Contemplative Studies Program Blog
SEPTEMBER NEWSLETTER | Dr. Miles Neale
JOURNEY INTO THE MANDALA
Dear Friends,
In less than a month a group of thirty pilgrims will venture to the largest mandala on the planet led by Geshe Tenzin Zopa and myself. What is the backstory behind this pilgrimage? What...
My family and I are enroute back to the United States for the summer break. It’s been a year since we relocated to Bali, and I’m in a reflective mood. I’m often asked why I left in the first place and what life on the sacred island has been like?
One reason I left the US...
My next book Return with Elixir has found a home and will be published by Inner Traditions late 2023.
Return with Elixir is a guide to conscious death and rebirth drawing of the mythopoetics of Joseph Campbell, Carl Jung’s depth psychology, and the alchemical visualizations of Tibetan...
As we welcome spring after a difficult winter, we turn our sights to the Tsum Valley once again ... bringing a little renewed optimism to our world.
The daytime highs near the Rachen Nunnery are forecasted to be 53 degrees fahrenheit (12 degrees celsius) by the end of March ... as they too look...
In this episode of the Sacred Speaks podcast, Miles Neale talks to host John Price about his early training, teachers, and practice tracing the path of his development as a psychotherapist and teacher of Buddhism.
They discuss the Four Noble Truths, the...
Part One in a Mini-Series on Death & Rebirth
As I reflect on a term I heard in a documentary yesterday, “reemergence,” a small, delicate object lands on the table. It looks like a leaf or flower. Wind from the fan blows it onto the ground. Something pulls me to look at it again. I...
Riding alone in the back of a songthaew, a pick-up truck taxi, feelings of red hot anger match the vehicle’s color. Righteous indignation flares in my mind; how dare the driver rip me off! Shame burns right alongside; it’s my own fault for getting in – I could have continued to...
Dharma teachings sometimes happen in mysterious ways, masquerading as everyday occurrences or through the behavior of unlikely characters. Several years ago, while working with marginalized populations, a patient taught me a treasured lesson. I was caught off guard when they handed me a package,...
Rolling thunder rumbled as I reflected on the number of dead bodies surrounding me. Who had these people been? What were their stories? Did they live with integrity? Were their deaths peaceful or wrought with fear? Who did they leave behind? Looking around at the inscriptions, I recognized many...
Emerge from the shadow of the darkest day of the year with Miles Neale and sound master Phil Jacobs guiding you through a ritual purification and intention setting around the virtual, quantum fire. Unified by visualization and vibration we’ll shed the old, while welcoming in the energy of rebirth...
Our quarterly forecast with master astrologer Lynn Bell happens in the Contemplative Studies Program Courtyard October 29th. Lynn will discuss the powerful alignments occurring in November and carry us through into the New Year.
Lynn Bell has been practicing astrology for over...
Introduction to the Tsum Valley Rachen Nunnery Service Project
In a hidden valley in the high Himalayas of north western Nepal, near the Tibetan border, a group of nuns preserve the practice of Tibetan Buddhism at Rachen Nunnery. Kathmandu is the nearest city, a mere 5 or 6-day trek away –...
