Buddhist Meditation Therapy • Santa Monica • offers effective Buddhist Counseling & Coaching

INTRO ♦ Buddhist-based Wisdom Therapy offers effective 'Alternative Approaches' to truly Healthy Relating with Your 'Self' & All Other Living Beings

2008-10-02T19:00:00.000-07:00

.... Welcome to our Counseling-Blog . . .

"THE SPIRITUAL ADULTHOOD
COUNSELING & THERAPY PROJECT"
Santa Monica - CA 90405 - near S.Monica College
email: AkasaLeviZZ@msn.com ~ 1-310-450-2268
Best phone times to contact us, Noon to 6pm, Mon-Fri
Blog: http://buddhistcounselingtherapy.blogspot.com/

. . . and a compassionate welcome to you

.................in these troubled times
.
.
.........~ counseling can certainly help !
.
.
"It was the best of times,

It was the worst of times
It was the age of wisdom,

It was the age of foolishness
It was the epoch of belief,

It was the epoch of incredulity
It was the season of Light,

It was the season of Darkness

It was the spring of hope,

It was the winter of despair
We had everything before us,

We had nothing before us
We were all going direct to Heaven,
We were all going direct the other way." ..

~ A Tale of Two Cities ~ 1859
.
Charles Dickens' 19th-century opening lines

perfectly describe today's climate. Undeniably,

we all now know deep in our bones, these are

difficult times. Yet come to recognize that these

times are ALL a Good Inner-Growth Opportunity' !

They may as well be....

we're all going thru this together anyway.....
.

"Only in quiet waters

.do things mirror themselves undistorted.

.Only in a quiet mind

.is a more adequate perception of the world."
..~ Hans Margolius.
.

.
We are very sincere about encouraging you to

take up an 'inter-face' with a trained professional,

or to continue with strength & faith if you already are.

All to discover a wise, great resiliency within yourself,

and as an ongoing healing 'antidote/vaccine' . . . .

"Therapy is where two people sit down
.....and work together on one of them."

.
_____________________________

"REALITY BITES"

"Recession-Depression" & other issues ~

really despairing stuff... or relationships... or confusions... or...

Please ask about

our low-fee Group-Therapy . . .

Are you willing to gradually open up in the supportive presence of just a few other good folk and explore and begin to resolve what's creating pain?

Most Details on Counseling & Individual Therapy

mentioned in this blog also apply to Group-work.

( Weekly Group-size limited to 8 men & women )

_____________________________________ ____________________________________ ___________________________________

...

▲

~ I Am ~

forever freshly reborn

into this very moment

will it unfold

open up

flower into

beingness?

or just stay within

its 'imagined' limits?

~ John de Ruiter ~

_____________

_______________

-:¦:- The SPIRITUAL ADULTHOOD THERAPY

...& MINDFULNESS COUNSELING PROJECT
....... http://buddhistcounselingtherapy.blogspot.com/

• "Reaching Out to Reach Deeper In"

• .Buddhism • a 2500 year-old Asian

....mental-wellness tradition

• .Utilizing the world respected techniques

....of BUDDHIST INSIGHT AWARENESS

• .An 'Alternative' form of Counseling

....from the practical, non-religious,

....very 'sane' Buddhist Wisdom Tradition

....& Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction.

•..Befriending the 'Heart of the Mind' to find

....the truly wise, loving & alive part of you !

......“You take care of the Inside

....and the

Inside will take care of the Outside”

~ The Tao

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for Ease of Viewing ~
please MAX your screen
_______________________________
.

~ HOW to Navigate the Ship ~
Please Slowly SKIP AROUND

and really GRAZE in this site -

Follow Some of It Along for Awhile,

and please Read Very Slowly.
Slow is Very Good.

. .

There's a BIG BUNDLE
of APPOINTMENT DETAILS -
< ---- see ( A ) back up there on side-bar menu
There's some sensible, solid good recommendations
on how to approach the 'idea' of taking up some
counseling therapy. And, at the end of this Blog,
are some quotes & poems - "Wisdom-Heart-Words"
from various spiritual cultures to inspire this most
wonderful phenomena, the human mind - with
it's ability to be self-assured & to gently spur you on,
to let you know, That 'Help' is Possible . . .
.
AND Therapy may be some effective assistance for you
~ Or why would we be offering this to you?

It often does work in the most difficult region

of all Life - Changing the human mind.

But - there are no promises, no guarantees –

each individual situation is different - and

certainly, effectiveness may vary.

IN THIS BLOG

WE'LL OFFER YOU SOME SIMPLE RAW HONESTY

ABOUT WHAT MAY BE GOING ON WITHIN YOU.

SO BRAVELY DIG IN DEEP INTO THESE WORDS

and let's Intelligently Nourish, Nurture & Encourage

Your Spirit's True Higher Potential & Progress.

"Grant me the Serenity

to Accept the things I cannot change,

the Courage to change the things I can,

and the Wisdom to know the difference."

-----------------------------------------------------

The Serenity Prayer ~

Reinhold Niebuhr 1934; AA version in 1939 by Bill W.

We are NOT a 12-step-based therapy program ~

But we really value this now popular quote.
.

So ..The Whole Idea Here

is to simply Scroll-around.

There are many short pieces

to consider or contemplate throughout.

Ask yourself many Questions as you read this -

or Just scroll and graze ...

If this Blog seems like all TOO much reading -
well then, please just don't read it all,
read only some pieces & parts of it . . .

____________________________________ __________________________________

" The Journey Itself

....IS the Destination ! "

"We offer Counseling & Therapy
for the Disheartened Mind, Insecure

or Wounded Spirit, or a Despairing
& Troubled Relationship…"

We assist HEALING the HEART-MIND itself -

in the midst of these very edgy, scary,

confusing, disappointing, over-driven, tense,

survival-stressed, anxious Uncertain Times.

Yet the leadership is resiliently hopeful !

You certainly can be too....

What this is really all about ~ It's an old formula:

"Learning How to Feel Better About YourSelf"

That's it. Do it here. Do it elsewhere. But Do it !

Please take youself to a special 'healing-space',

so you can frequently do the 'practice' and see,

experience and feel a noticeable difference.

Let's assist you in 'working' with someone,
here or elsewhere, to team up with you -
in your own personal liberation-quest
from your complex personal suffering.

Part of all this 'work' is 'Spiritual' ~

Yet, NONE of this is 'religious' ~

NONE of this is God-oriented ~

Traditional Buddhism is

secular-humanistic -

and is non-theistic.

• Awakening

....the Compassionate-Insight

......Naturally Deep Within You ~

.. .....

"THE SPIRITUAL ADULTHOOD

COUNSELING & THERAPY PROJECT"

Santa Monica - CA 90405 - near Santa Monica College

email: AkasaLeviZZ@msn.com ~ 1-310-450-2268

Best phone times to contact us, Noon to 6pm, Mon-Fri

Blog: http://buddhistcounselingtherapy.blogspot.com/

_________________________________ ________________________________

." What is accepted by the majority of people

....does not mean it is Real " The Buddha 500 BC

-:¦:- Buddhist-based

'Alternative' Approaches to

Relating with Your Self & Others

...Buddhist-based Wisdom Therapy

.....offers highly effective, compassionate,

....... yet realistic 'Alternative Approaches'

.........to healthy Relating with Your 'Self'

...........and All Other Living Beings

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.

.
~ "A Buddhist influenced
.
Contemplative Inner-Guidance,

Insight-Awareness Release-Techniques,

& Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction ~

..
Utilizes What's Called a WHOLISTIC

"FULL . MINDFULNESS"

.
A Deep Asian 'Alternative' form

of THERAPY & COUNSELING

.
♦ Individual One-to-One Private THERAPY

♦ Buddhist Mindfulness-Life Coaching

♦ COUNSELING All types of Relationships

♦ for Emotional & Communication Break-downs
....in Partnerings of all kinds: couples, marriages,

......families, friendships & workplaces

♦ Safe Individual Spiritual Break-throughs

.........
.

.
. “And then the day came

when the risk to remain tight in a bud

was more painful

than the risk it took to blossom”

~ Anais Nin
.

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♦ . MAYBE YOU’VE BECOME

..SO OVERWHELMINGLY

‘IDENTIFIED’ and OVER-INVOLVED

IN YOUR OWN DIFFICULT ‘LIFE-STORY’

That You Can’t See The Forest Anymore

Because of All The Trees!

Your ‘Story’ of being such a anxiety-driven ‘winner’

or a victimized ‘loser’ - resentful, bitter, came here

to be recognized - not just a plain nobody ’out there’.

Feeling so undernourished - or feeling so isolated -

that you just plain ‘hurt’ inside. Numb or so angry ?

Maybe you’ve lost the Path, or forgotten the Way ?

feeling so ineffective in your ‘deeper’ inner-search?

Or you’ve just never yet really sought out persistently

who ‘you’ really, really, really are - ‘in here’. Inside.
.

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♦ At “SPIRITUAL ADULTHOOD”
We offer a uniquely ‘combined-counseling’:
an innovative, wholistic, ’spiritual variation’
of the 'new mind-therapies', based in practical,
quite highly scientific Buddhist Wisdom,
combined with a gentle, accepting, gradual
compassionate view towards all Beings.

This is Therapy for intellectual people - smart

sensitive people - or creative people - wonderful
uncommon people… an Eastern, Asian-style
of treatment, of 'mind-wellbeing' that just
may be a truly effective, non-traditional
‘alternative’ counseling & therapy for you.

"Buddhist
....Mindfulness-based Guidance"
with it's fine, long history - is a well-respected

ancient Asian complimentary therapy-‘option’
to the much more ordinary, standard-models
of Western therapies.
.

__________________________________________
.
.. . Phone us, and let’s take a few minutes together

to talk on the phone – gratis – to find out a bit more
.
about what's going on with-in you - NO obligation !

NO charge ! Free. 1-310-450-2268

_______________________________________
..

Buddhist Therapy:

It’s been done very effectively
for 1000’s of years … ..

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.

..
"Take the first step in faith.
You don't have to see
the whole staircase –
just take the first step."
~ Martin Luther King
.
.
This can be done .. give 'it' & 'you' a chance !
.

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.

Hey, either way ~

IT'S GOING TO TAKE SOME TIME

and PATIENCE ON YOUR PART

to read & take-in all of 'What' you read in here –

Take it in small bites – Click n' Graze around -

You certainly Do Not have to read the entire site -

or read it all at once - take it slow - 'Inner-Healing'

is a lot about awkwardly learning & stumbling –

and gently practicing 'True Patience'.

"Therapy is where two people sit down

.....and work together on one of them."

Together – as 'therapy' is a 'partnering' –

We'll find a True-way thru feelings & issues.

Read slowly only some of what's in this site –

You'll get the point - about loving yourself more...

Then give us a call for a FREE phone consult –

there's absolutely NO obligation, let's just talk a bit...

.
________________________________________
.

We encourage you to
"Reach Out -to- Reach Deeper In".

'How' you can learn new ways
to Help You, Help Yourself.

Remember the old parable ?
" Give a person a fish – feed them for a day.
Teach a person to fish – feed 'em for a lifetime. "
still holds up as one of the best self-help quotes ever

Let's assist you in 'working' with someone,

here or elsewhere, to team up with you -

in your own personal liberation-quest

from your 'condition' of personal suffering.
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"One easily-made, very common mistake

is to think that 'your' reality is THE reality.
You must always be prepared

to bravely leave your reality

for a greater one."

~ Amaji Meera

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HOPEFULLY, YOU'LL CERTAINLY KNOW

A LOT MORE about what You need

when you're done reading

more of this Blog

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________________________________
.

.
” THE GREATEST RISK

IS NOT TAKING ONE! ”
..

.
” As human beings,

our greatness lies
not so much in being able

to remake the world…
As in being able

to remake ourselves.
Become the changes

you want to see in the world ”
~ Mahatma Gandhi

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.

..
Your Mind certainly CAN transform !
It can be free and at total Peace All by Itself !
All it really needs is the right 'software'
& an effective 'method' to practice it with.
This miraculous "Inner-Freedom-Making-Process"

is 'The Work' that the Buddhist monks have been

cultivating for 2500 years, finding it's way into English.

We're so happy it arrived in the West for us to try !

So there is a Way wide open for you to Discover –

yet it's right there lost inside you !

We'll help you find it.
.

.
"By the learning
The Path of Wisdom-Silence
you can now allow a break
in the illusory world of 'worldly' words.
So that The Flower of 'Just Being'
may freely bloom.
Allow yourself to become suddenly still,
inside & out.
So that you may pierce through
the thin shell of the 'world',
and now fill the entire cosmos
with your own truly free mind.
So the healing of you – and thus,
the healing of the entire world
may truly begin."
~ Old Metaphors by Ji Aoi Isshi – 13th century Japan

______________________________________
.
.
If you know someone else in your life

who just may also benefit by our offerings,
be very welcome to put them in phone touch with us.
It's a FREE phone-consult.
BUT - Please Ask Them to visit this Blog FIRST –
Or email them this Link:
http://buddhistcounselingtherapy.blogspot.com/
Then they can Graze around this for themselves,
as you probably did – either as a casual perusal
or a more focused-reading in here may make
such a big huge difference in the quality of the
phone-consult we have - it can help raise the
level of 'informed-decision' simply by the talk
we and your friend may have together !
.
.
Thanks ...
and hope you find
the rest of our Buddha-Blog helpful . . .

___________________________________________ __________________________________________

ABOUT YOU • • • What's Going On WITHIN You ? — "The Problem"

2008-08-24T21:10:00.000-07:00

____________________________________________
__________________________________________

♦..SO …
WHAT IS GOING ON INSIDE YOU ?
________________________________

“There is no such thing as a "Problem"

without somehow a ‘Gift’ for you in its hands.

Sometimes you have problems

because you need their gifts.

It is through gifts that you grow.”

~ Richard Bach

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.
.
In the really Big Picture for Everyone
.
...:: THE PROBLEM ::.

“BRING YOU LIFE BACK

.FROM THE ‘EXILE’ OF YOUR SPIRIT

.and INTO A SACRED BALANCE AGAIN!”

~ American Poet Laureate Robert Bly

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WHATEVER IT IS . . .

..YOU’RE

. . “A-NOT-SO-HAPPY-PERSON”

• Many, many folks aren’t. We’re in very agitated,
anxious, turbulent, uncertain times right now.
Career & Life-Purpose Despair, Emotional Stuff,
Mood Swings, Mid-Life Changes, Painful Family
Issues or Partner Relationship Dilemmas or Deep
Unhappiness or Loneliness don’t make it any easier.
Life can ride so rough on ya' – hopelessness sets in...

• So please, go ’see’ somebody - here or elsewhere -
but Do GO and really settle in & start working it out.
‘You’ - really being heard from way deep inside, and
coached forward & thru by a counseling therapist who
can deeply understand you – very human to human.
So get up out of your own ‘protective’ self-imposed
isolation – blaming, excusing or rationalizing: it's such
a narrow limiting – that “I can do this by myself” mantra –
reinforced by those ego-pride-shame-hurt-loss-fear-cycles.
Just put yourself into a series of counseling sessions
for awhile. Open it all up ! In a place of safety & trust.

• It’ll be good for you - you’ll be on an accompanied path
to get some relief and resolution, and even some joy
and laughter. This is where you can work on your stuff,
and work on your Soul on a ‘frequent enough’ basis
to make a really Noticeable Difference.

• At least phone us. There is NO obligation to having
a FREE phone-consultation with us, so we both can
see if this could feel right & be workable for you...
.
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Hidden STRESS

WHAT'S GOING ON WITH YOU ?

OVERWHELM: Another Very Basic Problem

" There's no room anymore for my Intelligence
to simply, sanely, sort & separate out anything.

Emotions get to so totally run thinking. So What IS true ?
Emotions get to be so totally run BY thinking. Which IS true ?
Thoughts get so enmeshed and mixed with yukky feelings
and old embedded war 'stories' of wounds & betrayals.
Feelings so overwhelm and flood thinking.
Flooding is all that's happening sometimes.
Emotions run thinking – s t r e s s
Thinking runs Emotions – s t r e s s
Painful memory 'thought-illusions' have
the 'appearance' of Reality - and are not.
Overwhelm, confusion, hopeless, numb...
Angry & Sad – bad sleep, stress, stuck.
Sick & Tired of being sick & tired. Shit ! "
~ J.K.

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♦ Just Maybe You’re a
Very ‘U N CO M M O N’ PERSON ~

“An Unusual ‘Uncommon Person’
Already, Always Feels Different —
in a Very Non-Assimilate-able Way —
just not ‘fitting in’… sadly, that's most people.
But for the odd, gifted, truly ‘uncommon one’ —
it’s sort of a double-whammy to carry!”
~ Humanistic psychology creator Abraham Maslow (1947)

UNHAPPY UNUSUAL ‘UNCOMMON’ PEOPLE
are sensitive, smart, creative, intelligent, individualistic,
higher-consciousness people - artistic, intellectual,
mystical, musical, magical, poetic & spiritual.

• So you probably also need a
‘Non-traditional Therapist’ who 'gets' it ~
a therapist who truly understands “non-mainstream”
life-styles, spirituality, or the creative Arts - a seasoned
therapist who is deeply empathic - and who genuinely
understands ‘uncommon’ and ‘unusual’ or ‘non-ordinary’
people that are quite unique or gifted, but yet still quite
unhappy —
People who are carrying the twin burden of 'specialness'
and yet self-loathing - all covered up as it may be.

• You may be a very ‘Individual’ Person
who normally feels very naturally directed inward,
'spiritual-oriented' - and yet you’re struggling
to get ‘worldly’ problems and emotional issues
handled realistically and with integrity as well –
yet without you having to commit to any sort
of religious path whatsoever! We DON'T DO any
‘religious’ preaching or dogma - No special jargon.
Nothing to 'buy into' or be persuaded to ‘believe’ in.
Just the daily emergence of your own individual
true 'Knowing' - and personal excellence!

• We assist you in self-discovering a ‘natural unfolding’
of unshakable balance, boundless wisdom and joy!
And your innate good humor!

• Liberating a new sense of caring & connectedness
with yourself, other people and your widening universe –
an embracing and expanded "Inner-Acceptance
and Outer Effectiveness". A ‘True’ happiness
independent & much, much more non-reactive
to the constant, unavoidable effects
of ‘everyday’ circumstances & conditions !
Really, a responsible, authentic ‘true freedom’
as they’ve spoken about for millennia
in those profound Ancient Wisdom-teachings.

"Maybe Buddhist Therapy is the new Acupuncture"
........ remember when when 'acupuncture' started
.........to be around .... and as the new treatment,
.........it was found to be surprisingly quite effective.

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.
♦ Buddhist-based Wisdom Therapy
.....offers highly effective, compassionate
....... yet realistic 'Alternative Approaches'
.........to Relating with Your 'Self'
...........and All Other Living Beings
.
.
Some Very HAPPY
UNCOMMON PEOPLE Have Said . . .

"You began as a creation.
Now become a Creator.
Never, never wait at a barrier."
~ Rumi
.
.
"Our 'constant inquiry' is our passion –
and our passion itself is our daily task.
'Inquiry' is our passion. From there –
the rest is the marvelous madness of art."
~ Henry James, "The Middle Years"
.
.
"Be daring, be different, be impractical,
.....................be anything
that will assert 'Integrity of Purpose'
and Imaginative Vision –
in contrast to the play-it-safers, the sad
self-limiting creatures of the commonplace,
the sleeping slaves of the unconscious mundane."

~ Sir Cecil Beaton 1904-1980) English portrait
..photographer, film & stage designer.

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.
.
Buddhist Counseling & Therapy:
It’s been done very effectively
for 1000’s of years …

” THE GREATEST RISK

...IS NOT TAKING ONE ! ”

____________________________
______________________________

" The Journey Itself
IS the Destination! "

Guys, it's going to become clear,
cool & calmed down fairly soon –
It's also going to open up to ....
"That it's OK - that it's not OK" -
That's the 'What Is' of it – and
let's do the inner-'work' from there –
It's simply a fact: Beyond the grip of denial,
you're hurting & you've got some problems.
Together, we've gotta go in 'there' –
a sort of inner-Questing together.
"Therapy" is not found in even
the best of books, CDs, or on the radio.
It's a 'Live' Interactive Relating-Process
between client & counselor - it always has been.
Two people sit down and together
empathically 'Work' on one of them.

"Spiritual Adulthood"
is a much more 'radical' form of Counseling –
geared to intelligent people in the contemporary
Creative Arts and New-Thought-minded sensibilities.
The people who do eventually come to us - are usually
more explorative, curious, have a more active intellect,
and are intensely inquisitive people just by their nature.

The 'Inner-Searchers of Comprehension' are people
who relish the 'safari' of it – the 'search', the 'inquiry',
the 'quest' of it - hurting or not - rather than having
ideas & prescriptions just 'served-up' ready to eat.
"Enlightened Freedom" is certainly
.not a home-deliverable product.
Never was . . .
For each of us - for all of us, Freedom
is all a life-long psychological Pilgrimage
experienced thru a Spiritualized Heart . . .
------------------------------------------
Thank you for reading all this!
Hopefully you'll learn to Enjoy a Rugged Journey –
It is – for " The Journey Itself IS the Destination !"
Be Brave, Courageous & Stay the Course !
Keep The Faith !

Question:
" Grandfather - What is Destiny? "

“ DESTINY is every step we’re taking
and going thru right now - to get there ”

~ Grandfather Bearheart, contemporary Creek Elder

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"You Really Must Consciously Choose
to Make & Re-Make the Choice
to Re-Choose again & again -
to Openly Talk with Someone…
and keep it up – Talking It Out –
to Openly keep Talking with Someone.
Trust in gradually letting the deep clear
water rise up from down the old well -
flow, flush & unfold –
Messy or tidy,
neat or controlled -
we all have these feelings." ~ Bhante Sudu Hom'Dru

"Eighty percent of success is just showing up"
..~ Woody Allen

Go ahead and please get into some quality
counseling-therapy – you, really being heard –
here or somewhere.
That they will really take deep caring
to listen to YOU – really, really hear you.
That’s a very courageous move on your part –
it just may be the right place for you to start.
Be very welcome to inquire more about us,
as you search out where to do this inner-work.

Maimonides, more than 800 years ago said:

"a single deed,
a single word,
a single action,
even just one single thought,
has the power to TIP the scales
and bring redemption to your world.
no matter how dark that world
may seem or feel ~
light is just a single action away."

"There is now a rapidly growing number of
bright American people who basically need
a whole other level, a much higher level,
an intelligent, deeper level of assistance
for their Inner-Unfolding of Spirit"
~ 'The Culture Creatives' (2001)
.
– and we wish to assist you as you
bring yourself to this new level
of a natural, highly conscious,
sensitive awareness –
and fearless unfolding...

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ABOUT YOU • • • ARE YOU FEELING ‘DISSED’? • Disappointed Discouraged Distressed Depressed

2008-08-23T21:22:00.000-07:00

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____________________________________________

ARE YOU FEELING ‘DISSED’ ?

• DISAPPOINTED • DISCOURAGED
• DISTRESSED • DEPRESSED

Are You FEELING Chronically Dissatisfied • Not so good - here's the list alphabetically • Disabled • Disadvantaged • Disaffected • Disagreeable • Disapproved • Disarrayed • Disassociated • Discarded • Discombobulated • Discomforted • Disconcerted • Disconnected • Disconsolate • Discontent • Discord • Discounted • Discouraged • Discredited • Discriminated • Disdained • Disenchanted • Disenfranchised • Disfavored • Disfigured • Disgraced • Disgruntled • Disgusted • Disharmonious • Disheartened • Disheveled • Dishonest • Dishonored • Disillusioned • Disintegrated • Disinterested • Disliked • Dismal • Dismayed • Dismissed • Disorganized • Disoriented • Disgusted • Disparaged • Dispassionate • Dispensable • Displaced • Displeased • Displeasure • Disposable • Dispossessed • Disqualified • Disregarded • Disreputable • Disrespected • Disrupted • Dissatisfied • Dissociated • Distanced • Distant • Distasteful • Distorted • Distracted • Distraught • Distressed • Disunity • Disused • Distrustful and very Disturbed about it all • Dissed & Pissed Off ! –– A Disaster.

This whole ‘Dis’ this or ‘Dis’ that 'thing' -
all those blamed 'reasons' about your life ?
You CAN change it !
We can help & assist you.
BUT ‘Therapy’ is a Huge personal challenge -
And YOU DO have to show up for yourself
to make it really happen ! Start someplace ...

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.
.
“Eighty percent of success is just showing up”

~ Woody Allen

”Every community needs
a group of angelic troublemakers”

~ Bayard Rustin, black activist social reformer

“Be not afraid of absurdity - do not shrink from the fantastic!
Within a dilemma - choose the most unheard-of,
the most audacious solution!
De l’audace! De l’audace!
Et encore de l’audace!
Be audacious!”

~ Karen Blixen, author ‘Out of Africa’
.
_____________________________

Get some Quality Counseling Therapy -
here, somewhere, anywhere good . . .
that may be a place for you to start.

_____________________________
___________________________
.
.
♦ . MAYBE YOU’VE BECOME
..SO OVERWHELMINGLY
‘IDENTIFIED’ and OVER-INVOLVED
IN YOUR OWN DIFFICULT ‘LIFE-STORY’
That You Can’t See The Forest Anymore
Because of All The Trees!
Your ‘Story’ of being such a anxiety-driven ‘winner’
or a victimized ‘loser’ - resentful, bitter, came here
to be recognized - not just a plain nobody ’out there’.
You’re just so underwhelmed - or feeling so isolated -
that you just plain ‘hurt’ inside. Numb or so angry ?
Maybe you’ve lost the Path, or forgotten the Way -
feeling so ineffective in your ‘deeper’ inner-search.
Or you’ve just never yet really sought out
Who ‘you’ really, really are - ‘in here’. Inside.

____________________________________________
__________________________________________

ABOUT US • • • WHY of all possible things - Are We BUDDHIST-based ???

2008-08-22T18:26:00.000-07:00

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Why of all possible things ~
Are We Buddhist-based ?

◊ ◊ ◊ WHY we particularly use the 'Buddhist brand-name'
is because those Asian Buddhist cultures have really got
some of the most skillfully mature, very grounded,
least misleading, most inclusive and the very best
of the compassionate 'mind-healing techniques'
available on the planet so far - at least, so far as
we've come across ....So we use 'em.
And we're very much still open & strongly eclectic:
We use many diverse approaches – so we'll use
what YOU need – not what 'we' like best. We're on
your side! There is no one-way !
We practice as Buddhist ministers not as
licensed clinical psychologists or MFTs.

Admittedly,
We Are a Very Unusual
Counseling Service . . .

WHY do we align ourselves
with the Buddha's teachings ?
Because, Buddha himself said –
we should "Believe Nothing –
Examine & Question Everything"
.... and we feel we can trust & have faith in that.
An open-ended, no strings attached philosophy
always sounded good to us. Honest, Clean, Upfront.

It is mostly our deeply ingrained, mostly unconscious
"Beliefs" - that are at the very core of our Problems.
We will assist you to find your very own Wisdom-mind –
and we are going to try n' guide you towards developing
some strong Meditation and Compassion Practices
that will begin to help you heal your own Suffering.

Back in 500 BC India 'Openness' was revolutionary also.
Buddha offered a totally no strings attached, wide open
invitation to inspect, to question, scrutinize, if need be,
to even criticize his teachings - before ever accepting
any of it. There is nothing ever 'religious' or 'cult-ish' or
'mysterious' here at "Spiritual Adulthood" – an open book.
Buddhist-wisdom is intelligent, softly sober & crystal clear.
It's genuine as solid gold. In places it's philosophical or
sagely gentle, or it can be challenging, playful or purposely
bewildering. The Buddha himself often said:
"Do not go accept what I say through mere respect
towards me, because people say I am a Buddha.
Just as the true purity of real gold is only ascertained
by thorough testing, weighing or rubbing – likewise
the true Truth be accepted only after very close scrutiny."
This open, fearless assertion of allowing the whole of
the Teaching to be closely examined – gives a strong,
personalized, experiential validity to one's own Truth.
Take nothing on "Belief".... It must be Your Truth !

And, if you do not wish to contact us at this time,
or not inquire any further into the counseling we offer,
we hope you'll still make good use of the enclosed
supportive quotes & readings on these blog pages
to further your own journey deeply inwards.

◊ " What is accepted by the majority of people ~
does not mean it is Real " ~ The Buddha

" One common mistake is to think that 'your reality’
is THE reality. You must always be prepared to leave
your reality for a greater one " ~ Amaji Meera
______________________________________________________

◊ BUDDHIST COUNSELING
& RATIONAL THERAPY for Mind & Heart

What's a Buddhist-based COUNSELING-THERAPY ?

Possibly, an effective Buddhist-based 'Alternative' for you ~
As an Asian method, this would be a more 'non-traditional'
way for your Discomforted Mind, your Wounded Inner-Spirit
or your Despairing Relationship – all in the midst of our very
edgy, costly, distrustful, needy, over-driven, survival-stressed,
tense Uncertain Times.
"Buddhist Rational Therapy" is more unconventional than
an ordinary, standard, non-spiritual 'Western-style therapy'.
But so are you . . .

It's simply that the 'Spiritual-Comes-First'
in HEALING THE MIND – it has to . . . .

Nourishing "The Wisdom-Spirit" is a big part of The Start.
'Emotional Upset' sadly, has no functional Wisdom itself.
It just hurts much too much - or somehow shuts right down.
Big emotions are into being in a very 'protected' safe-mode.

So, we start with the 'hidden' but available "Good Parts".
Yes, they are certainly there ! The Buddha-Mind within you.
Hey, the fact that you've got this far, made it somewhat intact
to this web-page, is some kinda' Karma-proof that you're into
doing something good for yourself ! Give yourself lot'sa credit.

You'll be learning how to develop a calm,
on point, very centered Wisdom-Mind.
The 'Good Part' is that the 'Buddha-Mind'
is something that everyone inherently possesses !
___________________________________________________

so please, just keep reading . . .

Great Humanistic Teachings
about Authentic Independence of 'Self'
& Compassionate Inter-dependence
in relations with All Others - at the same time

Your Evolving-Mind certainly CAN be Free,
and at Peace, and Awaken All By Itself !
BY ITSELF. If Otherwise, then that's a
pseudo-awakened freedom –
and wouldn't be all yours – your very own.
If others try 'n convince you, persuade you
into being Free, this new 'borrowed' freedom,
this pseudo-transformation, catharsis, release
or resolve, new found sense of being, would only
be a compromise. Nice but time-limited.
And not Yours. It would be somebody else's sale.
Your therapist's, your counselor's? Even your pastor
or rabbi's? Your therapist's, your counselor's?
It has to be your own authentic Discovery-Experience
or it would be conditional. It would be only temporary.
Buddha's 'free-thinking' teaching-philosophy had all
this great emphasis on 'Genuine Inner-Independence'
and a compassionate Social Inter-dependence.
Buddhist thought has a rational, non-theistic,
calm, sane, tolerant history of Inner-Freedom.
'True Independence' of mind leads to an altruistic
serving of human-kind even better through a creative,
truly free, willing 'Inter-dependence' - which is certainly
not a compromise or an obsessive co-dependence.
Nothing coerced. Free All By Itself ! ...Fly free,
no wing-subscription required . . Authenticity of Being.
Otherwise it wouldn't be YOUR own Awakening - and
so, Just Not Free. It'd be a compromised awakening,
dependent on some 'other' condition being in place -
or person in agreement. Not a truly Free moment.
The body is based on Nature's REAL conditions -
but the Mind ? What REAL 'conditions' limit
& bind the Mind and thought ?
Ask that question many times over !
_____________________________________________

All your mind needs for awhile, is the right 'software'
and a meditation 'method' to silently practice it with.
You don't need devotion to a guru, an organization,
a strict doctrine or arduous discipline or a 'religion'.
.
.
Just the 'Rational',
deeply appreciating the 'Mystical'
and the 'Mystical',
deeply flavoring the 'Rational'.
.
.
All and everything else is accommodated
in the incomparable, awesome presence
of the "Present Moment As It Is".

.
.
If you know someone else in your life who just might benefit
by our offerings, be welcome to put them in touch with us
here at The Spiritual Adulthood Counseling Therapy Project.

_________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________

WHO COMES HERE to Us ?

2008-08-21T14:03:00.000-07:00

_______________________________________________
______________________________________________
_____________________________________________

“A Butcher, a Baker,
a Candlestick-maker -
Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief -
Soldier, Sailor, Tinker, Tailor -
Rich man, Poor man, Beggar man, Thief “

" The Journey Itself
IS the Destination! "

Guys, it's really gotta' become fairly clear,
willing or unwilling on your part,
fairly quickly that it has to be -
"That it's OK - that it's not OK" –
that's the 'What Is' –
and let's go 'work' from there.
Fact: You're hurting and
you've got some problems.
Together, we gotta go in 'there'
and go Questing together. Live !

"Therapy" is not found in even the
best of books or CDs. Or on the Net.
It's a 'LIVE' Interactive Relating-Process -
It always has been. Interactively:
that's how the 'problems' started -
well, that's how they have to resolve !
Therapy: Two people sit down and
empathically 'Work' on one of them.
It's a living, live 'dynamic' - Face to Face.
this time around it's a co-operative 'dyad'
of two people who care, IN on this.
Therapy counseling is a 'relationship'
in it's truest form. . . AND
That's always disturbingly 'risky'
for the wounded Spirit to chance.
.
.
"The Greatest Risk is Not Taking One"
.
"Spiritual Adulthood" is offering
a much more 'radical' form of Counseling –
more geared to people in the whole spectrum
of contemporary Creative Arts and the best of
'New-Thought-minded' sensibilities.
Maybe more Green or Liberal or
'Cultural Creatives'. Maybe just You.

The "Spiritual Adulthood" exploration
encourages and supports a very eclectic
“Inquiry into Self” practice, combining
the cool, calm 'observation' approach of
traditional, quiet Mindfulness Meditation,
with effective 'crazy wisdom' irrationality of
'Zen-mind Realizations' that can cognitively
short-circuit the common but so obsessive
self-involved, self-absorbed,
self-identified ego-mind.

" One easily-made, very common mistake
is to think that 'your reality’ is THE Reality.
You must always be prepared to bravely leave
your reality for a greater one." ~ Meeraji

We encourage highly inquisitive,
progressive-minded people,
with a natural, deep love of learning -
who relish the abstract,
and even the absurd –
and have a genuine taste
for the indefinable 'existential' stuff.
. .
~ and Buddhist psychology is playful too....

" . . ever noticed, that it's Always NOW "
~ Alan Watts
he suggests you repeatedly keep
noticing this many times a day . . .
. .
Usually, the people who do eventually
come to us - are more explorative curious,
do have a more active intellect, and are
innately, intensely inquisitive people
by their nature. Not 'Ordinary Americans'.
The 'Inner-Search', 'The Ouest' and
'The Mystery' - 'Understanding' of it all.
They are people who relish the 'safari'
of it – the 'search', the 'inquiry', the brave
'quest' of it - hurting or not - rather than
'popular' ideas and packaged prescriptions
just 'served-up' ready to eat. No quick-fix.
'Enlightened Freedom' is 'experiential' -
just not a 'home-deliverable 'product'.
For each of us - all growth is a life-long
psychological pilgrimage, experienced
thru a compassionate Spiritual Heart. . .
that includes live, full, rich relationship
experieces with all other living beings.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Question:
" Grandfather - What is Destiny? "

“ DESTINY is every step we’re taking
and going thru right now - to get there ”

"So, You Really Must Consciously Choose –
and make the Choice of Good Spirits
to Re-Choose again & again -
to Openly 'Talk Truth' with Someone…
...and keep it up ! .. Keep it up !
To Openly keep Talking with Someone.
To be Open to 'Trust'
in gradually letting it all arise and unfold -
Messy or tidy, depressed or distressed.
We all have these feelings.
It's nothing new."
~ Grandfather Bearheart, contemporary Creek Elder
.
.
"Eighty percent of success
is just showing up"
~ Woody Allen

Go ahead and get into some
quality counseling-therapy –
You, really being heard –
here or somewhere –
that they will really take
a deep caring to listen to YOU –
and really, really hear you.
AND,
that’s a very courageous move on your part –
to move yourself into a 'counseling-setting'.
It just may be the right place for you to start.
Be very welcome to inquire more about us,
as you search out where to do this inner-work.
Please Read Some More on this site.

--------------------------------------------------
.
.
Maimonides, more than 800 years ago said:
.
"A Single Deed,
a Single Word,
a Single Action,
even just One Single Thought,
has the power to TIP the scales
and bring redemption & resolve to your world.
No matter how dark that world may seem
or feel ~ Light is just a single action away."
.
_________________________________

A "Cultural Creative" ~ are you one ?
.
Don't Know ? 'Not Identified' means
that they themselves do not know they
are part of a larger sociological grouping,
that it has a 'name', and that there are
'others' like them out there.

"There is now a rapidly growing number
of very bright American people who basically
have a whole other level, a much, much
higher level of true intellect operating,
an intelligent, 'reformed', deeper level
of Inner-Unfolding of Inner-Spirit".
But a 'need' - without any 'religion'.
~ "The Cultural Creatives" ( 2000 )
.
– and we wish to encourage & assist you
as you bring yourself to this new level
of a natural, highly conscious,
sensitive awareness –
and fearless unfolding...
.
.
Thank you for reading all this!
Hopefully you'll learn to cherish
The Life-Journey even more –
for – "The Journey Itself IS the Destination!"
Be Brave, Courageous and Enjoy the Journey ~
.
"The Greatest Risk is Not Taking One"

.
_________________________________
footnote:
.
"Cultural Creatives" from Wikipedia,
the free encyclopedia.

"Cultural Creatives", a term coined by
sociologist Paul H. Ray and psychologist
Sherry Ruth Anderson to describe a large
segment ( 23% ) in Western society that has
recently developed beyond the 'standard
paradigm' of established Modernists
versus Traditionalists or Conservatives.
The concept was presented in 2000 in
their book The Cultural Creatives -
How 50 Million People Are
Changing the World
( Harmony Books, New York ),
They claim to have found that 50 million
adult Americans ( slightly over one quarter
of the adult population) can now be 'identified'
as belonging to this 'group' of individuals
which have not yet found its OWN 'identity'
– but is disenchanted with materialism and
consumerism, and most of what is currently
available in the daily round.
Dr Ray calls this segment
The New Progressives.
This growing section of the population is
admittedly 'Spiritual' & embraces the 'practice'
of spiritual values in daily life without formal
religion.
'Not Identified' means that they themselves
do not know they are part of a larger
sociological grouping, that it has a 'name',
and that there are 'others' like them out there.
Many of the urban cohort patronize specialty
stores and specialty children's schools etc.
that support their values. Many adherents
to the tenets of the 'cultural creatives' tend to
become familiar with a variety of religions
and seek to identify with principles that are
universal among all religions & philosophies.
The intention is to search for universal,
practical spiritual principles that have
deep intrinsic value - and do not depend on
ecclesiastical authority whatsoever.
.
Read More:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_Creatives
Links to alternative lifestyle; modernism and
postmodernism; post-materialism; tempered
radicals; voluntary simplicity.

___________________________________________
__________________________________________

ZEN MEN • Men's Inner Growth Groups • Santa Monica

2008-08-20T19:28:00.001-07:00

◊ A Los Angeles Men’s Growth Group
continually meeting since 1989.

__________________________
..

♦ "Yup, EVERY GUY COULD

USE BEING IN A MEN’S GROUP

at some time in his life"

__________________________

• •ZEN♦MEN's INNER-GROWTH

..PEER GROUPS ••

Compassionately & Intelligently

Explore a Man's Core Life-Issues

Please Go to Our MEN'sBLOG now
for more complete Details & Description
about the Weekly Men's Groups ~
NEW Group starting up Summer '09
http://zenmensgroup.blogspot.com/
.

__________________________________________
________________________________________
.

..
♦ ♦ ♦ WHATEVER 'IT' IS ~

YOU'RE "A NOT SO HAPPY GUY"

Many, many men aren’t. Career & Life-Purpose Despair, Mid-Life Changes, Emotional Stuff or Painful Relationship Dilemmas. So go 'see' somebody and really start working it out. You - really being heard from way inside and coached forward & through by other men who can deeply understand you – man to man. That could be quite skillful work by another one of your own guys in Your Own Men’s Group. Totally being here for yourself - as you completely be here for each other. That's the whole point of a group!
So go on, get out of your protective self-imposed isolation: “I can do it by myself” male-ego-pride-shame- fear-bullshit cycles & just get into a men’s growth group for awhile where you can work on your stuff & your soul on a frequent enough weekly-basis to make a really noticeable difference.

At least check the 'idea' out!
.

_________________________________________

♦ GOOD-HEARTED MEN

EXPLORING 'CONSCIOUS' MANHOOD

_________________________________________________

♦ MEN’S INNER-GROWTH • MEN'S LIFE-ISSUES

... • MEN’S HEALTH • MEN'S CREATIVITY &
....... • MEN'S SPIRITUALITY • MEN'S HAPPINESS...

Around WORK, WOMEN, FAMILY, RELATIONSHIPS

& Especially Your Own INNER SELF-DEVELOPMENT

"GOOD MEN

....BECOMING

.......EVEN BETTER MEN"

• Deep Self-Inquiry & Inner-Process Work

• Peer Coaching • De-Stressing • Meditation

• Urban Shamanism • Drumming • Campouts

..& Retreats • Challenge & Confrontation Work

• Cam’raderie • Support & Lotsa’ Fun
_____________________________________________________
.

..
Plan Ahead:

Please make your phone Inquiries now,
or to schedule an Interview really soon -

as the process takes some lead-time.

Phone: 1-310-450-2268

Best phone times to talk:

Noon-6pm, Mon/Fri

◊ The ZEN MEN Weekly Groups

◊ The L.A. MEDICINE MEN's LODGE

◊ Santa Monica ~ CA 90405 ~ USA

◊ A Los Angeles Men’s Growth Group

continually meeting since 1989

________________________________________

AkasaLeviZZ@msn.com ~ 310-450-2268

CONTACT by PHONE is really Best ~

Phone time Noon to 6pm, Mon/Fri

________________________________________

Please Go to Our MEN'sBLOG now

for very complete Details & Description

about the Weekly Men's Groups ~

NEW Group starting up Summer '09

http://zenmensgroup.blogspot.com/

BTW • Our Main MEN's Web-BLOG page

is under-going some heavy re-construction

• Please, still go there & Manually SCROLL

that BLOG PAGE ~ Thanks Guys

THERE'S A LOT OF GOOD, HEFTY,

HEARTY STUFF WRITTEN IN THOSE

BLOG POSTINGS. PLEASE HAVE

PATIENCE & GIVE IT A CHANCE

and SOME WILLING FOCUS...
.

________________________________________

.
♦ "Yup, EVERY GUY COULD USE
BEING IN A MEN’S GROUP
at some time in his life"

♦ “I Have Circled The Edges

......of Men’s Campfires

.........All My Life

.........In Search of Belonging”
...................~ singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen

_________________________________________________

.
♦ "SO WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO MEN ?"
That's a big issue that we really gotta' look at.
See and read the Blog pages ....

for some good words on this.

We will approach this in Group . . .

http://zenmensgroup.blogspot.com/

"Bring your life back

from the modern ”Exile”

of The Noble Male Spirit ~

and come back into

Sacred Balance once again"

~ "Iron John" author/poet Robert Bly

. . . don't you owe that to yourself ?

__________________________________
__________________________________
.

ZEN MEN ::

A CONTEMPORARY TRIBE
OF TRUTH-HONORING MEN
THAT MEET TOGETHER IN TRUST
& SUPPORT EVERY WEEK
.
Men Learning to Trust

& Support Each Other
in Making

Important Life Changes.
.

..
♦ GOOD-HEARTED MEN EXPLORING
..........'CONSCIOUS' MANHOOD
.

• MEN’S INNER-GROWTH
• MEN'S LIFE-ISSUES
• MEN’S HEALTH
• MEN'S CREATIVITY
• MEN'S CONNECTIVITY
• MEN'S SPIRITUALITY
• MEN'S HAPPINESS ....
Around WORK, WOMEN,
FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS
.
.
_______________________________________________

American Poet-Laureate & Mythologist ROBERT BLY,

author of bestseller IRON JOHN: A Book About Men says:

_____________________________________________________

"I think what men need to do –

is to spread their wings in the valley

of their own sorrow and then soar!

And roar! Go ahead, dance on the corpse

of your own despair! Get out of your

protective isolation & get into a local

men's group, that's where you can work

on your soul on a frequent enough basis

to make a noticeable difference !

Bring your life back

from the "Exile of the Male Spirit" -

and into a healthy, Sacred Balance again!"
.

___________________________________________________

.
..
• HONEST TALK • HEART-FELT LISTENING
...• CARING, STRONG FELLOWSHIP
......• MEANINGFUL FEEDBACK

_________________________________________________

_______________________________________________
.

important.details

MEN's GROUPS MEET WEEKLY

in Santa Monica CA 90405 ~

address given when you apply.
If you LIVE or WORK closer

to our meetings – it's so much easier

for you to attend our local Weekly Groups

on a committed weekly basis.

------------------------------------------------------------

• Group is not drop-in • It's ongoing long term
• Group is funded by your voluntary donations

GOOD MEN BECOMING EVEN BETTER MEN
• Deep Self-Inquiry & Inner-Process Work

• Peer Coaching • De-Stressing • Meditation

• Urban Shamanism • Drumming • Campouts

& Retreats • Challenge & Confrontation Work
• Cam’raderie • Support & Lotsa’ Fun

Akasa Levi, DhMA ~ our Firetender-Facilitator:

a former ordained American Buddhist Forest Monk

in India & Sri Lanka, now a friendly, wisdom-elder,

sage sort of guy who also offers Individual Therapy,

Couples & Relationship Counseling

If you relate, somehow, to any of this

• then PHONE for more info • 310-450-2268

for this, phone is better AkasaLeviZZ@msn.com

Please Go to Our MEN'sBLOG now for very complete
Details & Description about MENsWORK and Groups.
http://zenmensgroup.blogspot.com/

_______________________________________________
________________________________________________

_________________________________________________

ABOUT YOU • • • RE-DISCOVERING and REFINING Your 'SELF'

2008-08-20T18:55:00.000-07:00

_________________________________
_______________________________

It's a 'Process' of Re-Discovery

RE-DISCOVERING, RE-DEFINING
& REFINING Your Inner-'SELF'

• contemplation • comprehension
....• compassion • completion
........• and spiritual refinement

Being True to “Yourself” ~
Individually, a 'Re-defining' truly
in/on your very OWN TERMS !
( not society’s or religion’s terms ).

YOUR very Own Terms is what
‘Therapy of the Spirit’ is all about !
Therapy of the ‘True’ Spirit is a
deep 'process' where really ALL
heart/mind/spirit/soul-healing
MUST start. Spirit too, is Alive ~

Old 'stories' are so damn deadening.
True therapy has to start and end
with the Heart ! The Heart.
Otherwise it ain’t True. It ain't so.

It’s been that way in every culture
all through time! It’s just only that
until very recently, the ‘choices’
of that healing have always been
so restricted, hidden & co-opted
by the powers that be...and so few,
either doctors or the church.
Without much Heart. No longer !

Every good approach world-wide
is now available to you !
It’s from that Very Big Approach
that you can truly find yourself....
and then truly give back to others
in a valuable, clear, easy-going,
and natural way ~ in true ‘goodness’.
Faith in ourselves
simply as Human Beings restored.
And it can be that ’Spiritual’
AND yet totally Non-Religious . . .

A Recovery into Re-discovery –
When it's Your Re-discovery.

Your 'Insights' that Re-surface and
become gradually integrated into you.
They're Yours. Not your therapists.
Exclusively Yours – simply because
it is You having the experience of
that insight. Trusting precious Insights.

Then it's a matter of responsibly
keeping them. A lot of personal
'inner-work' practiced at home & job,
as well as in counseling office-visits -
is keeping yourself continually reminded
of those 'Insights' & keeping them present.
Keeping 'Insights' alive, well oiled
and fully operational.
To your Benefit !

_______________________________________
________________________________________
.
You may want to hi-lite, copy, paste and send
the quote below to people you know…
some of the wisest guidance you’ll ever read,
and put to your own personal use or offer to others.
________________________________________

here it is ~

♦ “Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart.
Try to love the ‘Questions’ themselves -
like locked rooms and like books
that are written in a foreign language.
Do not, right now, seek for the Answers.
The ‘Answers’ which cannot now be given to you -
because you would not be able to actually ‘live’ them.
And the point is to ‘live’ everything -
- experiencing everything.
At present,
you need to live the Questions themselves.
Perhaps you will gradually, without even noticing it,
live along some day into the true Answer.
Your answer.”
~ Rainer Rilke’s “Letters to a Young Poet” Paris 1908

________________________________________ _______________________________________ ______________________________________

.
♦ Buddhist-based Wisdom Therapy
.....offers highly effective,
.......compassionate 'Alternative Approaches'
.........to Relating with Your 'Self'
...........and All Other Living Beings
.
.
.
.
.

HOW LONG Does Therapy Take ? • How Many Visits ?

2008-08-20T18:53:00.000-07:00

.
.
.
"The Only Way Out
......is Through !"

~ The Tao
________________________________________
______________________________________.
.
How .L o n g
Does 'Therapy' Take ?

There are a lot of factors involved. . . .
Hidden in these 'poetic' quotes are
some responses to this Question:

Therapy takes time & takes Work.

_________________________________

"It is still up to you to choose ~
to join with ‘truth’ or with ‘illusion’.
But remember, that to choose one
is to let go of the other.

When the way comes to an end,
then change -
having changed,
you can then pass through."... ~ The Tao

~ a taoist parable
on the struggle of living through things ~

When wiggling through a hole -
the 'difficult' world looks different -
than when scrubbed clean
by the wiggle itself

and now looking back.

~ Mark Nepo

I love you, gentlest of Ways –
you who ripened us ...
as we wrestled with you...

~ Rilke on Buddhism (Paris 1908)

Individual people
stumble over pebbles,
never over mountains. ..

~ Emilie Cady

T I M E .
.
• How Many Visits ?
.

How Long Does

....'Therapy' Take ?

......This is a huge

........indefinable

..........indefinite

...........question !

............ It takes

.............T I M E .

You've gotta plan on giving it some open-ended time –

Honestly: We really don't know - it's really case by case
Inner-Healing of any kind takes its own time –

person by person, situation by situation.

Certainly one session is not enough
to be integrative, effective & lasting –

except just as an introduction for the client
& counselor to simply check each other out.

AND for the client to 'confirm' for themself -

that they are hopefully doing something good

by the active decision to seek counseling.

In a preliminary session - maybe we can observe

a basic 'diagnosis'. Maybe. Maybe we can inform you

in a few first sessions what we may be looking at

as to how "a therapy" might develop, maybe we could

refer you somewhere that could work in a better balance

with your particular needs and/or finances. Maybe.

Please plan on at least a few more 'beginning' sessions

to see if even a common ground of open communication

exists – and might grow between you and your counselor.

You gotta' give 'it' a chance. What else can we say?...

That's why we offer a FREE phone consultation - First,

before coming in here for the first time. Inner-Healing
MUST be a very, very 'Human' thing. A 'therapist' is

a special new 'human' in your life. Beginning 'therapy'

is sort of a professional Blind-Date. Do you two even

'like' each other ? So go easy on the immediate
impulse to judge or evaluate these first few sessions –

give a fresh new experience a fresh chance.

Therapy takes time & takes work.

We're also looking at how or how not

have you spent money on yourself before ?

And, please, do not expect only a few sessions

to be sufficient: 'Self-healing' your difficult-issues

and wounded-feelings that took your whole life-time

to develop - will certainly take some time to turn around.

There are NO silver bullets, no magic pills or divine

interventions. No fantasies. There IS a lot of 'resistance'.

Of course there is, that's how you survived so far . . .
You & your counselor are going to have to work & talk

very intimately – and be openly truthful, trusting & honest.
Change takes willing work & time... and responsibility.
And at times you will experience painful moments, even days -
and even 'scrape bottom' where hopelessness lies... be brave.

After a short time actually - you might begin to progress

towards a healthy noticeable 'shift' in your very own

'experience' of yourself. It's gonna take some TIME.

... small victories & baby-steps

..give authentic,

realistic motivation
& momentum to the journey.

" While one person hesitates because they
'feel' inferior & 'think' insecure thoughts –
The other is just busy making mistakes aplenty
and becoming quite superior."....~ The Tao

_________________________________________

"There is now a rapidly growing number

of uncharted, bright American people
who basically need a whole other level,

a much higher level, an intelligent,

deeper level of Inner-Unfolding of Spirit"
The Cultural Creatives by P. Ray & S. Anderson.

– We wish to assist you as you bring yourself
to this new level of a natural, highly conscious,
sensitive awareness – and fearless unfolding...
below the surface of American culture,

a slow, new, American indigenous

'revolutionary' movement

is emerging.

• You may be a very 'individual' or 'introverted'

or 'introspective' person - all very good things.
Simply, you Do turn naturally 'inward' – some

turn naturally 'outward', you turn naturally 'inward'.
Maybe you're creative or spiritually-oriented.

Yet you're struggling to get everyday

‘worldly’ problems and emotional issues handled

realistically and with a sort of 'sacred integrity' as well

– yet without you having to commit to any out-dated

or un-relatable therapies or 'religious paths' whatsoever.

On the other hand, the usual Western styles of therapy

or self-help 'programs' or personal growth seminars
can sound quite 'scripted' - not like You at all.

The spirituality of contemporary Buddhism is so flexibly
open and universal ( & agnostic ) - that it can always be

expressed in your own way. To start, it's all about you.

• So you probably need a 'Non-traditional Therapist'

who is them-self “non-mainstream” minded:
a counselor who genuinely understands what it is

to be 'Unconventional' – empathically understanding
what is an 'uncommon' lifestyle - or a life in the arts

or intellect – and truly "gets" it about special people
who are quite different, unique or gifted, unusual

or non-ordinary – but quite unhappy.

"But therapy is not a one-shot deal !"

There are no 'miracles'. No silver bullets.

It'll take some months of consciously applied

inner-practice-Work. Like doing the Gym.
You've gotta' accept that you yourself

are the front end of the best of miracles ...

... your Life."

• At Spiritual Adulthood Counseling
we offer NO 'religious' preaching or dogma -
nothing to blindly "believe" in.

We just ain't got No easy answers . . . .

Just the natural emergence of your own

individual True 'Knowing’ & personal excellence !
It's taken you a long time to become your very own

"Bodhisattva" - a sort of "Buddha-in-the-making".

There you are Becoming Happy as the True You.

• We mentor you in your very own inner-discovery

of a very 'natural unfolding' – a calm, true unshakable

balance of boundless wisdom & joy. And finding

your own innate good humor.

Liberating a new sense of caring & connectedness

with yourself, other people and the universe around you.

Discover and unfold a rich, enhanced, expanded inner-

acceptance and outer-effectiveness.

But it's not a one-shot deal. It'll take Work.

• ‘True’ Happiness – reasonably independent of the

unavoidable effects of ‘everyday’ life-circumstances
and conditions. Yet, totally independent of the

"Self"-created 'Stories' & 'Drama' you habitually hurt

yourself with. Find really 'true inner-freedom' as

they've spoken about in ancient Asian teachings

for many millennia !

• At 'The Spiritual Adulthood Counseling Project'

we offer a uniquely combined East/West counseling:
an innovative, wholistic, Eastern/Asian influenced

'spiritual variation' of the mind-therapies, clearly based

in the grounded, pragmatic, practical, highly rational

Buddhist psychology teachings. Created for intelligent

and sensitive people - intellectual, gifted or creative

people - odd, wonderfully uncommon people…

"You began as a creation.
Now become a Creator.
Never, never wait at a barrier." ~ Rumi

"Our 'constant inquiry' is our passion –
and our passion itself is our daily task.
'Inquiry' is our passion. From there –
the rest is the marvelous madness of art."
~ Henry James, "The Middle Years"

_________________________________________

________________________________________

♦ Buddhist-based Wisdom Therapy

.....offers highly effective,

.......compassionate 'Alternative Approaches'

.........to Relating with Your 'Self'

...........and All Other Living Beings

____________________________________________

.. --------------------------------------

Expanded Bio: AKASA LEVI, (DhMA) (D.Min) - our counseling therapist, facilitator, friend

2008-08-13T01:55:00.000-07:00

A Big Welcome . . . .
BUT Google gottcha' to the wrong 1st page . . .

*Please Pardon the Inconvenience ~
This Laughing Buddha Counseling site
and The Spiritual Adulthood Project site
are UNDER RE-CONSTRUCTION

On left side of screen is
a Table of Contents
Click on # 1 and please start there . . . . .

~or~

Please Re-Direct Yourself Now To: http://buddhistcounselingtherapy.blogspot.com/

~ and thanks for your continued patience

COUNSELING & THERAPY PROJECT"
_______________________________________________

Santa Monica - CA 90405 near SM College
AkasaLeviZZ@msn.com ~ 310-450-2268
Best 'live' phone times, Noon to 6pm, Mon-Fri
Free initial phone consultation

♦ Buddhist-based Wisdom Therapy
offers highly effective, compassionate,
yet realistic 'Alternative Approaches'
to healthy Relating with Your 'Self'
and All Other Feeling, Living Beings.
___________________________________
____________________________________

" What is accepted by the majority of people

....does not mean it is Real " ~ The Buddha 500 BC

Part of all this inner 'work' is 'Spiritual',
Yet, NONE of this is 'religious'
NONE of this is God-oriented
This Way is Not The Only Way.
Traditional Buddhism is
secular-humanistic -
and it is Non-Theistic.
It is Human to Human.
__________________

( ALSO: For Weekly Buddhist Meditation Class & Dharma Study,
please visit us at http://buddhistmeditationsantamonica.blogspot.com/ )
_______________________________ ________________________________
.
.Expanded Bio: AKASA LEVI (DhMA) (D.Min) -
our counseling therapist/facilitator/mentor/friend

"This well seasoned, friendly old ‘tribal elder’ and funny
'witch-doctor' just loves being referred to as a 'Shrink'.
When you're looking for a 'shrink' – long experience
and sweetening that can come with age
is a definite plus plus thing." ~ J.K.

♦ Akasa-Maitreya Levi, DhMA ( D.Min ) ~

SUNY Harpur College & Binghamton University - New York.
An ex-pat American of the Sixty's Counter-Culture generation
that went to live in Asia for the full decade of the 1970's
to be with the last living spiritual teachers of the pre-global era.
Arriving in India over-land in 1972 as a filmmaker & student
of the Gurdjieff 'Work' - he became a Vajrayana initiate of
Lama Thubten Yeshe and Thubten Zopa Rinpoche at Kopan,
Nepal & Dharamsala, India ( the Gelugpa monk founders of
Wisdom Publications in Boston ) Akasa Levi is now 69." The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery "

Later, Akasa was a personal pupil of both Subhuti Shibuya
Zen-Sensei and Sri Anagarika Munindra, the renown Bengali
Vipassana Mindfulness teacher, both in the remote little holy
village of Bodhgaya, India – sort of the historical Jerusalem
to Buddhists, where the famed sacred Bodhi Tree stands
that the Buddha sat under ( 528 BC ).
Akasa was an early Vipassana Insight student of SN Goenka
when he gave all the teachings in person. "Don't believe your
own mind" Goenka-ji so firmly said. He became an ordained
'Bhikkhu' Vipassana forest sadhu-monk for 6 years in cotton
robes in Sri Lanka - trained and ordained into the Theravada
Monastic Order by the revered Venerable Balangoda Ananda
Maitreya, the late Maha Nayake Thera of the Amarapura
Nikaya Lineage. He came August 24, 1896 ~ he went July 18,
1998, at 102 years of age. Whew!
------------------------------------------------------------
Akasa's major scholastic influences came thru his mentor
Venerable Ananda Maitreya & Nilambe's Acharya Godwin
Samararatne; and The Buddhist Publication Society's late
Nyanaponika Mahathera and Bhante Piyadassi Mahathera;
& especially thru the controversial teacher Henri Van Zeyst
- all in upcountry, Kandy, Sri Lanka. Later, he was Western
teacher-in-residence at the forest-yogi Bhante Polpitiya
Kassapa's Rockhill Hermitage. Akasa practiced Non-Duality
Advaita in satsang with the wonderfully notorious Bede Baba,
Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj in Bombay ( there are some books
on his teachings "I AM THAT" ) – Maharaj certainly was THAT!
And of course, there was Shibuya-San and Munindraji nearby,
keeping Akasa on a daily dosage of their gracious tutoring.
"Everything we've ever, ever learned -
we've learned somehow from somebody else."
After returning to the USA in 1980, to be with Zen-master
Thich Tien-An at The University of Oriental Studies and
The International Buddhist Meditation Center in LA's
Koreatown. Akasa then developed an enduring friendship
with pioneering woman movement & mindfulness teacher
Madharma Ruth Denison at her Dhamma-Dena Vipassana
Retreat Center in Joshua Tree, California. For years, The
Laughing Buddha Sangha's monastic-affiliation has been
with The Dharma Vijaya Buddhist Vihara ( Sri Lanka Temple
& Monastery in Los Angeles ) and it's Abbot, The Sangha-
Nayake 'Bhante' Walpola Piyananda.

Akasa Levi is now a Bodhi-Acharya 'lineage-holder' of the
Theravada teaching-transmission. As a Dharma 'mentor'
he is simply 'available' - serving as a Kalyana Mitta:
a guiding 'spiritual-friend' to Dharma students.
No gurus here.
------------------------------------------------------------
Akasa Levi studied Western psycho-dynamic analytic theory
and it's applied therapy at UCLA Westwood. He offers an
actively facilitated Buddhist-based individual therapy and
relationship counseling as a possibly effective spiritual
'complementary medicine' or as a mindfulness based
'alternative' to the standard secular, non-spiritual-based
Western therapies – for women, men, couples & marriages.
But - there are no promises, no guarantees – each individual
situation is different and effectiveness may vary widely.
Akasa's therapy practice is in Santa Monica California.
------------------------------------------------------------
After a strenuous early life on the road, Akasa is now
quite travel-saturated, and rarely teaches outside California.
This ole' tribal sage is simply content to grow exotic plants
in his garden and 'work' with people close to home. Akasa
is known for his spontaneity and wry, unpredictable humor
in his approach to the Buddha’s valuable teachings.
Testimonial: Buddhist teacher Jack Kornfield refers
to Akasa as ‘The Old Rogue’ – which is an archetype
form of The Angelic Troublemaker Trickster.
------------------------------------------------------------.
To Quiet the 'Self' ~ there are MEDITATION Classes
through The Laughing Buddha Sangha – where Akasa
teaches a 'non-religious' style of Insight Meditation, a
Non-Duality 'Inquiry Into Self' Practice, and advanced
Dharma Theory Study Classes – and guides the all male
ZEN MEN's Growth Groups thru The L.A. Medicine Men’s
Lodge he co-founded with attorney Ron Hoffman.
• "Good Men Becoming Even Better Men"
• "Every Guy Could Use Being in a Men's Group....
at some time in his life". Men's groups Work !____________________________________.

."Our 'Life-Fears' are educated into us –
and can be educated out."~ Karl Menninger

One of a Buddhist Teacher's Primary Purposes
is to responsibly, intentionally pass along what they know
to another generation of Dharma-students – possibly
even encouraging future teachers. It keeps the Buddha's
brilliant teachings alive & fresh through application –
so crucially important in this indifferent world of so rapidly
‘vanishing traditions’ of live, hands-on, ethnic or native
indigenous, cultural, healing and spiritual compassion
& wisdom 'knowledges'. Fortunately, there are now
accredited institutions that offer exemplary training. Ask !
Teacher-succession, along-side with scholarship, is key
to the preservation of All the world's Great Teachings.
------------------------------------------------------------.
"The yin and yang of life is that we grow wiser
as we get older. We have less & less time to use
that wisdom to enrich our own lives – so we pass it
along to others, enriching the world in the process."
~ The Tao

Please be courageous enough to inquire about
‘teaching-assistant’ training here or elsewhere.
We will gladly help you carry or pass the torch.
.

"In the end we will conserve only what we love –
We will love only what we understand –
And we will understand only what we have been taught."
~ Baba Dioum, African ecologist.
__________________________

"If you think education is expensive,
try ignorance." ~ Andy McIntyre's bumper sticker

“No 'failure' – we are all learning.
The real failure is giving up learning.” ~ Shi'an

"The whole purpose of education
is to turn mirrors into windows."
~ Sydney J. Harris

"Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle,
and the life of that candle will not be shortened.
Happiness never decreases by being shared." ~ The Buddha

"And if we do act - in however small a way ...
We don't have to wait for some Grand Utopian Future.
The 'future' is an infinite succession of 'presents'.
And to live now as we think human beings should live,
In defiance of all that is bad around us,
Is itself a marvelous victory in itself !"
~ Howard Zinn - ‘The Optimism of Uncertainty’

“The real accomplishment in life –
is the Art of Being a ‘Spiritual Warrior’.
A ‘spiritual warrior’ is the only way
to balance the terror of being Human
with the wonder of being Human.” ~ Carlos Castaneda

_______________________________________.

Akasa always gives a FREELY offered
Phone Consultation – Let's find out a bit more
about what's going on with you. No obligation!
– or to arrange & set up an actual interview.

• 310-450-2268 ~ Please Use The PHONE–
as there is NOT much else we can tell you
by your asking your questions by email...

“Take the first step in faith.
You don’t have to see the whole staircase
– just take the first step.” ~ Martin Luther King

______________________________________
_____________________________________
____________________________________

"SPIRITUAL ADULTHOOD, Oiy !"

ABOUT US • • • WHO WE ARE & HOW WE THINK About You & Therapy • • • Our Philosophy & Our PROFESSIONAL DISCLAIMER

2008-08-12T19:41:00.000-07:00

_________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________

"The Spiritual Adulthood Project"

♦ ABOUT WHO WE ARE
& HOW WE THINK:
♦ Our Philosophy
& Our Professional Disclaimer…

Who We Are In Our Hearts & In Our Heads
as a ‘Spiritual-Based’ Counseling Service
.
.
• Akasa Levi, DhMA (D.Min) is supervision
& spiritual director ~ 310-450-2268
.
.
"The SPIRITUAL ADULTHOOD PROJECT"
is a Buddhist-based Psycho/Spiritual-oriented Counseling
and Therapy approach. The world renown and respected
ancient tradition of taking Buddhist Wisdom-counsel is a
path of cultivating a transcendent ‘higher sanity’ - a very
clear-seeing ability for yourself. By developing this wisdom
understanding, you are now available to generate a much
more all-inclusive compassion based on undistorted, clear
comprehension - which leads you truly home to an authentic
peace deep within ourselves - which we can then extend out
to our family, friends and the world. Learning & using 2500
year-old tested self-development approaches & techniques
towards a sweet, savvy, wholesome, peaceful, joy-filled mind.
Traditional Buddhism is absolutely NOT a ‘religious path’ –
– but more of an experiential, practical, pragmatic, highly
intelligent ‘Humanism’ - there are NO gods and NO worship
or NO religious superstitions involved in anything we offer
in any way whatsoever. You're Not asked to 'believe' anything.
Just discovering & uncovering the essence of a sane,
wise, peaceful, pure spirit that is YOU. The Real You.
.
.
“And then the day came
....when the risk
.......to remain tight in a bud
..........was more painful
than the risk it took to blossom”
~ Anais Nin
.
_______________________________________________________

When the way comes to an end,
then change –
having changed, you then pass through.” ~ I Ching
_______________________________________________________

.
.
there's no One way . . .

As a modern ‘Spiritual-Based’ Counseling Service
we are truly ‘non-denominational’ & ‘non-religious’
and welcome all journeyers of all Ways -
or especially even those of no way.

‘Spiritual’ doesn’t mean ‘religion’. Actually, you can’t even
become a ‘Buddhist’, as that too is just another useful ‘label’
put on you, borrowed from the outside. "What you 'Are' has
no name, simply as the breeze doesn't either." Simply the
working-convenience of a 'name' - that's all.
Actually, a Universal 'spiritual' philosophy is by far the easiest
of all to comprehend on any level of understanding ::
We recognize The ONE Web of Existence, where Life is not
separated from Consciousness - and it has different ‘Names’
in many different world cultures. All are names for the Infinite.
The ONE Conscious Web ‘Itself’, really has NO name at all.
Remarkably, ALL cultures on the planet call it ‘The One’ ( 1.)
So let’s just call it “EVERYTHING”. All of ‘Creation’ itself.
‘Creator’ & ‘Creation’ is all the same thing, the same Infinite
One Wholeness. AND simply leave it at that. One is One.
Easy ! And there is nothing outside of it. Outside of 'What' ?
It’s All ONE. So, love it All. Respect, protect & conserve it
we must, honor & worship it only if you wish, do enjoy it.
We ‘try’ to love it All.
Mostly at times, piece by piece in peace.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

”Actually, there is no such thing
...as a strictly ’secular’ therapy –
or a therapy that is ‘non-spiritual’ ~ that’s where the standard
thinking on Mental Health is quite naïve. EVERY ‘therapy’ is
'Spiritual' if it deals with human beings & matters of the heart
and emotions and feelings. Buddhist approaches in particular,
are ’spiritual’ YET non-religious. The historical Buddha was a
Humanist and a Pragmatist. There’s a freedom of intelligence
and a spacious openness in that - it makes a big difference.”
~ Abraham Maslow (1947)

• We particularly use the ‘Buddhist brand-name’ because
those Asian cultures have got some of the most skillfully
mature, very grounded, least misleading, most inclusive
and the very best of the compassionate mind-healing
techniques available so far - so far as we’ve come across.
So we use them.

• At "SPIRITUAL ADULTHOOD” we do take in a much
broader mental-scope than most non-spiritual-based
Western therapies actively employ. We encourage the
cultivation of a very “Contemporary Spirit” for the difficult
modern society we live in. Educating the Spirit also, gives
you the client, as well as the therapist, a much richer,
wider resource-base to work with.

• We recognize that ALL caring, highly concerned human
interaction that has the ‘wholesome intent’ of assisting the
healing, harmony and inner-growth of each other’s ’soul-self’
or ‘being’ - is “Therapy”. A good-hearted and well trained
mental health practitioner, educated in their craft can help
even more.

• Therapia: in the ancient Greek simply means ‘To Heal’
“Therapy” settings may be medical or clinical licensed - or
certainly just as well - appropriate to the situation - a solid
meaningful 'mentoring' relationship that may exist between
you and a minister or rabbi, a meditation teacher, a yoga
teacher, a martial arts trainer, a skilled body-worker or a
movement teacher - a teacher of any kind - a life-coach,
a 12 step sponsor or group, a spiritual setting, a women's
or a men's group, a workshop on clarity - all depending on
the evaluated person’s need - and mostly their (hopefully)
well informed choice. Two people working on one of them.

• Please do not resist your reaching out to reach deeper in.

A Good Life itself is an ongoing Good Therapy.

____________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________

Our PROFESSIONAL DISCLAIMER ~
Information a Potential Client really should know . . .
.
.
♦ BUDDHIST-based THERAPY,
RELATIONSHIP COUNSELING
and LIFE COACHING

Buddhist Therapy is like really good coffee
or fresh bread – Europe has really never not had
baguettes for hundreds of years – it's the daily fare...
yet Americans only for the last couple of decades or so.
Cafe-latte or whole grain bread is still a specialty item.
Bleached flours, oils, preservatives, processed foods
– and a remarkably caffined & sugared-out population
still seems to rule the day. . . addiction to stimulation.

And so Asian-based Buddhist Therapy: a specialty item.
Here in America we're just hearing & learning about it.
Yes, it’s been done very effectively for 2500 years …

At “The Spiritual Adulthood Counseling Project”
we practice as ordained ‘Buddhist ministers’ and as
‘pastoral counselors’ – utilizing ancient techniques,
an ‘alternative’ Buddhist spiritual-healing approach
and through a new application of Mindfulness-based
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy ( MCBT ).
___________________________________________

As a Potential Client, You SHOULD KNOW that:
“The Spiritual Adulthood Counseling Project”
& “Buddhist-based Therapy” is NOT a ‘California
licensed clinical psychology’ provider:
We do NOT practice as licensed
MFT, MSW or PhD clinical psychologists –
We are NOT licensed to & do NOT practice
or provide any form of psychotherapy or psychiatry.
We are a ’spiritual & educational’ collaborative of
trained and ordained Buddhist spiritual-direction
counselors & practitioners.
And our approach seems work !

• This form of Spiritual-oriented Counseling-Therapy
• Can be called many things • Psycho/Spiritual Therapy
• Pastoral Counseling • Ministerial or Spiritual-Direction
• Mindfulness Life-Coaching
.
__________________________________________________________

TALK TO SOMEONE . . .

• You personally, may want to talk with someone
who has training in BOTH worlds: the standard
Western therapies AND a creative, pragmatic,
wisdom-based Asian Spirituality.

( Some people using prescription psychological meds -
and who are now considering an ‘alternative’ approach
to the mind - may first wish to additionally consult their
own medical doctor. We support the use of medication
as well as 'meditation' in our counseling. Do not stop
any meds without your medical doctor's advice.)

Get some Good Quality Counseling Therapy –
here, somewhere, anywhere warm & reliable.
That may be just the place for you to start.

_________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________

Buddhist Therapy & Counseling
Yes, it’s been done very effectively for 1000’s of years … _____________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________

ALL the DETAILS for 'INNER-WORK' Sessions by Appointment

2008-08-12T19:12:00.000-07:00

_________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ _______________________________________________
.
.
• “The SPIRITUAL
..ADULTHOOD
PROJECT” • Santa Monica CA 90405
• USA • 310-450-2268 • Akasa Levi, DhMA
.
.
♦ Buddhist-based Wisdom Therapy
.....offers highly effective, compassionate,
.......yet realistic 'Alternative Approaches'
.........to Relating with Your 'Self'
...........and All Other Living Beings

.
.
Please Read ~
These ..VERY ..IMPORTANT ..DETAILS
~ and thanks

• We offer a First-Time FREE phone consult
for local or greater Los Angeles Area callers.
We’d certainly need to talk first with you.
On the Phone First. Please call us directly.
We'll talk about making an appointment.
310-450-2268. Call Mon/Fri Noon-6pm.
.
It’s all about us, together, developing
a sound ‘ground’ of genuine communication –
to decide together if our particular Buddhist
Therapy approach is even possibly for you . . .
Hey, It's a Start. Let's simply just talk....
____________________________________
______________________________________

• We Counsel both Women & Men
in INDIVIDUAL PRIVATE THERAPY sessions
with a strong Buddhist-theoretical/practical base,
as well as good Western contemporary 'relational'
and CBT approaches to the mind & emotions.

• RELATIONSHIP Counseling for Couples, Marriages
and Family - all sorts of Communication Breakdowns.
Inter-active Work: face to face, we get very personal,
very Real. A ‘Tough-Love’ approach & often very directive.
Upfront when appropriate - in clear, truthful,
compassionate, effective sessions.

• In-Office Visits. ALL counseling sessions are in person.
We usually limit counseling sessions to Los Angeles people,
mostly LOCAL AREA clients – Easier for you when Near To Us:
'Distance', time and gas these days is a huge challenge.

• Yes - We DO have clients who airline 'Commute'
into Los Angeles regularly/periodically from different
parts of the country & choose to do their therapy here.

• Yes - Later on you may move to our ‘group meditation'
classes or confidential group 'sharing-sessions’ if you wish.

• Yes - ‘Phone Counseling'-sessions are available later on,
BUT only when necessary & for ‘established clients’ with us.

• ONGOING REGULAR SCHEDULED SESSIONS are by
a mutually-arranged fee & by set appointments only.
________________________________________________
. .
About CHARGE$ ~

• FEE: We can offer only some NEGOTIABLE
or Sliding-scale, Lower-fee Sessions for those
who really do need it. We'll discuss this on the phone.
No - We do not take insurance plans, medi-cal, etc.

• We DO offer a much more generous in-office
..EXTENDED SESSION TIME
than a traditional-practice usually would offer:

ALL sessions with us are given much more than
the 'standard therapy-hour' time of (:55 min ).
We offer you usually about 1 hour+20 min (:80 min)
to allow really more space to go really deep within
as you need to - without feeling cut off or rushed.
No hurry here, have some tea, take your shoes off ...
________________________________________________

• A FIRST-TIME INQUIRY by PHONE is always Best –—
and much more immediate for us to respond directly to you
'live', directly to your issues & feelings - We want to listen
to you. A First-Time phone consultation is totally FREE.

Please No Emails ~ your Questions by emails back & forth
really does not work well for you - or us. Phone Us directly.
It’s a Free Phone Consultation ! We DO need to really talk.
Mainly, to find out more about what's going on within you.

• LOCAL PHONE TIMES: NOON to 6 PM - Monday/Friday
is the best time to try n' reach us ::: 1-310-450-2268.
If we are in Session, a Voice Mail will pick up:
Please leave a very clearly-spoken phone number & name
– we WILL get back to you.

ASK US PLENTY of QUESTIONS to really feel out
for yourself if “Spiritual Adulthood” therapy sessions
might be for you — So Let’s Talk. NO obligations.

____________________________________________
___________________________________________

BE COURAGEOUS ! ...some quotes ...

As human beings, our greatness lies
not so much in being able to remake the world…
As in being able to remake ourselves.
Become the changes you want to see in the world.
~ Mahatma Gandhi

Our ‘Life-Fears’ are educated into us –
and can be educated out.
~ Karl Menninger

My Dad used to say:
"There is nothing wrong with fear -
unless it's fear that controls you . . ."

The limits of the possible can only be defined
by going beyond them - into the impossible.
~ Arthur C. Clarke

Good, but ‘impossible’ resolutions, are simply checks
that people draw on a bank where they have no account.
Please, START with the eminently ‘possible’. You can.
~ Oscar Wilde

While one person hesitates
because they think insecure thoughts
and feel so inferior –— the other
is just busy making mistakes aplenty
and becoming quite superior.
~ The Tao

__________________________________
_________________________________
________________________________

QUOTES & POETRY ~ The Gift of Wise Words

2008-08-09T20:36:00.000-07:00

________________________________________________

______________________________________________

” THE GREATEST RISK

IS NOT TAKING ONE! ”
.

QUOTES & POETRY ~

The Gift of Wise Words

Optional Quotes you may wish to read

These are some poetry-inspired ideas

that 'Inform' us here at Spiritual Adulthood.

.
“If you do not see Godliness

in the next person you meet,

you need look no further.” ~ Gandhi

_______________________________

“La vraie générosité envers l’avenir
consiste à tout donner au présent.”
“True generosity towards the future
is to give everything to the present.”
~ Albert Camus

To measure you by your smallest deed
is to judge the ocean by the frailty of it’s foam.
To judge you by your failures is to cast blame
upon the seasons for their inconsistencies.
~ Kahlil Gibran

What good you do is of little significance,
But it is very important that you do it.
BE the change you want to see in the world.

~ Mahatma Gandhi

If we have no peace,

it is because we have forgotten

that we belong to each other.

~ Mother Teresa

“You yourself,

as much as anyone in the entire Universe,
deserves your OWN affection, care and love.

You can explore the whole universe

looking for someone who is more deserving

of your love and affection than you are yourself…
and you will not find that person anywhere.

To be maximum effective ~
the Practice of Loving-Kindness
must absolutely begin with yourself !”

~ The Buddha

They drew a circle that shut me out —
Calling me a heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But Love and I had the wit to win —
We drew a circle that took them in.

~ Edwin Markham “Outwitted”

Do not look back in Anger —
or forward in Fear —
but around in Awareness.

~ James Thurber

At night make me fearlessly

one with the darkness ~
In the morning make me

optimistically one with the light

~ Wendell Berry

You may want to hi-lite, copy, paste and send

the Rilke quote below to people you know…
some of the wisest guidance you’ll ever read,

and put to your own personal use or offer to others.
----------------------------------------------------------------

♦ here it is ~

“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart.
Try to love the ‘Questions’ themselves -

like locked rooms and like books

that are written in a foreign language.
Do not, just right now, seek for the 'Answers'.
The ‘Answers’ which cannot now be given to you -
because you would not be able to actually ‘live’ them.
And the point is to ‘live’ everything -

experiencing everything.
At present, you need to live the Questions themselves.
Perhaps you will then gradually, without even noticing it,
live along some day into the true Answer. Your answer.”

~ Rilke’s “Letters to a Young Poet” Paris 1908

________________________________________ ______________________________________

____________________________________

"One easily-made, common mistake

is to think that 'your' reality is THE reality.
You must always be prepared to bravely

leave your reality for a greater one."

~ Amaji Meera

“Whatever the Question ~

Love and Kindness is the Answer!”
~ The Dalai Lama

“La vraie generosite envers l'avenir

consiste a tout donner au present.”
“True generosity towards the future

is to give everything to the present.”

~ Albert Camus

.

'Darkness' -

no matter how ominous and intimidating -
Darkness is not a 'thing' or a 'force' –

it is merely the absence of Light.
Darkness is merely the absence

or concealment of the Good.
So 'Light' need not combat and overpower
darkness in order to displace it.
Simply, where Light is, darkness is not.
A thimbleful of Light will therefore
banish a roomful of darkness.
One need not 'defeat'

the 'Darkness' in the world –
One need only bring to Light

its potential for Goodness.
~ The Lubavitcher Rebbe

~ Maimonides more than 800 years ago said:

a single deed,
a single word,
even one single thought,
has the power to TIP the scales
and bring redemption to your world.
no matter how dark the world
may seem or feel ~
Light is just a single action away.

"If we have no peace,

it is because we have forgotten
that we belong to each other."

~ Mother Teresa

"Wise, clear understanding is key
to the dissolution of all ignorances --
Then be kind whenever possible.
It is always possible."

~ The Dalai Lama

“Who was born first, 'You' or 'The World'?
As long as you give first place to ‘The World’
-- you are bound by it.
Once you realize, beyond all trace of doubt,
that the ‘world’ is in you --
-- and not 'you' in the world,
right then and there, you are out of it.
Of course, your body remains in the world
and 'of' the world,
but YOU are not >d-e-l-u-d-e-d<>

You are free !

~ Nisargadatta Maharaj

__________________________________________

________________________________________
______________________________________

The "ALTERNATIVE" LIFE and "EMERGING" COMMUNITIES • LIFE-STYLE Trends & Transitions • LGBT • Color • Race • Group & Organizational Consulting

2008-07-28T18:10:00.000-07:00

____________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________

The 'ALTERNATIVE' .LIFE
& 'EMERGING' COMMUNITIES
• LIFE-STYLE Trends and Transitions • LGBTQ • Color • Race • New Religions • Old Time Religions • New 'Spiritual' Directions & East/West Religious Inter-face • Individual Personal Counseling • Group & Organizational Consulting

"New Marketplaces of The Heart" ~
• Asian/American • Private, Group & Corporate Consulting
• Local and Foreign
_________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________

• We offer bridge-building
between diverse communities:
people of all colors, religions, diverse cultures & ethnic origins
and unique experiences. A pluralistic society brings so many
awesome enrichments, as well as struggles of balance and
new found respect …

• We Counsel all manifestations
of alternative and emerging life-styles:
mixed social, racial or religious partnerings and marriages -
and LGBTQ feelings & issues, and other gender impasses.
It’s the 21st Century: It’s a wide open world out there now…
.
.
“If you do not see Godliness
in the very next person you meet,
you need look no further.” ~ Gandhi

________________________________________________
.
.
Confidential Private Consulting in a
rapidly evolving global world of change
(organizational & group consulting is below this)
---------------------------------------------
We Consult & Counsel all manifestations of 'alternative'
and 'emerging' life-styles: All manifestations of alternative
marketplaces: spiritual, religious, artistic, sexual, gender,
health, and other newly "emerging life-styles". There are
increasingly visible Counter-Culture social milieus and
personal relationships that may be mixed racial, religious
or same-gender gay partnerings or the often difficult
adjustments of exploration of bi-curious, trans-gender,
str8 still-exploring life-styles. And there's Punx.

There is a natural, ongoing, organic 'social anarchy' in
full progress. Inevitably it's happening ! And a modest
'marketplace' and media right along with it – despite
all conservative resistances. The social 'market' moves
forward tenaciously nonetheless. Don't fight the market
trends. It's the 21st Century: It's a big, wide open, visible,
post-global, pan-global, experimental, explorative world
out there now.

This also happens to be the core fear of the world-wide
neo-con big reactionary 'fear' out there. Teheran, Beijing,
Burma, Russia or Tibet. The grip of coercive power. Fear
of "out with the old in with the new". Ideally, the now
renown phrase "Unity In Diversity" –– The evolving,
slow, gradual unity of a smooth "ONE Consciousness" -
actually and simply means "Peace & Harmony Among
ALL Consciousnesses". Isn't that what ALL religions
speak of ? The All ONE that they all can agree on.
Old good wine in new skins. Self-elective Change.

At "The Spiritual Adulthood Project"
we offer intelligent, rational and compassionate
bridge-building between family members, people
of all colors, communities, religions, diverse cultures
and ethnic origins. A totally pluralistic diverse society
brings so many fresh, awesome enrichments as well
as valid struggles and uncharted transitions of complex
balance & new found respect.
______________________________________________

organizational & group consulting
.
Specialized Consulting: while the numbers are still small.
We are keenly observing the rapidly growing, increasingly
'conscious' emergence of new communities, and minority
entrepreneurships • Asian/American spiritual-trends and
breakaway religions • All manifestations of 'alternative'
& 'emerging' life-styles • Each filled with a reach for 'true'
inner-meaning and responsible creativity with money.

CONSULTATION
for Creatively-minded Organizations
• Business • Religious • Institutional settings and ventures
that are open-hearted to saying "Yes" to each others views.
Open to 'Green' re-tooling, development & sustainability,
and wide Diversity-tolerant. Supportive of exploring new
outreach-missions pledged to a more pro-active Peace
procedure. Encouraging the heart to use of The New
Inner-Spirited Human Resource Resolution approaches
and "Spirit In The Workplace" inner-development.
Still fringe ~ all fairly outside-the-box stuff !

We do international 'expert' consulting
focused on the American "Spiritual Mind-set".
• the current, ongoing "Crisis In Faith & Trust"
• "Throw-Away Archetypes" • the generational
& cultural "Soul-Loss of Our Classic Mythologies"
• "Technology, Obsolescence & No Solid Ground"
.
• "What's Amiss With The American Mind, Views &
Culture?" • and the many current American Religious
& Spiritual Trends ( a lot of them quite unconscious,
un-self-identified, and often dreadfully naive ) within
the contemporary American/Western cultural paradigm
as a whole - all in the midst of our dangerous 'Matrix'
( because it is still only semi-conscious in nature –
and therefore still vulnerable and easily 'hi-jackable )
Eastern and Asian 'religion-watchers' are interested
in what is developing on US & European soil as well
as on Asia's very own contemporary liquid & shifting
ground. Big ongoing 'religious issues' out there . . .

• As an expert consultant, Akasa Levi, DhMA - knows
Asia & Asian/American Spiritual Trends and Religions.
He has a clear, non-romantic, multiple-view: an American
born Jew & a former ordained Buddhist monk ( 'Bhikkhu' )
that lived a full decade in Asia - he knows & understands
the highly active and rapidly emerging East/West Spiritual
Interface and Trends - and the various secular world-
markets & communities they may inter-relate with & affect.
________________________________________________
.
.
Do you find some of this relevant
to your thinking or feelings ?
Thank you for reading this candid prospectus - it certainly
is an open, and quite public posting that is addressed to
what is still a quite small audience of those who might be
sincerely the 'right people' engaged in the sort of 'projects'
we like to join. It's usually worked very well this way before.
We simply just begin to talk with you - and begin to envision.
It would be up to you to skillfully assess and forecast for
yourself - and consider with good heart, how you could
possibly utilize with all beneficent integrity - what we find -
towards your own visions & ventures. Let us talk together...
________________________________________________
.

The SPIRITUAL ADULTHOOD PROJECT includes
work of S.E.N.( Spiritual Emergency-Emergence Network )
created at Esalen Institute, Big Sur, California.
We are an outreach-project of
“The Laughing Buddha Sangha”
in Santa Monica,California.
1-310-450-2268

We are delighted to be avowed & initiated Buddhists.
We have a sense of humor. We are non-denominational
& definitely non-religious. We are rationally 'spiritual'.
We welcome all Journeyers of all Ways or even none.
We welcome all. No strings. Freedom is Within . . .

My Dad used to say:
"There is nothing wrong with fear –
unless it's fear that controls you . . ."

_________________________________________
______________________________________
___________________________________

CONTACT Info • LINKS and Blog ENDs

2007-08-24T03:05:00.000-07:00

_____________________________________________
_____ ^ _______________________________________
....q(~!~)p
....("}-{") to CONTACT The Laughing Buddha Sangha
.......INFO below
.
"What is accepted by the majority of people ~
........does not mean it is Real." .~ The Buddha
.
Question Yourself • Question Authority • Question Reality ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________
.
" There are NO Answers ~ try n'
... Love the 'Questions' themselves."
......~ Rainer Rilke

"One easily-made, very common mistake is to think that
'your reality' is THE Reality. You must always be prepared
to bravely leave your reality for a greater one." ~ Amaji

"Kindness" is more important than 'Wisdom' -
and the 'clear recognition' of this -
IS the beginning of Wisdom." ~ Theodore Issac Rubin

"Your task is not to 'seek' for Love -
but merely to seek and find all the 'barriers'
within yourself, that you have built against Love." ~ Rumi

"When I see I am Nothing - that is Wisdom.
When I see I am Everything - that is Love.
And between these two, my life flows." ~ Nisargadatta

"Love and Compassion are Necessities - Not Luxuries.
Without them humanity cannot survive." ~ The Dalai Lama

" BEcome the changes you want to see in the world." ~ Gandhi
.
___^_________________________________________
q(~?~)p ......
The LAUGHING BUDDHA SANGHA
Phone: 310 - 450 - 2268 email: AkasaLeviZZ@msn.com
Please use the Phone - best times Noon to 6 pm - Mon/Fri _____________________________________________

-:¦:- VIPASSANA & ZEN MINDFULNESS
.......Mondays 7:30-9:30pm MEDITATION Practice
.......and DHARMA Study - guided by Akasa Levi
.......Opening the "Iconoclastic-Mind" -
.......Buddhism Without Any Beliefs !
......."Outside~The~Box~Buddhism
.......for a Maverick Spirited Inner-Quest"
.......Web ~ http://www.zentrance.com/
.......BLOG ~ http://buddhistmeditationsantamonica.blogspot.com/
.
-:¦:- The SPIRITUAL ADULTHOOD
.....THERAPY & COUNSELING PROJECT
.......Buddhist-based, more Alternative Approach
.......to Relating with Your 'Self' & All Others ~
.......Individual One-On-One Therapy and
.......Relationship Counseling for Couples,
.......Marriages, Friendships & Workplace
......."Reaching Out to Reach Deep In"
.......BLOG ~ http://buddhistcounselingtherapy.blogspot.com/

-:¦:- The ZEN MEN Inner-Growth Group
......."Every Guy Could Use Being in a Men's Group
.......at some time in his life" Good Men becoming Better Men !
.......BLOG ~ http://zenmensgroup.blogspot.com/

____________________________________________ ____________________________________________
.
.
About Authorships & Acknowledgement
CREDIT is always due & always much appreciated!
Of course, be welcome to reprint any material herein
FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY –
BUT please CREDIT ALL AUTHORS.
Simply put the Author's Name - or if no name, then use our
web e-dress www.zentrance.com at the end of your posting
or reprint. Generosity of Appreciation is valuable to practice!

Should you find any of this material here-in misquoted – or
the author listed incorrectly – please really do let us know.
It really helps! Thank You for being here ! 310-450-2268
Santa Monica CA 90405 AkasaLeviZZ@msn.com

Photos of antique paintings & statuary are in public domain:
sourced through http://www.fodian.net/world/imagesa.html
~or~ http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Buddha
~or~ http://buddhanet.net
Photos of Akasa are by Brooklyn's Finest, Matt Schwartz

Tech Support: Anya Mandel, Matthew Schwartz,
Michael Sassiain, Natan Mallinger, Rebecca Diamond, Sharif.

WISH LIST: We're lookin' to welcome another Volunteer
'Spirit' or a Tech-Angel Super-Hero onto the Meditation Crew
who's a web-designer or web-master / or a blog mistress or
meister with ideas –and that feels an odd-affinity
for what we're about. You?

___________________________________

CONTACT: AKASA LEVI, DhMA ~
310-450-2268 ~ AkasaLeviZZ@msn.com
“The SPIRITUAL ADULTHOOD PROJECT”
• Santa Monica CA 90405 - USA
Akasa Levi, DhMA (D.Min)
admin. supervision & spiritual direction
Please make personal inquiries by phone
We practice as Buddhist ministers
not licensed as MFT or PhD
clinical psychologists.

Privacy Policy:
We are committed to protecting your privacy
and will never share, rent or sell your personal
information to third parties. Why should we?
We want to keep you all for our selves !
To subscribe or unsubscribe from our emailings -
send an email to :: AkasaLeviZZ@msn.com
and put 'subscribe' or 'unsubscribe'
( or 'add' or 'remove' ) in the subject bar.

_____________________________
_____________________________

"May All Beings Be Happy ! "

_____________________________
_____________________________
.
.
.
.

keywords: therapy counseling santa monica venice westwood century city westside buddhist based alternative approach psychotherapy psychology relating yourself private one to one individual therapy shrink relationship counseling partnering work couples therapy marriages friendships workplace difficulty communicate resolve intelligent gifted sensitive intellectual odd creative off beat people existential unhappy people nontraditional low-fee consultation group individual cbt child art therapy marriage divorce separated somatic problems tantra healing yoga short long term outpatient insight crisis adult family psychological psychospiritual therapy gestalt hypnotherapy trauma santa monica therapist healing healer pain anxiety depression depressed what is going on the problem feelings feeling depressed disappointed discouraged distressed visits philosophy professional disclaimer spiritual emergency spiritual emergence alternative life style emerging communities community transitions lgbt color race organizational consulting gender sex zen men inner growth peer groups men's group santa monica akasa levi poetry wise words

ABOUT YOU • • • Are You Having a ‘SPIRITUAL EMERGENCY’ ? or a ‘SPIRITUAL EMERGENCE’ ?

2007-08-20T19:20:00.000-07:00

______________________________________________
____________________________________________

♦ This particular section may only apply
to a relative fewer individuals that find
themselves very 'spiritually' distressed -
leave-taking and very stuck 'way out' there ~
and now by default, do have the remarkable
opportunity to really truly find themselves,
authentically, and be whole and at peace within . . .
______________________________________________ ________________________________________________
.
.
WHAT'S GOING ON WITH-IN YOU ?

A ‘SPIRITUAL CRISIS’ ?

A ‘SPIRITUAL EMERGENCY’ ?

~or~ A ‘SPIRITUAL . E M E R G E N C E
______________________________________________
________________________________________________

“ BREAKDOWN

Often PRECEDES

BREAK-THROUGH “

( uncomfortable as that may sound or seem )

Maybe some pieces & parts of what follows -
is also what may be going on with you . . . .

____________________________________
A Question you may wish to Question.

ARE YOU HAVING
A ‘SPIRITUAL CRISIS’ ?
A ‘SPIRITUAL EMERGENCY’ ?
An emergency of your Spirit ?

Or, are you having an authentic
‘SPIRITUAL - E M E R G E N C E’ ?
A true 'Emerging' of your Higher Spirit ?

these could be very different experiences . . .

♦ Are you having a true
'EXISTENTIAL CRISIS' of sorts ?
A deep personal crisis
of your very own 'Being-ness' ???
Or a Spiritual Break-through
and an Inner-Emergence ?

Which ?

Are your values & views gradually or even radically changing ?
Are you yearning to truly develop a genuine 'upgrade' to your
consciousness ? Going towards the authentically 'Spiritual' -
and not just some sort of delusive 'magical-thinking' fantasy ?
Or a pre-packaged New Age kit with plenty of easy answers?

HOW to Know ? – Are you feeling Helpless – Stuck ?
– Powerless – Out of balance – Frustrated – Frightened ?
– Loss of purpose ? – Confused ? – Emotional swings ?
– Dead-ended ? – Mis-handling Difficult Life-changes ?
– Getting Scared – What to do ? – Where to fit in ?
– How to make it all work out ?

There's a multitude of QUESTIONS that maybe you need
to have a wise and compassionate Buddhist 'relating' about.
Who with boots on the ground - and with authentic experience
can I talk to, and really relate to about all of this ?

'Buddhism' is interesting in that it gladly stands aside and
allows other 'religions' to go ahead of them. No hurry.
It is a 'non-religion', in a way . . .

♦ Based in our own unique experiences,
we offer counseling & therapy for people
who are beginning to undergo
what is really a 'higher process'
of inner-change, where it merges
with the dormant 'spiritual' part.
This is a totally natural process !

♦ You personally, may want to talk to someone
who has fairly advanced training in BOTH worlds:
The standard Western therapies
AND a totally non-religious,
wisdom-based Spirituality.
Eventually, it's All about Spirit !

At "The Spiritual Adulthood Project" ~
We offer a uniquely 'combined counseling':
an innovative, wholistic, new Eastern/Asian
'Spiritual Variation' of the mind therapies,
based in the pragmatic, practical, highly rational,
very 'sane' Buddhist psychology teachings – created
for intelligent people - sensitive - intellectual - gifted
or creative people - odd, wonderfully uncommon people

Or maybe . . .

• YOUR EVERYDAY ‘LIFE’ SEEMS TOGETHER
BUT YOUR ‘SPIRITUAL PRACTICE’ ISN’T –
IT’S WAY, WAY UNDER-DEVELOPED for who you are…
An Under-Employed Spirit ... You’re way under-utilizing !

• Or maybe . . . YOU’VE GOTTEN TOO COMFORTABLE
with a familiar, easy ONGOING ‘SPIRITUAL PRACTICE’ –
and it's kinda' getting stale - and getting your Spirit stale.
AND YOUR ‘LIFE’ STILL ISN’T TOGETHER –
and your not ‘making it’ make it . . .

Sometimes It Feels Like It’s Hard To Have Both.

And again, you may need to talk to someone
who has training in both worlds: East & West

Or maybe . . . It's Isolation

• DO YOU DO TOO MUCH 'SPIRITUAL SPECULATING' -
and no frequent, true ‘connecting’ with others on the Path ?
AND if intelligently, carefully & maturely chosen, a real
face-to-face relationship with a ‘living' spiritual teacher
or spiritual mentor or friend can be very, very rewarding.
HOW to really choose well ? Get out of your isolation.

Or maybe . . .

• SO YOU ARE EVOLVING ‘SPIRITUALLY’ –
But YOU’RE CURRENT THERAPIST JUST ISN’T ON
YOUR TRACK – Just Not There With You . . .
Doesn't seem to 'get' you anymore – sorry, but they're not !
Giving you a vague distant nod - or yes, words of 'support'
to your deepening 'spiritual pursuits' - but can offer
not much else of experienced guidance in that direction.
Here too, you may need someone who has training
in both worlds – psychology and spirituality.

Or maybe . . .

• YOU ARE DISAPPOINTED with New Age advisors or
guru-type spiritual teachers or you've found cult-style
groups you’ve checked-out, visited, explored or actually
been with & left or 'exited' with some degree of heart-ache ?

Fed up with the promises, pitfalls, ego-boosts & magical
enticements of the multitude of Spiritual Supermarkets,
Kabbala Water, Darshan/Diksha, Mantra Empowerments
& Enlightenment Emporiums or to find yourself embedded
with the Over-Serious Devoted Group of Humorless
Co-Dependent students ? Got Spiritual Indigestion ?

So, now what ?

Time to Leave your attachment to your
"Perpetual Entry Level of Spiritual Pursuits" !

What’s the next step UP in YOUR OWN Self-Development
Process, your own 'Conscious Evolution' – What’s next ?
Your Own individualized personalized spiritual growth-path ?
Let’s sort it ALL out together !
_______________________________________________________

• WORSE CASE SENERIO: YOU'RE EXPERIENCING
THE CRISIS or CONFUSION of LEAVING a SPIRITUAL
GROUP, SPIRITUAL CENTER PROGRAM, a SPECIALLY
EMPOWERED GURU, FAMOUS MASTER or TEACHER ?
Do you have unresolved feelings, unusual or disturbing
states of consciousness, or deep questionings around
your ongoing spiritual growth process now ?

What now ?

At "The Spiritual Adulthood Project" ~
We offer experienced empathy, experienced assistance,
wisdom-based careful explanations & understandings –
And caring crisis-counseling for people to sort through and
integrate a very wide range of feelings that may have arisen:
exploring both the Dark and the Light side . . .
– quite transformative in itself –
emerging with a new sense of deep personally discovered
clarity, compassion and wholesome well-being.

As our dear friend Ram Dass once said…
“Sincerely take the best of the teachings –
and if necessary, leave the teacher!”

_______________________________________________

You may want to hi-lite, copy, paste and send
the quote below to people you know…
some of the wisest guidance you’ll ever read,
and put to your own personal use or offer to others. _______________________________________________

here it is ~

♦ “Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart.
Try to love the ‘Questions’ themselves -
like locked rooms and like books that
are written in a foreign language.
Do not, right now, seek for the Answers.
The ‘Answers’ which cannot now be given to you -
because you would not be able to actually ‘live’ them.
And the point is to ‘live’ everything -
- experiencing everything.
At present,
you need to live the Questions themselves.
Perhaps you will gradually, without even noticing it,
live along some day into the true Answer.
Your answer.”

~ Rainer Rilke’s “Letters to a Young Poet” Paris 1908

________________________________________ _______________________________________ ______________________________________