Saddest Day of Year: 'Blue Monday' (1/19)

"Those who fail to plan PLAN to fail"

Capitalist salesman Kevin Trudeau says he was initiated into uncle's "The Brotherhood"

Feel the feelings without clinging to them.

There is a saying we should all know. For by knowing it, we can love it and live it. Kevin Trudeau [Hevin' True Dough?] the miracle way to happiness is to take 100% responsibility for everything that happens to us.

"Well, that's impossible!" we may exclaim. "I can't be responsible for what others do to me!" Are we going to wait for them and react accordingly? Wouldn't it be better to act as if everything that happens to us were our fault?

"The buck stops here." If it stops here with me then it starts here with me, too. That is a good and useful way to approach "karma" -- the POWER OF OUR DEEDS TO PRODUCE RESULTS (eventual fruit and immediate mental resultants), now and in the interminable future.

Kevin Trudeau exposes secret societies, media control, human potential (exclusive interview)

Rather than wasting time wondering if everything is our fault, the advice given to successful Trudeau was to act as if everything were our fault. Love it. Live it. Because when we do, we will see a miracle.

There's no more waiting for the universe or others or anything to do things. It's just us.

• Blue Monday is on Jan. 19 this year: Blue Monday is the name given to the third Monday in January by former Cardiff University health psychologist [1] Cliff Arnall in 2005 [2, 3, 4]. Prof Arnall is a current member of The British Psychological Society (BPS) [5]. It is said by UK travel company Sky Travel to be the most depressing day of the year. It takes into account weather conditions and only applies to the Northern Hemisphere temperate zones. More

Brppke's Lagoon

For example, say a gal were lost on a desert island in the middle of the sea. Should she wait for lunch, or ruminate about who's to blame for her getting there? Is there anything to learn from being there? Are those coconuts just going to climb down?

Get up, dig for fresh water, find a way to scramble up the palm tree, bring a broken rock to cut down a coconut, which provides purified drinking fluid full of electrolytes and protein rich healthy fats in a delicious gel. Keep the shells. They'll come in handy for lots of things. Take a dip in the sea and gather some seaweed. Lay it out in the sun, which will make it very taste. Then the herb, root, fruit, and vegetable hunt begins. There's gathering to be done. Fire and cooking will come soon, and this forsaken wilderness will be converted into a paradise, a Blue Lagoon (based on the novel The Blue Lagoon).

Oh, but doesn't it feel so much better to feel sorry for ourselves?

What is Blue Monday?

Each January, a certain Monday carries a reputation for being the year’s most emotionally difficult day.

Known as "Blue Monday," it’s often linked with low moods, depleted motivation, and a post-holiday slump.

While the idea started as a publicity stunt, it has since become an annual reminder of something real and important: Mental health matters – especially when days are short and emotions feel heavy. In 2026, Blue Monday falls on January 19th.

Ram Dass (Dr. Richard Alpert) in India, meets guru

What is it? Blue Monday 2026 is observed on the third Monday in January and is often described as “the saddest day of the year.”

The label may be more symbolic than scientific, but the feelings it points to are common. After the holidays, many people experience a dip – financially, emotionally, and physically.

Cold weather, shorter daylight hours, and pressure to stick to resolutions can all contribute. More

• Editors, Wisdom Quarterly; AwarenessDays.com

PUNK: Dead Kennedys: 'Life Sentence'?

DEAD KENNEDYS - "Life Sentence" via Seconds, Aug. 23, 2007: Live Broadway, Summer 1984

DEAD KENNEDYS: "Life Sentence" studio version from Give Me Convenience OR Give Me Death

For this ditty, singer-lyricist Jello Biafra fronts the classic San Francisco punk rock ensemble the Dead Kennedys (DKs), talking about our lives and the way we sell out to The Man (school, work, bank, not literal jails just figurative ones) without realizing it.

LYRICS: "Life Sentence"

Used to be a partner-in-crime

Now you say you ain't got the time

Gotta get serious, gotta plan

Gotta pass those entrance exams!

Oh my gosh, it's your senior year

All you care about is your career

[CHORUS]

It's your life sentence, life sentence

Life sentence, life sentence

You're squelching your emotions

All you talk about is those times

You don't do what you want to

But you do the same thing every day!

No sense of humor

But such good manners

Now you're an adult

You're boring!

[Chorus]

The walls (ah ah) are closing in

You stayed (ay ay) too long in school

I'd rather stay a child and keep my self-respect

If being an adult means being like you

Ah, ah

Are you really you, you, you?

You, you, you

You, you, you

Are you really you? No!

You're a chained-up dog fenced in a yard

Don't say much, you can't go far

Pace and forth, you're getting sick

Run too fast, it'll snap your neck!

Say you'll break out, you never do

You're just another ant in the hill

[Chorus]

• Jello Biafra (alternativetentacles.com), DeadKennedys.com; Seth Auberon, Pfc. Sandoval, Sheldon S. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

I have a great TATTOO idea (video)

Be Amazed, 8/3/20; Jen Bradford, Ananda (Dharma BM), Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Dangerous tattoos that can get one into serious trouble

I love, wait... Damn, I misspelled it!

(BE AMAZED) There are lots of tattoos one should not get. Let's examine some tattoos that can get one into serious trouble.

Suggest a topic here to be turned into a video: bit.ly/2kwqhuh. Subscribe for more ► goo.gl/pgcoq1 ◄

Stay updated ► goo.gl/JyGcTt

I look like a tool, but chixdiggit (G.K.Day Lewis)

goo.gl/5c8dzr ◄ For copyright queries or general inquiries, please get in touch: hello@beamazed.com

Legal Stuff: Unless otherwise created by BeAmazed, licenses have been obtained for images/footage in the video from the following sources: pastebin.com/ZgusXNcR

How to see each other in future lives (sutra)

Key & Peele, "I Said Bitch" (Comedy Central); Ven. Thanissaro (trans.) Samajivina Sutra: "Living in Tune" (AN 4.55, PTS: A ii 61) edited by Dhr. Seven, Sheldon S., Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Karma is the key to events.

Once the Blessed One was staying among the Bhaggas in the Deer Park at Bhesakala Grove, near the Crocodile Haunt. Then early in the morning he dressed and, with robe and bowl, went to the home of the householder Nakula's father (Nakulapitā).

When he arrived he sat on a seat made ready. Nakula's father and Nakula's mother (Nakhulamātā) greeted the Blessed One, bowed, and sat respectfully to one side. Sitting there, Nakula's father said:

The Buddha's parents reunited in this life.

"Venerable sir, ever since Nakula's mother was a young girl brought to me [to be my future wife as arranged by our loving parents] when I was a young boy, I am not aware of being unfaithful to her even in thought, much less in body. We want to see one another in this life and in the future in lives to come."

Nakula's mother then said to the Blessed One: "Venerable sir, ever since I was a young girl brought to Nakula's father [to be his future wife] when he was a young boy, I am not aware of being unfaithful to him even in thought, much less in body. We want to see one another in this life and in the future in lives to come."

"Karma: It's Everywhere You're Going To Be."

[The Buddha advised them in karmic terms:] "If both husband and wife wish to see one another in this life and also in lives to come, they should [seek to] be in tune [with one another]

• in confidence (faith)
• in tune in virtue
• in tune in generosity, and
• in tune in wisdom [views].

Then they will see one another in this life and also in lives to come."

Spouses alike in

confidence,

morality, restraint,

living by the Dharma,

addressing one another

with loving words

benefit in many ways.

To them comes bliss.

Their enemies are dejected

when they are seen in tune in virtue.

having followed the Dharma

here in this world,

in tune in precepts and practices,

they delight in the world of the devas,

enjoying what pleasures they desire.

Marriage: lonely masturbation, cheating, shame

Ashley Wells, Seth Auberon (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly; Maureen McGrath (TEDx Talks); Ven. K. Sri Dhammananda, A Happy Married Life: A Buddhist Perspective (accesstoinsight.org)

You still love me? - Why don't you shut the hell up? - That's not the answer I wanted to hear.

 

No Sex Marriage: Masturbation, Loneliness, Cheating, and Shame

Love? Marriage? Sex? Can a married couple have all three? Perhaps it’s unrealistic since so many marriages end in divorce today. Why is that? One reason might be that a reported 20% of all marriages are sexless and that number is rising. Why have we lost the lust in our marriages? Is it technology, is it trust? More importantly, how can we “get back at it” in our marriages today?

• This talk was given at a TEDx event (TEDxStanleyPark) using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. More at: ted.com/tedx
• Registered nurse, sex educator, author of Sex & Health, Maureen McGrath (nursetalk@hotmail.com) hosts the "Sunday Night Sex Show" on News Talk 980 CKNW.

A Happy Married Life: A Buddhist Perspective

Ven. K. Sri Dhammananda edited by Wisdom Quarterly

I told you not to ask me. Who cares if my number is higher than yours? We're together now.

 
From the Buddhist point of view, marriage is neither holy nor unholy. Buddhism does not regard marriage as a religious duty nor as a sacrament that is ordained in heaven. A cynic has said that while some people believe that marriage is planned in heaven, others say that it is also recorded in hell!

Marriage is basically a personal and social obligation, but it is not compulsory. Men and women must have the freedom either to get married or to remain single. This does not mean that Buddhism is against marriage. Nobody in this world would say that marriage is bad , and there is no religion which is against marriage.
 
Practically all living things come into being as a result of sex life. [The Abhidharma explains some exceptions]. Among human beings, the institution of marriage has come about so that society guarantees the perpetuation of the human species and also ensures that the young would be cared for.

This is based on the argument that children born through the pleasure of sex must be the responsibility of the partners involved, at least until they have grown up. And marriage ensures that this responsibility is upheld and carried out.
 
A society grows through a network of relationships which are mutually intertwined and interdependent. Every relationship is a whole-hearted commitment to support and to protect others in a group or community.

Marriage plays a very important part in this strong web of relationships of giving support and protection. A good marriage should grow and develop gradually from understanding and not impulse, from true loyalty and not just sheer indulgence.

The institution of marriage provides a fine basis for the development of culture, a delightful association of two individuals to be nurtured and to be free from loneliness, deprivation, and fear. In marriage, each partner develops a complementary role...
 
2. The Nature of Love and Pleasure

Love
There are different kinds of love, and these are variously expressed as motherly love, brotherly love, sensual love, emotional love, sexual love, selfish love, selfless love, and universal love.
 
If people develop only their carnal or selfish love towards each other, that type of love cannot last long. In a true love relationship, one should not ask how much one can get, but how much one can give.
 
When beauty, complexion, and youth start to fade away, a husband who considers only the physical aspects of love may think of acquiring another young wife.

That type of love is animal love or lust. If a man really develops love as an expression of human concern for another being, he will not lay emphasis only on the external beauty and physical attractiveness of his partner.

The beauty and attractiveness of his partner should be in his heart and mind, not in what he sees. Likewise, the wife who follows Buddhist teachings will never neglect her husband even though he has become old, poor, or sick.

• "I have a fear that the modern girl loves to be Juliet, to have a dozen Romeos. She loves adventure....The modern girl dresses not to protect herself from wind, rain, and sun, but to attract attention. She improves upon nature by painting herself and looking extraordinary." — Gandhi

Sex

What's happening as the live TV news camera pans to this innocent looking anchor?

 
Sex by itself is not "evil," although the temptation and craving for it invariably disturbs the peace of mind, and hence is not conducive to spiritual development.
 
In the ideal situation, sex is the physical culmination of a deeply satisfying emotional relationship, where both partners give and take equally.
 
The portrayal of love by commercial groups through the mass media in what we call "Western" culture is not "real" love. When an animal wants to have sex, it shows its "love," but after having experienced sex, it just forgets about love.

For animals, sex is just an instinctive drive necessary for procreation. But a human being has much more to offer in the concept of love. Duties and responsibilities are important ingredients to maintain unity, harmony, and understanding in a relationship between human beings....

Gandhi remarks:

"I believe in the proper education of woman. But I do believe that woman will not make her contribution to the world by mimicking or running a race with man. She can run the race, but she will not rise to the great heights she is capable of by mimicking man. She has to be the complement of man." More

CONTENTS
1. Introduction
2. The Nature of Love and Pleasure
3. The Reality of Married Life
4. The Buddhist Concept of Marriage
5. The Religious Dilemma
6. Security, Respect, and Responsibilities
7. Polygamy or Monogamy?
8. New Technology
9. Morality
10. The East and the West
11. Celibacy
12. Summary
Appendix I: The Affectionate Mother
Appendix II: Moral Code

New Year's resolution: meditation (video)

Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven, Crystal Quintero, Sheldon S., CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly; Roshi Jeff Albrizze (pasadharma.org); Dharma Punx AgainstTheStream.org; WeLikeLA.com

The purpose of sitting is to let the mind return to its natural state of luminosity. This is done by undoing, letting go but with persistent attention, checking out to check in. (DW)

Unleashing the power of you with meditation (or with your Sony camera with Gary Fong)

(Amelia Harvey) Tips for a daily meditation practice: How to Start 100 Days of Health

Begin with "group sitting" (AEA).

Here is our resolution. This year we are going to meditate. Not every so often or on group meditation days, but every day for at least 15 minutes a sit.

How in the world are we going to do it? Will power will not work. Cross our heart and hope to be spied on if we falter? No, there's a better way.

With the help of Zen meditation instructor Roshi Jeff "Lotus Peace" Albrizze (pictured), we can now commit to sitting for 100 days. What's that going to help?

Teacher Jeff Albrizze (WQ)

He will take all applicants and pair them, then the partners (who may or may not ever meet, as they wish) will be in daily contact to encourage each other and be accountable.

It's amazing how likely we are to sit when someone is watching, how likely we are to follow through when someone cares, how likely we are to help ourselves when someone helps us.

And better than that, we can help someone! It's a win-win, and it's FREE starting 2016.

(YBC) 8 hours of delta waves, deep relaxion with attention to the moment (at the breath)

Ask for help while taking responsibility.

Wisdom Quarterly has made a special arrangement with Roshi Albrizze, an American Buddhist teacher who trained at the Zen Center Los Angeles (ZCLA) but familiar with insight and serenity meditation:

Every person who contacts him will be paired with a "meditation partner." Fate (aka karma) will determine the pairings.

Dharma practice in Pasadena (PasaDharma)

Roshi will remain available for meditation advice, in-person instruction (Thursdays), and guidance if needed.

But participants can and should rely on their assigned partners for encouragement and motivation. Additional group sittings available most days of the week in Hollywood, Santa Monica, and across the country at Dharma Punx (dharmapunx.com) -- Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Society.

• Free 100-Day Meditation Challenge
• Coordinator Roshi Jeff Albrizze
• PasaDharma.org and MeetUp
• Email: jeffalbrizze@hotmail.com
• Home: (626) 405-9283; cell: (626) 529-4074

☯

• D.I.Y.? Supplies, General Info
• Buddhist Temples
• Beginner’s Booklist

There’s a new Ancient Forest at Descanso Gardens, Los Angeles

Couple creates competitive inner-tube race down L.A. River to “welcome El Niño”

One Saturday every month Griffith Park Observatory hosts FREE public "Star Party"

Group Classes

• Hollywood on Melrose Blvd.
• Santa Monica
• Other locations
• Meditation and Dharma Talk Wednesdays @ 7:30 pm
• Connect and Sustain Thursdays @ 7:30 pm
• Saturday Afternoon Meditation and Talk Sats @ 5:00 pm
• Meditation and Dharma Talk Sundays @ 11:00 am
• Community Silent Sit and Meditation Sundays @ 5:00 pm
• Deepening Your Practice Mondays @ 7:45 pm
• Silent Morning Sits M-F @ 6:00 am and @ 7:00 am
• Wake Up Call Fridays @ 7:00 am

Events

• New Year's Eve Intention Setting with Noah Levine, Dec. 31 in Santa Monica then Hollywood for countdown to midnight
• Awake in the New Year Daylong, Deborah Eden Tull, Jan. 10
• Dharma Dialogues 7 Weeks with Catherine Ingram, Jan. 12
• Loving Kindness Daylong with Noah Levine, Jan. 16
• Connect and Sustain for LGBTQ Sangha, Daylong meditation with Pablo Das, Jan. 23
• Dharma Goes to the Movies "Fight Club," Jan. 23
• Self Inquiry Daylong with Shinzen Young, Jan. 31
• Metta for Women Half-day with Denise Di Novi, Feb. 6

New Year's Resolution: "Commit to Sit"

Take Tricycle's 28-day meditation challenge and go on retreat without leaving home.

DAILY PRACTICE RESOLUTION

• Week One: The Breath
• Week Two: The Body
• Week Three: Emotions and Hindrances
• Week Four: Thoughts
• (Special practice section is best viewed in PDF format)

WE DON"T HAVE TO REMIND YOU how toxic our lives can be. Stress at work, arguments with loved ones, poor diets, and too many hectic weekends conjure daydreams of Himalayan caves — guaranteed not to have cell phone reception. But in reality, even that retreat you’ve been planning for years feels like an impossible commitment.

Balancing a commitment to becoming more compassionate and wise with the responsibilities of a family, a career, and a checking account is a near-constant dilemna for many practitioners. To help, we’ve teamed up with one of the West’s foremost Buddhist teachers, Sharon Salzberg, to create an intensive meditation program designed for your busy schedule.

No steep retreat fees, no putting newspaper delivery on hold, no out-of-office replies required. Our 28-day "Commit to Sit" challenge puts that daydream of an intense daily practice to the test. More>>

Harder to start than you thought? Here's an easier method offered by Dr. Dean Ornish.

Julia Roberts to star in "Eat, Pray, Love"

Julia Roberts was spotted walking down a Manhattan street yesterday as she filmed Eat, Pray, Love (Cory Schwartz/Getty Images/USAToday).

The author of that best-selling book, Elizabeth Gilbert, tells The New York Times that her new book will be out in January. It's about marriage, which is known from the author's March Elle interview. But it's got a new title: Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace With Marriage.

According to the Times, the publisher has announced a first print run of 1 million copies in hardcover, even though Gilbert knows it will be tough to follow the phenomenal success of Eat, Pray, Love.

“There’s something very scary about having millions of people waiting to see what you’re going to do next,” she said. “The people who love Eat, Pray, Love are very dear and are very encouraging, but they also have their expectations.” More>>

Eat, Pray, Love. Then What?

Author Elizabeth Gilbert, Gilbert with journey mates, and Julia Roberts as Gilbert.

Mr. Dorje Andersson (WQ Book Reviewer)

Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love is a remarkable feel-good read -- particularly for females. Every woman around the office lavished attention on any other female holding a copy. They could not get enough, praise enough, nor (it seemed) envy one another enough. I thought, it's not for me. It's obviously not for any man. But eventually, I browsed through it. I saw her talk about it. (See short video below).

And as with all great spiritual literature, I was drawn in. There is much for a man to be put off by but far more that intrigues. Ms. Gilbert's description of meditation is spot on. Her explanation of the attendant phenomena as kundalini awakens on her trip to India is compact and fascinating. I venture to guess that her guru is a man, yet for the best she leaves her unnamed.

Starting off as a gastronomic journey in Italy, searching for love and fulfillment -- or anything to fill the void after a divorce -- she travels as she goes along a momentous internal journey so many thoughtful people embark on. It is the Heroine's (and Hero's) Journey Siddhartha Gautama is famous for successfully completing. This is a remarkable read, and readers are quickly rewarded with much to learn from this author. And now there's a follow up:

Eat, Pray, Love. Then What? Get [re-]Married.
Motoko Rich (NY Times, Aug. 20, 2009)

A year after completely scrapping a 500-page follow-up to “Eat, Pray, Love,” Elizabeth Gilbert has delivered a new book that Viking will publish in January.

Titled “Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace With Marriage,” the book is a memoir of a tumultuous year that came 18 months after “Eat, Pray, Love” leaves off, as well as a meditation on wedlock.

Ms. Gilbert, 40, said the book, which recounts how she came to marry the Brazilian-born Australian lover she met in Indonesia in “Eat, Pray, Love,” was not just a straightforward memoir of what happened and how she felt about it. More>>

Elizabeth Gilbert Takes On Marriage
Catherine Strawn (Aug. 21, 2009)
Elizabeth Gilbert’s memoir, Eat, Pray, Love, was published in 2006, and her followup book was touted in the back of at least 200,000 copies of the book.

Tentatively titled Weddings and Evictions, it was described as a memoir about Gilbert’s “unexpected journey into second marriage” and was supposed to hit shelves in 2009. But Gilbert scrapped her 500-page draft of the book and told her publisher she needed more time. What she had wasn’t working.

Because Eat, Pray, Love had been such a huge success, staying in the top spot on the New York Times bestseller list for 57 weeks, Viking wanted the followup to come out as quickly as possible. But her editor gave her another year, and this second draft, now called Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace With Marriage will be published in January.

The delay wasn’t such a bad idea, in my opinion, since “Eat, Pray, Love,” the movie version starring Julia Roberts, Billy Crudup, and Javier Bardem, is currently filming in New York City, and Gilbert is back on everyone’s minds. More>>