Monday, May 25, 2026

If there's no self, whose NDE is it?


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Led Zeppelin (JBLZE) live in Hollywood?


There is a self, but it's ultimately impersonal.
What is a "band"?* It's a lot like a Buddhist "SELF," a "UCLA" (American college), or a Greek Ship of Theseus. It has a name (from which it derives its stable identity), but does it really have anything else for long? It's an illusion. To demonstrate: I went to a college called UCLA. It doesn't exist. It started on a campus near USC, which is close to the skyline of DTLA/Downtown Los Angeles.

Plant, baby, is there really a "manic" nirvana?
If anyone can grasp these two examples, that person will understand why the Buddha taught that ultimately speaking, there is no self, no soul, no essence, no consciousness that travels from life to life or abides here now. That's impossible to accept. So reject it. Of course, there's a self (atta). It's writing right now, and another self is reading right now...in conventional terms.

So that being the case, WHY would the historical Buddha ever say there wasn't? We have to consider that. The answer is that because it is the unexamined assumption of what the self is that keeps us from awakening, keeps us from enlightenment, keeps us from liberation. There is something. It arises by a process we can call Dependent Origination. This is, so that comes to be. When this is not, that does not arise.

UCLA does not (ultimately) exist. Here's why.
This "UCLA" I say does not exist, isn't it right over there in Westwood? There sure is something called "UCLA" in Westwood right now. But what was born and originated near USC, other than the name or some transient traditions and a charter or photos, what came over from that first thing that remains the same?
  • All of the faculty are different
  • All of the students are different
  • All of the books, curricula, desks...
  • In fact, let's imagine the first place burned down and was completely incinerated, so that nothing, not a brick, not a scrap of the original went from DTLA to the Westside, would we still call it "UCLA"? We sure would! Why? What we identify or imagine to be UCLA is moving from here to there.
  • In a century, will there be a "UCLA"? No, but there almost surely will be a college (university) called "UCLA." All the faculty, students, books, lesson plans, and ephemera will be different, but it'll still -- in a sense -- be good ol' UCLA, at least in our minds and on some plot of real estate somewhere in LA.
There is no ship
Is it the same ship or a different ship?
Aside from the example of an empty college, a figment of our consensus reality to call this this and that that, maybe the ancient Ship of Theseus example would better communicate this. A ship sets off for Greece but along the way has to change the sails then the oars then the floorboards then the wheel then, piece by piece, every single piece. Is it still the same ship that arrives in Greece?

Whaddya mean "there's no car?" It's right here!
The nice answer is that it neither is exactly the same ship, but we can't say that it's another. It is, of course, not the same, but to say it's different does violence to our language and what we mean, as Bhikkhu Bodhi pointed out in As It Is. The same with your car. You could take it into the mechanic over and over so many time that they change every single piece. Then is it still the same car? It's your car either way, but not a lick of it remains, not a single piece. But a paper somewhere at the DMV says it's yours, even with a new license plate and engine block number, paint job, glass, carpet, upholstery, gas, oil, screws, everything.

There is no oxcart
There is no such thing as an oxcart.
In the same way, in ancient times, an oxcart. What is it? It is, broadly speaking, five components fitted in a functionally operational way (wheel, axle, body, steering, ox). Add pieces to the definition or take them away, it doesn't matter. But five is easy. Whose oxcart is this? It belongs to Thad. Its wheels are broken. Change them. Axle is broken. Change it. The body is broken. Change it. The steering is shot. Change it. Ox is exhausted. Change it. Now, every part having been changed, what oxcart? That one. Whose oxcart is it? Thad's. Why? It's because in a conventional sense (by our agreement and his delusion) it has been his all along, even though it is completely different. He has no control over it really; he can't keep it from breaking apart. But we still call it his, and we seem to have no trouble identifying it even as every single part gets switched out.


This "SELF," what is it? It is five things (form, feelings, perceptions, formations, consciousness). Whose is it? This one's mine. What do you call it? "Me." Sometimes "I." It's myself, I mean, my self. My soul. My ego. My personality. My atta (Sanskrit atman). My vessel into which I load my store of karma (deeds, doings, intentional acts, or all of my willed actions).
  1. By "form" you mean this rapidly deteriorating arrangement of materiality composed of solidity, movement, cohesion, and temperature? That's the one! So this material form, this body (this temporary vessel or vehicle), is actually just Four Great Elements, which are not "elements" as such but rather qualities of materiality, in a sense quanta or quantities of it because all material particles (rupa kalapas) are actually composed of all four elements or dhatus (or maha bhuta) but in differing amounts, so that when solidity is in preponderance, it gets labelled "solid" but still has all of the other features to a lesser degree. This is "you"? No. It is my body, but I am not the body. The body changes, but "I" stay the same forever and ever, the eternal self, the unchanged soul, the essence or core of the ego (psyche), the invisible watcher, holder, and owner of all that stands.
  2. Okay, these feelings, that's "you"? Yes, that's me. I'm the feeler. So you're not the feeling? Well, no, not exactly, but feeling-feeler, same thing. Okay, all of them? Which all? You are all pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral feelings passing through? Yeah, sort of, I am the feeler.
  3. All right then. These perceptions? Yes, I am the perceiver. And you are the perceptions passing through, too? Sure, okay, perception-perceiver, I am the all.
  4. And these other mental formations, like these volitions, impulses, motives, intentions (cetanas)? Yes, I am the intender. And the intention? Intention-intender, same thing. I am the all, the owner, the doer, the knower, the experiencer, the controller or the one-who-thinks-he's-in-control.
  5. Okay, and this consciousness? Yes, I am consciousness. All of them? "All"? "You" are eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind-consciousnesses? Uh, yes, I am consciousness. And all the consciousnesses passing through conscious experience? Uh, I guess.
  • "Self" as impersonal processes
    Does anyone know why the Buddha called each of these heaps an "aggregate"? It's very important. It is because there are trillions of them, not one form, one feeling, one perception, one formation, one consciousness. At least with the oxcart, it seems like there is one (or more) wheels, axle, one body, one steerer, one ox, and the conglomeration of those forms one oxcart. But with "SELF," there are no such single items. There are aggregations (heaps of rupa kalapas) of material particles, countless numbers of them in every "material" thing, and that's just the body, the form, which has 32 main parts and lots of subsidiary parts, so many that one cannot find it tenable to consider one's "self" this body. So we cling to the other four mental formations as "self." (Yes, we call the fourth heap "mental formations" or sankaras, but the fact is that feelings, perceptions, and consciousnesses are all mental formations, too. The Buddha segregated them into these five for explanatory and insight purposes. As we develop liberating insight into these, we will clearly know-and-see that what we took to be MY feeling was just feeling being felt -- arising, turning, and passing away at all times, hurtling towards destruction, never standing still for even a submoment. The reason a feeling lasts is not because it arises and hangs around for a while then, realizing it's impermanent, it leaves. One feeling arises, turns, passes away, as another almost identical feeling arises, turns, passes away, in succession until this process dies out, at which time "the feeling" which was a heap of feelings passes to be replaced by another kind of feeling. The same is true of the other four aggregates. Science tells us this material body is nothing but a conglomeration of cells, which are molecules, which are atoms, which are quarks and strong-and-weak forces and thingies and whatnots, ever more subtle until they're not even material.
Add ingredients to the definition of "SELF" or take them away, it doesn't matter. The same is true. What we call "self" is not-self. It is impersonal, and radically impermanent, and ultimately disappointing, painful, stressful, incapable of ever fulfilling us.

*What is a "band"?
With John Travolta as Robert Plant
If ANY of this has made sense, let us deal with the problem at hand: What is a "band"? It's a group, an assemblage, an aggregate, a "heap" of four or five basic members. Whose band is it? (Whoever owns the name, which is just about the only stable thing other than ownership rights of music catalog performed and/or written under that name).
 
What five?
Fifth member Pete (Manager Peter Grant) is the best like Fifth Beatle Pete Best
 
So one day four guys and their manager became the New Yardbirds. And they got threatened with a lawsuit, so they became Lead Zeppelin. But Peter Grant, the manager and fifth member, said, "To avoid mispronunciation, let's call the band Led Zeppelin." All agreed. They played, recorded, became famous, and then the drummer had a son and died. End of the story. Led Zeppelin was over. But capitalism and greed being what they are, Led Zeppelin lived on. There was even a reunion of sorts, but they couldn't bring back the dead, so they did the next best thing: They brought in the next of kin, drummer John Bonham's son Jason. It was like having 3.5 of the original four members present. It worked!

It worked so well, that everyone but Jimmy Page or Robert Plant could have quit, and the behemoth could have gone on like the Who, Stones, Chicago, or any other massive rock act has done for years and years until not even a single member of the original band is touring! How is that possible?! Ship of Theseus. Oxcart.

Who am I? There is no me?
What're ya doin in my hole?!
In fact, there's an Early Buddhist or later Chinese Buddhist parable that may illustrate this even better: A man (let's say it's YOU) is walking and falls into a deep hole, at the bottom of which are two ghoulish demons arguing as they prepare some human stew from human limbs strewn all around their gloomy hole. Seeing you fall in, the angry one asks what the h*ll you're doing there and tears your arm off. And the other, just to p*ss off the first, grabs another arm from off the ground and attaches it to your body. It works! You move the fingers. These demonic ghouls have black magic powers. You're elated to get your arm back, which p*sses off the first, who then tears off your other arm. The other grabs another arms, attaches it to you. Again it works, you're elated, and it, being p*ssed off, tears off a leg, which is replaced, a torso with heart and head. Getting all five limbs torn off and others reattaches, you get the heck out of the hole. Who got out? Who went in. All five limbs are still down in the hole, but here "you" are running away. Is it you, is it not you, is it sort of you?

There is no UCLA?
"UCLA" can restart anywhere with anyone.
Is there one "UCLA," many UCLAs, no UCLA? Is this feeling the self, is that perception the self, is this consciousness what dies and is reborn -- or is it all an impersonal ("empty," devoid of self) process just rolling on? And that's all it's ever been? Ask Jason.

Because Jason must have asked all the remaining members of Led Zeppelin, Inc. to join him on tour. But for one reason or another (think ego, clashes, not wanting to ruin the profitable brand, and solo careers), they did not. So he did. Jason did. Jason went on tour.

Is there a Robert Plant? - Now and Zen
The O2 Arena show (called the Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert) was in 2007, and on Saturday night, Jason Bonham said he's been doing JBLZE about 16 years or so. That seems to be how long Jason and Co. ("JBLZE," Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Evening) have been at it. They don't need Page; they have "Mr. Jimmy" (Sakurai) on guitar, and he looks and plays more like Page did back then than Jimmy Page does now.
Original Led Zeppelin drummer John's son Jason’s Led Zeppelin Experience Evening “Kashmir” LIVE The Greek Theater Los Angeles Hollywood, California May 23, 2026

Anattā is not a joke or punchline. All things are impersonal and always have been. And so long as we do not realize it (or that they are impermanent and disappointing, too), we will cling. And by clinging, we will suffer. And the way to let go (and stop suffering) is to realize the True Nature of All Things.

All things are impersonal: anattā
Ven. Nyanatiloka, Buddhist Dictionary of Doctrines and Terms edited by Wisdom Quarterly

What are the Five Aggregates in Buddhism?
THERE IS NO SELF (an-attā, not-atta): "not-self," egolessness, soullessness, the impersonal nature of all phenomena (particularly the Five Aggregates clung to as self) is the final and most incomprehensible of the Three Universal Characteristics of All Existence (ti-lakkhana).

The anattā doctrine is unheard of in the universe except that a supremely awakened buddha makes it known and thereby allows living beings an escape from the phenomenal world of endless rebirth and incomprehensible suffering.

This doctrine teaches that neither within body and mind (the bodily and mental phenomena of existence) nor outside of them can there be found anything that in THE ULTIMATE SENSE could be regarded as a self, soul, self-existing real ego-entity, or any other abiding essence or substance.

This is the central doctrine of Buddhism. Without understanding it, a real knowledge of Buddhism is altogether impossible.

It is the only really specific Buddhist doctrine, with which the entire structure of the Buddha's Teaching (Dhamma) stands or falls.

All the remaining Buddhist doctrines may, more or less, be found or hinted at in other philosophical systems, doctrines, or religions. But the anattā-doctrine has been clearly and unreservedly taught only by the Buddha.

It is on account of this that the Buddha is known as the anattā-vādi, or "Teacher of Impersonality." Whoever has not penetrated the impersonal nature of all existence and does not comprehend that in reality there exists only this continually self-consuming PROCESS of arising, turning, and passing away of bodily and mental phenomena and that there is no separate (independent) ego-entity within or outside this process, that will be unable to understand Buddhism.

That is, that person will be unable to understand the teaching of the Four Noble (Enlightening) Truths (sacca) in the correct light.

One will instead think that it is
  • one's soul, self, ego, or personality that experiences suffering (dukkha, disappointment, pain, distress),
  • one's personality that performs skillful and unskillful deeds (good and evil actions)
  • one who will be reborn according to these actions (karma),
  • one's personality that will enter into some kind of everlasting heaven, sphere, place, or state the Buddha called "Nirvana" (Pali Nibbāna),
  • one's personality that practices on the Enlightening (Noble) Eightfold Path.
So it is said in The Path of Purification (Vis.M. XVI):

"Mere dukkha [ignorance/delusion] exists;
No experiencer of dukkha is to be found;
Deeds are, but no doer of the deeds is there;
Nirvana is, but not one who experiences it;
The Path is, but no traveler on it is to be seen." More

Get Him to the Greek, smoking Epstein
Future: Japanese Buddhist girls?
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Healing OM mantra: Tibetan monks chant


(Tibetan Nuns) Healing Om (aum) Mantra: Tibetan Buddhist lama chants for nervous system repair
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Tao=God? Converting Taoism into Christianity

  • Matteo Ricci, Latin Matthaeus Riccius (Oct. 6, 1552–May 11, 1610) was an Italian Catholic Jesuit priest and one of the founding figures of the Jesuit China missions.
Ricci: You will worship our God
He created the Kunyu Wanguo Quantu, a 1602 world map written in Chinese characters. In 2022, the Apostolic See declared its recognition of Ricci's heroic virtues, thereby bestowing upon him the honorific of venerable [1]. Ricci arrived at the Portuguese settlement of Macau in 1582, where he began his missionary work in China.

He mastered the Chinese language and writing system.

The West's Vatican will rule China!
He became the first European to enter the Forbidden City of Beijing in 1601 when invited by the Wanli Emperor, who sought his services in matters such as court astronomy and calendrical science.
 
He emphasized parallels between Catholicism and Confucianism but opposed Buddhism.

He converted several prominent Chinese officials to Catholicism. He also worked with several Chinese elites, such as Xu Guangqi, in translating Euclid's Elements into Chinese as well as the Confucian classics into Latin for the first time in history. More

Who was Lao Tzu, founder of Taoism?
  • Lao Tzu (aka Laozi)
    LAO TZU     (Romanized "the Old Boy," Chinese Laozi, 老子, Pinyin Lǎozǐ) was a legendary Chinese philosopher and sage traditionally credited with writing The Book of Changes or Tao Te Ching (Pinyin Dào Dé Jīng), one of the foundational texts of Taoism.
Traditional accounts identify him as Li Er, born in the 6th century BC in the state of Chu during China's Spring and Autumn period (c. 770–c. 481 BC). He is said to have served as the royal archivist for the Zhou court.
 

He is also said to have met Confucius (c. 551–c. 479 BC), and to have composed The Book of Changes before withdrawing into the western wilderness.

Modern scholarship, however, has questioned both Lao Tzu’s historicity and the traditional attribution of the Tao Te Ching to a single author. More
Confucius
CONFUCIUS, born Kong Qiu, was a Chinese philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. Much of the shared cultural heritage of the Sinosphere originates in the philosophy and teachings of Confucius [1].

His philosophical teachings, called Confucianism, emphasize personal and governmental morality, harmonious social relationships, righteousness, kindness, sincerity, and a ruler's responsibilities to lead by virtue [2].

He considered himself a transmitter for the values of earlier periods, which he claimed had been abandoned in his time... More

 
What is the Tao in Lao Tzu's Taoism?
Outline of the aura: Qigong
Taoism (pronounced Daoism) is a philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China and is a major influence on Zen. It emphasizes harmony with the Tao (道).

With a range of meanings in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include "Way," "Road," "Path," or "Technique," generally understood in the Taoist sense as an enigmatic process of transforming ultimately underlying reality [2, 3].
 
Taoist thought has informed the development of various practices within the Taoist tradition, including forms of
  • meditation,
  • astrology,
  • qigong,
  • feng shui, and
  • internal alchemy [4].
Meister Lam in Jiuzhaigou: Qigong
A common goal of Taoist practice is self-cultivation, a deeper appreciation of the Tao, and a more harmonious existence [with nature].

Taoist ethics [that blended until they are thought to be of Buddhist origin in Zen] generally emphasize virtues of effortless action, naturalness, simplicity, and the three treasures of compassion, frugality, and humility.

Taoism is a distinct tradition with its own scriptures, priestly lineages, and ritual systems, but it has long been closely intertwined with Zen and Chinese folk religion, and the boundary between them is often fluid in practice [5].

The core of Taoist thought crystallized during... More
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Tao of Not Trying: Alan Watts, Lao Tzu, B Wen


Care about what they all think, prisoner?
Wu wei (Chinese 無為, simplified Chinese 无为, Pinyin wúwéi) is a concept [popular in Zen Buddhism] from ancient Chinese philosophy that literally means "not-acting" or "non-doing," variously interpreted and translated as actionlessness, inaction, or effortless action [1, 2].
If I could be Zen, would I be a Taoist?
In Taoism, it denotes the nature of Tao, meaning that while the Tao (the way, path, or flow of nature) is the source of all existence and manifestation of all phenomena, its intrinsic formless essence is that it acts or moves in a silent, invisible, ineffable, often-unnoticed manner that may even seem motionless and effortless [3, 4, 5, 6, 7].

Accordingly, Taoists aspire to live their lives in alignment with such a harmonious state of free flowing and unforced activity.

In a political context, it also refers to an ideal form or principle of spontaneous and non-aggressive governance [8]. More

The Path of Least Resistance

Let nature reign and all will be well?
Ziran Romanized tzu-jan) is a key concept in Taoism and East Asian Buddhism. It literally means "of its own" or "by itself" and therefore "naturally; natural; spontaneously; freely; in the course of events; of course; doubtlessly" [1, 2].

ETYMOLOGY: This Chinese word is a two-character compound of zì (自, "self," "oneself," "from," "since") and rán (然, "right," "correct," "so," "yes"), which is used as a -ran suffix marking adjectives or adverbs (roughly corresponding to English -ly).

What is the most intelligent response? Flow
According to the Shuo Wen lexicon, the character 自 zi means "nose" [one's nose, self when not interfered with by outside influences.] In Chinese culture, the nose (or zi) is a common metaphor for a person's own point of view [3]. More

 
A decolonized intro to Taoism
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Bhikkhu Bodhi: Selfless Dependent Origination


Indian monk and teacher Nagarjuna with 84 mahasiddha (wikipedia)
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What is the True Nature of Existence?

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If life is short, what really matters?


Householder happiness? Marriage troubles in American Suburbia (Falsettos)

LYRICS: "I'm Breaking Down"
(Genius) I'd like to be a princess on a throne/ To have a country I can call my own/ And a king who's lusty and requires a fling/ With a female thing/ Great, men will be men/ Let me turn on the gas/ I caught them in the den with Marvin grabbing Whizzer's ass/ Oh sure, I'm sure, he's sure he did his best/ I mean he meant to be what he was not/ The things he was are things which I forgot/ He's a queen I'm a queen/ Where is my crown?/ I'm breaking down/ I'm breaking down/ My life is shitty/ And my kid seems like an idiot to me/ I mean that's sick/ I mean he's great/ It's me who is the matter/ Talking madder/ Than the maddest hatter

If I repeat one more word/ I swear I'll lose my brain/ Oh, what else should I explain?/ Oh, yes, it's true
I can cry on cue/ But so can you/ I'm breaking down/ I'm breaking down/ Down, down/ You ask me, "Is it fun to cry over nothing?"/ It is, I'm breaking down/ Now let's consider what I might do next/ I hate admitting I've become perplexed/ I'm bereaved/ I've cried, I've shook, I've yelled, I've heaved/ I have been deceived

As enemies go Whizzer is not so bad/ It's just he's so damn happy/ That it makes me so damn mad/ I want to hate him but I really can't/ It's like a nightmare how this all proceeds/ I hope that Whizzer don't fulfill his needs/ "Don't" is wrong/ Sing along!/ What was the noun?/ I'm breaking down/ I'm breaking down/ I'll soon redecorate these stalls/ I'd like some padding on the walls/ And also pills/ I wanna sleep Sure, things'll probably worsen/ But it's not like I'm some healthy person/ I've rethought my talks with Marv/ And one fact does emerge/ Oh, I think I like his shrink/ So that is why I might turn to drink/ I'm on the brink/ Of breaking down/ I'm breaking down/ Down, down/ I only want to love a man who can love me/ Or like me/ Or help me/ Help me!

Marvin was never mine/ He took his meetings in the boys' latrine/ I used to cry/ He'd make a scene/ I'd rather die/ Than dry-clean Marvin's wedding gown/ I'm breaking down/ I'm breaking down/ It's so upsetting when you've found/ That what's rectangular is round/ I mean it stinks/ I mean he's queer/ And me, I'm just a freak/ Who needs it maybe every other week/ I don’t know/ I've rethought the fun we've had/ And one fact does emerge/ I've played the foolish clown/ The almost virgin who sings this dirge/ Is on the verge/ Of breaking down/ I'm breaking down/ Down, down/ The only thing that's breaking up is my family/ The only thing that's breaking up is my family/ But me, I'm breaking Down!
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Another assassin shoots at Trump (comedy)


(France 24 English) Israel taunts, mocks violated SMUD Flotilla activists
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Friday, May 22, 2026

Arroyo Secodelic Fest, Open Mic Poetry LA

Welcome to the first unofficial day of summer, which runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day in LA

How can I start to awaken in a big city?
What is a psychedelic? It is a "mind manifesting" compound, like an entheogen that brings out the divine from within. What is an Arroyo Seco? It is a dry river bed. What is an Arroyo Secodelic?

ARROYO SECODELIC FESTIVAL (arroyosecodelic.com) May 22–25, 2026: Highland Park, Los Angeles, all ages with 60+ bands across six walkable venues along famous Figueroa Street with FREE and paid admission shows. See arroyosecodelic.com for details. Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday (Memorial Day weekend). Tickets are available as 4-Day Passes to all shows in all venues. See individual schedule for full lineup by day, appearing mostly at the Lodge Room, De La Playa Records, Oblivion Indoor, and Highland Park Ebell, all orbiting Kinship Yoga on Fig.
WHAT HAPPENED?

One day ASF may bet as big as Brokecella
KXLU and KCRW were on top of it. In addition to a mixed bag of indie artists, there were three or four punk giants: FEAR, Adolescents, Alice Bag (now Juanita), and Mike Watt (now without Minutemen)...what, no Exene Cervenka's X? But exciting acts like Death Valley Girls, Cameron Romance, and the Silverados were on hand to keep things lively. Now it's Monday, aka Bad Memory Day, and everyone is converging on the Lodge to catch Adolescents on a rare foray beyond the Orange Curtain to Competition City L.A. Why?

Highland Park is rock 'n roll paradise. Arroyo Secodelic Festival is a 4-day music fest in Highland Park, May 22-25, 2026, featuring a frenetic and fuzzy array of rock 'n roll artists spanning generations — including three of Southern California's finest first wave punk bands: Lee Ving's FEAR, OC royalty Adolescents, and pioneering punk bassist Mike Watt as well as San Francisco power pop icons Flamin' Groovies and LA rockers Strawberry Fuzz, Levitation Room, The Warlocks, and Death Valley Girls.

The Festival takes place across multiple venues on Figueroa St. and beyond — The Lodge Room, Oblivion, Highland Park Ebell, Cheerio Collective, De La Playa Records, Blind Barber, North Figueroa Books, and a few pop ups and buskers. All Arroyo Secodelic shows are ALL AGES. 

Free poetry pre-show at Eagle Rock Library
(Daytime T.V. Lizards) BLISS at the 2026 ARROYO SECODELIC FESTIVAL pre-party
Enter the Gateless Gate of Heightened Awareness into the magic Doors of Perception.

Blended (Mestizo) to Synthesis
Share original poems, songs, lyrics, spoken word, or just come listen. Each open mic performer will get 5 minutes for an original work. Sign up on arrival. Our FEATURED PERFORMER for National Poetry Month is Seven, who performs in Buddhist Sanskrit, Gaelic, English, and pre-Spanish (Nahuatl). An urban shaman and yogi with Native American roots (Kizh/Tongva), he won the San Gabriel Valley Poetry Festival chapbook and broadside contests,  among many other honors, and has been published in several anthologies and journals, including the library's very own The Stone Bird: Anthology. He was also a featured poet at L.A. Shakespeare Fest and LitFest Pasadena with the word troupe Poets in Distress. Open Mic Poetry | Los Angeles Public Library

(Pondwater Society) Train 45 "Best Ever Death Metal Band Out of Denton"
(Pondwater Society) Rick Lupert duet with Brandon Constantine

RELATED ARTS EVENTS
Eagle Rock Branch - Los Angeles Public Library | Los Angeles CA | Facebook
  • Friday, May 22, Arroyo Secodelic Festival (runs until Monday, May 24) Arroyo Secodelic Festival — May 22–24, 2026 · Highland Park
  • Saturday, May 23 2:00 pm Miriam's Garden Hyde Park Miriam Matthews Branch Library
  • JBLZE (The Jason Bonham Led Zeppelin Evening) Greek Theatre, LA
  • May 28, 4:00 pm REAB Traveling Symphony Series Presents: Symphony of Shared Stories Van Nuys Branch Library
  • May 29, 10:30 am REAB Traveling Symphony Presents: Collaborative Poetry with DSTL ARTS Fairfax Branch Library
  • May 30, 12 noon REAB Traveling Symphony Presents: Collaborative Poetry with DSTL ARTS Hyde Park Miriam Matthews Branch Library
  • May 30, 2:30 p.m. REAB Traveling Symphony Presents: Collaborative Poetry with DSTL ARTS Baldwin Hills Branch Library
  • June 9, 6:00 pm Poetry Open Mic Westwood Branch Library
  • ADA accommodations: (213) 228-7430 at least 72 hours prior to event. Para ajustes razonables según la ley de ADA, llama (213) 228-7430 al menos 72 horas antes del evento.
AwareProject.org for rethinking psychedelics (The Aware Project, Los Angeles)
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Microdosing at the Psychedelic Institute, LA
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Bear Awareness: Questions and Answers on Taming Your Wild Mind

Bear Awareness: Taming Mind
British Buddhist monk Ajahn Brahm (trained in the Thai Forest Tradition and abbot of Buddhist Society of Western Australia) has 4.6 out of 5 stars (with 85 reviews) for this book.

He is the bestselling author of Who Ordered This Truckload of Dung? and one of the world’s most beloved Theravada Buddhist monks because of his sense of humor.

In Bear Awareness, Ajahn Brahm answers meditators’ questions, actual questions from students of meditation––questions readers may have wondered about as well.

Hi, y'all! Feed your head like Grace says.
While most sati or mindfulness meditation teachers praise the benefits of "bare awareness," Ajahn Brahm teaches bear awareness.
 
He helps us make friends with the scary things that come up on the cushion, and he shows how to lift the mood with a well-placed stuffed teddy or a well-timed pun.
 
The intimacy of the question-and-answer format provides a fresh experience of learning from a Western master meditator who studied with the awakened Thai master Ajahn Chah.

Author: British Abbot Ajahn Brahm (BSWA)
Whether he is urging readers to fly Buddha Air (as we sit back and relax on our way to nirvana), giving tips for dealing with panic attacks or depression, or extolling the bliss (piti) of meditation that is better than sex, he gives us permission to enjoy our lives and our practice. More
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