annual Meeting
December 6th, 5:00 pm
Our Annual Meeting will be held on Zoom this year.  We hope you can attend.  Among the items to be covered will be the 2021 budget, election of board members, Mindfulness In The Jail report, review of this year's events, upcoming February residency, the fall retreat and a possible New Year's Eve celebration.  Here is the Zoom link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/731489839
Meeting ID: 731 489 839

Because we can't have a potluck at the sangha house this year we are going to try something new.  After we finish the meeting we will do optional breakout rooms for those of you who wish to visit and catch up with friends, possibly while also enjoying your dinner. 
 
Residency with Brian Lesage February 12-21, 2021
Save the dates!  Details about registration and schedule will be available in January.

Resources
For those of you who are looking for retreats, teachings or classes here are some great places to find them during this pandemic.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center
https://www.spiritrock.org/
Barre Center for Buddhist Studies
https://www.buddhistinquiry.org/
Upaya Zen Center
https://www.upaya.org/
Dharmaseed
https://dharmaseed.org/
Brian Lesage
https://liberatingawareness.com/
Also, please remember to check out our sangha website and like our Facebook page!
http://www.salidasangha.org/
https://www.facebook.com/SalidaSangha
Charitable Donation
This month's rent money will be donated to the local organizations helping to feed and house the homeless this winter.
 
Stephen Bolling
Our dear sangha brother who also served on our board of directors is being honored on the "Light Up A Life" Memorial Wall at The Denver Hospice.  On December 15, 2020 from 6:00 to 6:30 pm MST the remembrance ceremony video will be available on this web page:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/light-up-a-life-remembrance-ceremony-registration-122568039305

Jane Crowe, Stephen's partner, shared these thoughts about his life.

Stephen found his family with the Salida Sangha when we moved to Salida in May 2018.  He loved his brothers and sisters so much and found much peace being with all of you.  His love of the mountains and kayaking on the Arkansas River called him back to Salida after almost 40 years where he had originally founded RMOC in the early 80’s.  Giving to others is what he enjoyed the most. While living in Boulder for 20 years he founded and helped coordinate the Food Pantry/ Meals program for the homeless. He loved cooking! Once a month, he would cook in a church and feed sometimes up to 200 homeless people on Boulder Creek. He coordinated truckload pick ups of produce & canned goods from the local grocery stores for the Homeless Food Pantry. 
The greatest gifts I learned from him were “empathy” and “love yourself” as they are two of the keys to life and understanding.
I want to leave you with a gift I think he would like to share, as he read this every morning.
The Heavenly Abodes
May I be free from danger
May I have mental happiness
May I have physical happiness
May I have ease of well being

What lies in our power to do,
Lies in our power not to do

Live my life directed by the energy of goodness.

We are grateful for our time with Stephen and grateful for each and every one of you.
Be safe and well,
Your Salida Sangha board

​Brian's November 8 Talk
We are very grateful to the large number of you who attended Brian's talk last evening.  As usual he generously shared powerful wisdom and insights with us.  If you wish to make a donation to Brian for his time and dedication to our sangha you can do so in any of these ways

Donate to Brian: 
https://liberatingawareness.com/dharma-and-meditation-in-flagstaff/dana-donations-for-vipassana-meditation-in-flagstaff 
 
 Venmo:  @Brian-Lesage-2  
 
 Postal mail: 
Brian Lesage 
3228 N. Grandview Dr. 
Flagstaff, AZ 86004 

A couple of people asked about dana for the sangha but our wish is that all of your generosity be directed to Brian.

For those of you who were unable to join us yesterday or those who might want to listen to the talk again, the recording of it will be available on the Dharma Seed website beginning this evening.  You can also access additional talks by Brian on the site.
https://dharmaseed.org/teacher/484/
 

Another Upcoming Offering from Brian
If you are interested in joining a 3-week study group practicing navigating different views about anti-racist work from a Dharma perspective, please e-mail Brian at brian@liberatingawareness.com

And now, our thanks to Deb Tannenbaum for sharing this poem.

Sometimes by Sheenagh Pugh
 
Sometimes things don't go, after all, 
from bad to worse. Some years, muscadel
faces down frost; green thrives; the crops don't fail, 
sometimes a man aims high, and all goes well.

A people sometimes will step back from war; 
elect an honest man, decide they care
enough, that they can't leave some stranger poor.
Some men become what they were born for.

Sometimes our best efforts do not go
amiss, sometimes we do as we meant to.
The sun will sometimes melt a field of sorrow
that seemed hard frozen: may it happen for you. 

May all beings everywhere know peace and freedom,
Your Salida sangha board

​BRIAN LESAGE PUBLIC TALK
November 8th at 5 pm Mountain Time via Zoom
 Living in a World of Uncertainty 
 
Uncertainty surrounds us at each and every step of our lives. How do you navigate it skillfully with a heart that is steady and responses that are compassionate? This talk will share reflections on this question and intertwine it with the teachings of the Dharma which were designed to help us learn to navigate this continual uncertainty.   
This talk will be available to the whole community so if you know anyone who might be interested please share this Zoom link:

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89778742679?pwd=Q3RCU2xTMXlLN2lZcFhPb1Y4SmtoQT09
 
Meeting ID: 897 7874 2679
Passcode: 10008
One tap mobile
+13462487799,,89778742679#,,,,,,0#,,10008# US (Houston)
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Dial by your location
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Meeting ID: 897 7874 2679
Passcode: 10008
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcGzf16PT6
  We hope you will be able to join us!
 
Love and blessings to each and every one of you,
Your Salida Sangha Board