Correction!
There was a mistake in last week's email newsletter.  Five Mindfulness Trainings practice was last Sunday, the 15th, not December 22d as reported.  Sorry for the error.
NEW YEAR'S EVE CELEBRATION
Please join us on December 31st at 4:00 for sitting and walking meditation, hot soup, a nice fire, letting go of the old and welcoming the new.   Please come share your warm happy hearts!
Happy Holiday Wishes to Everyone!

New Year's Eve Celebration at the Sangha House
Please join us from 4-7 p.m. for a sit, walk, sit followed by hot soup and bread and then a fire outside to help set our intentions for the New Year. This is a great way to begin your evening festivities!
 
Volunteers Needed
The coming of the new year brings new opportunities to  connect or reconnect by freely giving your time and caring to our community gathering place, the Sangha house.
We are in particular need of a person or persons to:
1.  Snow shovel the sidewalks and entrances around Sangha House at 8:00 a.m. on mornings when it has snowed during the night.  This is a request by the city.
2.  We also need snow shoveling during the day when snow has accumulated.  
3.  Monthly Housecleaning is needed.  Sign up sheets are in the kitchen.  
4.  Twice monthly vacuuming of zafus (cushions) and zabutans (mats). We have a new cordless handheld vacuum to make this much easier and quicker.
Sit Leader Signups Available
A list of Sunday sit topics has been announced for the coming year.  Please refer to the sign up sheet on the Sangha House bulletin board to see where volunteers are still needed to lead. The website calendar also lists the topic for each week. You may also reply to this email if you are interested in being a sit leader.
 
Thank you so much for donating your time and effort for the benefit of all!  
 
Upcoming Class OfferingsAwakening Joy - 10 Steps to Happiness
taught by Cindy Sasso
Awakening Joy will guide you on a journey to embrace happiness and well-being and chart a path to an enriching and meaningful engagement with life. Through this class, we will learn skills that can be applied to our everyday life.  Each class will include a theme, exercises and group discussion. The book, Awakening Joy by James Baraz and Shoshana Alexander, is the course text, but the course will expand upon it considerably.
Mondays - January 13 – March 16 from 6:00 – 7:30 pm 
or 
Thursdays – January 16 – March 19 from 10:00 – 11:30 am
To register:  please call 970-406-0433. Or go to www.cindysasso.com Classes offered by suggested donation.  No one will be turned away due to inability to pay.

Exploring the Buddha’s Teachings on Social Harmony
taught by Denise Ackert
During this 5 week course, we will delve into a variety of the Buddha’s teachings on social harmony.  The Buddha saw every member of the world family as having an equal right to liberty, especially the freedom from fear and want. These teachings are timeless and timely. Please join us.
 
Tuesdays, Jan 14 - Feb 11, 10:30-11:45am
To register: please go to: www.deniseackert.com or call 307-690-5878
Classes offered by suggested donation. No one will be turned away due to inability to pay.
 
Introduction to Meditation
taught by Denise Ackert 
In this course, we will learn the basic Buddhist meditation practices that head to happiness and that to help us be more mindful of our relationship to all of life. Each class will include instruction, meditation practice and time for Q & A. 

Wednesdays, Jan 15 - Feb 12, 12-1:15pm
To register: please go to: www.deniseackert.com or call 307-690-5878
Classes offered by suggested donation. No one will be turned away due to inability to pay.
 
The Five Mindfulness Trainings Exploration
December 22 at 4:00 in the Sangha house library 
 Come delight in simple virtuous conduct!  A fellow sangha member will host a monthly recitation of ‘The Five Mindfulness Trainings’ as explained by Thich Nhat Hanh.  These are not commandments, rather an exploration in training the mind and heart.   If you don’t want to read aloud, we hope anyone interested will feel free to follow along silently in the spirit of playful curiosity.   You don’t have to be a Buddhist to find great joy in classical Buddhist morality! 
Beginning in January this group will meet at 3:30 on the third Sunday of each month.
 
Greetings from the Caring Committee. 
Our Sangha community generously provides members with short term meal help through Meal Train. In the coming year we would like to expand our generosity to include small jobs for folks in need of short term help due to illness or health issues, bereavement, etc. These jobs could include grocery shopping, transport to doctor appointments, snow shoveling, light house cleaning, plant watering etc. Sign-ups will be through  Mealtrain.org.
If you are in need of short term help please contact Kym Mellsop kmellsop@pinonrealestate.com 719-207-3077 or one of the Sangha Board members.
 
Book Club
The next Book Club meeting will be January 8th at 5:00.  Please join us then in selecting the next book.  Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment by Robert Wright is one suggestion but we want everyone to have a chance to weigh in and other titles are welcome.    If you have considered participating in these discussions this would be a great time to start.  Everyone is welcome!  And we are still looking for a book club coordinator.
 
And now a gift for everyone who read this email all the way through--
A special poem courtesy of Denny Radabaugh
 
Danna Faulds: "Walk Slowly" 
 
It only takes a reminder to breathe,
a moment to be still and just like that,
something in me settles, softens,
makes space for imperfection. The harsh
voice of judgment drops to a whisper
and I remember again that life isn’t a relay race;
that we will all cross the finish line;
that waking up to life is what we were born for.
As many times as I forget, catch myself charging forward
without even knowing where I am going,
that many times I can make the choice
to stop, to breathe, to be and walk
slowly into the mystery.

With our heartfelt wishes for your health and happiness in this special season and throughout the New Year,
Your sangha board

Dear Sangha Member:    
 
We are deeply grateful for your generous contributions to our community and for supporting a safe environment where all of us can find healing, calm, peace, love, wisdom and connectedness.  It happens when you participate in one of our programs, or simply sit in the tranquil space of our retreat house.
 
Please join us in sustaining this beautiful refuge by making a gift to support the Salida Sangha today.

This past year, we sponsored a 9-day residency program with Brian, as well as a weekend retreat in the fall.   All who attended were deeply touched by the gentle magic of Brian’s teachings in a spacious container of silence, solitude, and joy.   We also invited Nicola Redfern to provide a 2 day teaching on the principles of right speech from the Insight Dialogue program. In 2020, we will host Brian for two weekend retreats on April 18-19 and September 12-13.  We are also making plans for a residency with Brian in 2021.  

Our Sunday evening sit offers refuge now, as it has for over 14 years. Four times a week we offer a time to settle into mindful awareness, open our hearts, and connect deeply with others on the path.  The house is open at all hours for individuals who seek a time of quiet solitude.  

We offer several weekly classes (such as Beginning Meditation, Awakening Joy, Experiencing No-Self) that help our members deepen their practice.  There is a monthly recitation and discussion of the Five Mindfulness Trainings that supports unifying the heart, mind, and morality.

Our Caring Committee offers home-cooked, nourishing meals to Sangha members who are in need as a result of surgery, injury, sickness, or experiencing challenging circumstances.

Our Book Club discusses books that address the profound issues of interdependence, compassion, forgiveness, patience, contentment, self-discipline and generosity.     

Community Outreach.  We provided financial management support for the Marijuana Excise Tax Advisory Board grant that funds the Mindfulness-in-the-Jail program.  This program, endorsed by the County Jail administration, has been highly successful in changing inmate lives through the teaching of mindfulness meditation, emotional intelligence, and yoga. We also provide a space for weekly Mindful Recovery meetings supporting those who struggle with substance or compulsion-based addictions.

Your generous support makes all these programs possible. Please help sustain the mission of the Salida Sangha with a pledge for 2020.

Pledges make up the foundation that enables us to establish budgets and plan for programs with confidence.  Attached is a form that you can fill out and mail to PO Box 1420, Salida, CO, 81201, or drop in the Dana box at the Sangha House.  Please fill one out even if you do not anticipate any change in your level of support.

On behalf of the Sangha Board and all the Sangha members, we extend our deep appreciation for your practice as we walk this path together finding ways to be more courageous and compassionate in the midst of difficult times.

May our practice be of great benefit to ourselves and all beings.  
With love and blessings, Your Sangha Board
 
Please click the button below to make your pledge for 2020