It's raining and snowing in Los Angeles

Jake Flannagin, KNX (via msn.com); Seth Auberon, Pfc. Sandoval (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

LOS ANGELES — California is headed into a colder and wetter 2022, with more record-breaking snow and rainfall at the year’s end.

California state water officials will conduct a snow survey on Thursday. They are expected to find the state’s mountain snowpack to have grown by nearly 160% of the average for the date, according to The San Francisco Chronicle.

• Rain inundates Southland, causing floods, mudslides, and road closures
• Alaska faces "Icemageddon" as temperatures swing wildly

Rivers of mud sliding downhill (KNX)

It’s a good sign for a dehydrated California, which has grappled with a three-year-long [artificial] drought. Crucial reservoirs, like Shasta Lake and Lake Oroville in Northern California, are expected to be at least partially replenished due to runoff from recent storms.

“December has been great in that we have a fantastic snowpack started,” state climatologist Mike Anderson with the Department of Water Resources told The Chronicle.

“But if you have the perception that this [weather] has fixed everything, it didn’t,” he cautioned. “We dug a really deep hole with this drought, and we have a really long way to go to get out of it.”

Reversals in fortune have happened before. In January 2013, the snowpack measured 137% of average, only for winter to end at 47%, according to The Chronicle. More

Meditation: Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery

Talk 3 (of 6) focused on the Mangala Sutta, in a 6-day Virtual Retreat given at Birken Monastery

The Highest Blessings: afternoon meditation

(Ajahn Sona, Dec. 30, 2021) Sit with a virtual community at Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery in British Columbia for meditation. Begins and ends with a bell. Visit birken.ca/blessings for the full broadcast schedule and retreat information. To support more virtual Dhamma from Birken Monastery, visit: birken.ca/support.

The Highest Blessings: Virtual Retreat Dharma Q&A (5 of 6)

(Ajahn Sona, Dec. 26, 2021) The abbot of Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery answers questions as part of "The Highest Blessings - Teachings on the Mangala Sutra" Virtual Retreat taking place from Dec. 26-Jan. 1. See the Ajahn Sona YouTube Channel for videos relating to the retreat.

Hurts So Good: NPR on sex and BDSM (audio)

Kathryn Fink, Chris Remington (KPCC, 12/23/21); CC Liu, Crystal Q. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Is BDSM real? Illustrated Guide - Types of Spankings (devianceanddesire.com)

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If you’ve ever burnt your hand on a stove and someone told you it’s “all in your head,” they’re technically not wrong. They’re right. Why?

Our sensory receptors communicate with the brain to create the sensation of “pain.” But if pain is… painful, why do some of us seek it out?

What a mistake! Stop the pain. Just one more.

To find out, journalist Leigh Cowart interviewed ultra-marathoners, chili aficionados, lovers (practitioners) of BDSM, and other pain-seekers about why they do what they do.

From their book Hurts So Good: The Science and Culture of Pain on Purpose: “At its core, masochism is about choosing pain on purpose, for a reason. And often, in my experience, that reason is to feel bad to feel better.

“I believe that this phenomenon — the engineering of situations in which one suffers in order to secure guaranteed relief — is worthy of a tender, hilarious, heartfelt-examination.

Painful yogic austerities (tapas) feel so good!

“I would know: I am an inveterate, high-sensation-seeking masochist. I am a science reporter. And I have some f***ing questions.”

We talk about the link between pain and pleasure — and hear stories and questions from listeners about pain on purpose. To see more, visit WAMU 88.5.

• AUDIO: "From chili-eating contests to ultramarathons, Why do we seek pain for pleasure? (rebroadcast) | KPCC 89.3 FM
• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez staffer calls Israel a "racist European ethnostate" that was built on "stolen land" (msn.com)

Highest Blessings: Nature of Retreat (-39 C)

First things first. Stillness or samadhi is fundamental to Buddhist practice and progress. This stillness is measured in terms of the depth and mastery of the meditative absorptions or jhanas. They are the foundation for insight practice and vipassana. Ignoring, dismissing, or diminishing their importance leads to the many poor practices and lack of progress we see all around. Ajahn Sona explains their importance.

The Highest Blessings: Nature of the Retreat | -39 Celsius (-38.2 F)

(Ajahn Sona, Dec. 29, 2021) Enjoy the natural setting, inside and out, at Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery. Visit birken.ca/blessings for the full broadcast schedule and retreat information.

Ajahn Sona Podcast

• Apple: bit.ly/AppleAjSona
• Spotify: bit.ly/SpotifyAjSona
• Podbean: bit.ly/PodbeanAjSona

To support more virtual Dhamma from Birken Monastery, visit: birken.ca/support.

• Celsius to Fahrenheit Calculator (kallus.com)

Meditation focus on jhana: Ajahn Brahm (video)

Video courtesy of Chandana Dematapitiya, Jan. 1, 2019; Dhr. Seven (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

Meditation with focus on jhana: Ajahn Brahm

(Ajahn Brahm/Wisdom Quarterly) Meditation really begins as jhana or "absorption." But as these are refined and mastered, they become more of a practice and serene resort for the practitioner. They serve as means of temporary mental purification, making insight possible, and as the stable foundation for mindfulness-based insight practices to systematically see things as they really are and thereby be permanently purified by knowing and seeing. British monk trained in Thailand (under the great Ajahn Chah) Ajahn Brahm explains the significance of this Buddhist basic many have taken to ignoring or skipping. Samma samadhi, "right stillness," is an essential component of the Ennobling Eightfold Path to enlightenment, and the Buddha repeatedly defined "right" in terms of mastering the first four absorptions in the sutras.

Poem: Second Coming; Anicca (Ajahn Chah)

Ajahn Chah; Wm. Yeats (poetryfoundation.org); Ellie Askew, Dhr. Seven (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

"The Second Coming" by William Butler Yeats (PoemAnalysis.com)

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Coming back to the middle

Yeats had an apocalyptic vision of our times

When we build a dam, we must build a spillway, too. Then when the water rises too high, it is able to flow off safely. When it's full to the brim, the spillway is opened. We have to have a safety valve like this.

Understanding impermanence (anicca) is the safety valve of the Noble Ones. If we also have this safety valve, we will also be at peace.

• Recollection reflecting on the Three Marks of Existence, which are that all conditioned things are impermanent (anicca), incapable of fulfilling (dukkha), and impersonal (anatta).
• Impermanence in Buddhism does not mean that all things will change but rather that all conditioned things are radically changing at every moment and submoment. They do not stand for two consecutive moments

POEM: "The Second Coming"

William Butler Yeats (Poetry Foundation)

Turning and turning in the widening gyre   

The falcon cannot hear the falconer;

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,

The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere   

The ceremony of innocence is drowned;

The best lack all conviction, while the worst   

Are full of passionate intensity.

The falcon cannot hear the falconer (zeroanthropology.net)

Surely some revelation is at hand;

Surely the Second Coming is at hand.   

The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out   

When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi

Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert   

A shape with lion body and the head of a man,   

A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,   

Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it   

Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.   

The darkness drops again; but now I know   

That twenty centuries of stony sleep

Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,   

And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,   

Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

Will Omicron kill me? Mild symptoms

MSN.com/en-us/health; Editors, Wisdom Quarterly

The new and improved variant, now even more transmissible but less virulent (deadly), is taking over. It was predicted to become the dominant strain in less than a week. And what do you know? It did it! While Dr. Fauci tries to keep the country and world afraid -- and make it even more afraid so that people will obey without delay or question -- few can deny Omicron is a mild flu or cold, hardly anything to lose sleep over. And look how many people continue to be "asymptomatic," which means they are not sick. Contagious maybe, but not sick. It's being transmitted all over the place. And "breakthrough" infections -- or as most people have taken to calling them, infections -- are rampant. Why risk injury with the promise of so little benefit by revaccinating and boosting? Because we're told to. We must obey the PR doctors, who must themselves obey the pharmaceutical reps (paid representatives), who are doing all they can to enrich Big Pharma. And no one is allowed to question.

• Omicron Symptoms Usually Appear Like This (msn.com)
• What California counties have the highest rates of Omicron and COVID
• ww.msn.com
• Omicron variant symptoms resemble another major virus, doctor says (msn.com)
• VIDEO: Unbelievable storm destruction from inside bank
• Suicide is painful: Man killed by train after intentionally running in front of it in Burbank (KTLA)
• www.msn.com
• Killer North Carolina cop shoots his 15-year-old son in the head
• Porn star Mia Khalifa in Mexico in a swimsuit
• 99-year-old Betty White jokes about reason for her longevity
• Eleven years after trying to kill each other, a Marine and a Talib meet again
• Selena Gomez gets a big tramp stamp to try to remain relevant
• Bang Bang Tattoo on Instagram: V*g or bleeding flower tramp stamp?  on @selenagomez 🖤
• Counties with highest COVID-19 infection rates in California
• Parents of Teen Killed in LAPD Shooting to Demand Transparency in Probe | KFI AM 640 (iheart.com)
• Omicron Symptoms Usually Appear Like This (msn.com)
• VP Kamala Harris is a sociopathic liar (MSN
• Ghislaine Maxwell pictured for the first time behind bars with a bruise (nypost.com)
• Ree Drummond weight loss, Today Show - The best celebrity body moments of 2021 | Gallery | Wonderwall.com
• 5 Reasons to Let Go of Someone You Never Wanted to Say Goodbye to (readunwritten.com)
• Incredible pyramids you won't find in Egypt (msn.com)
• Yogi Bhajan Left Generations of Victims of Alleged Sex Abuse in His Wake (lamag.comDating Advice for Women: Don't Be Shy, Date Multiple Guys | Ronnie Ann Ryan | YourTango
• I take back everything I ever said about COVID-19. It was a panic: Nature vs. Culture in a Pandemic

Child sex trafficker Ghislane Maxwell guilty!

I'm a madame, not a pimp. I procure the girls for those who pay me, like Jeff (GRA).

Jeffrey Epstein with good friend Bill Gates

NEW YORK, New York, Dec. 29, 2021 (Reuters) - Ghislaine Maxwell was found guilty by a U.S. jury on Wednesday of helping the late [murdered] financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls, sealing a remarkable fall from grace for the British socialite.

• Discovery is coming in the Prince Andrew child sex crimes lawsuit — including supposed proof he can’t sweat
• Ghislaine Maxwell: Sex trafficking verdict and the Prince Andrew case (Rolling Stone)
• Virginia Giuffre says 'others must be held accountable' after Ghislaine Maxwell guilty verdict
• Accused child molester and lawyer Alan Dershowitz inexplicably analyzes Ghislaine Maxwell guilty verdict (Rolling Stone)
• Three major revelations of the Ghislane Maxwell trial
• British royal Pince Andrew back in the spotlight after Ghislaine Maxwell criminal sex conviction
• Details about Prince William cheating on Kate Middleton with her friend Rose Hanbury
• Who is Rose Hanbury? New details about Kate Middleton's best friend-turned-rival

Ms. Maxwell, 60, was accused of recruiting and grooming (reuters.com) four female teenagers for Epstein to rape and molest between 1994 and 2004.

US trial of Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell to begin | Sexual Assault News | Al Jazeera

UK royal Prince Andrew in the spotlight after Ghislaine Maxwell conviction (msn.com)

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Photos emerge during trial showing the couple

Her former boyfriend Epstein [was made to seem as if he had] killed himself in 2019 in a Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial on sex abuse charges of his own.

[But small broken bones in his neck are the telltale sign of strangulation, indicating that he was murdered, and the murder was covered up, after guards were shown not to be doing their job.]

She was convicted on five of six counts. After the verdict was read, Maxwell pulled down her face mask and poured herself a glass of water.

Along with the trials of [sex abusing rapist and] movie producer Harvey Weinstein and [child molesting] singer R. Kelly, Maxwell's case is among the highest-profile trials to take place in the wake of the #MeToo movement, which encouraged women to speak out about sexual abuse by famous and powerful people.

During the trial's closing arguments in federal court in Manhattan a prosecutor said Maxwell was Epstein's "partner in crime" (reuters.com).

I did some sexual stuff with the girls, too.

"Ghislaine Maxwell made her own choices. She committed crimes hand in hand with Jeffrey Epstein. She was a grown woman who knew exactly what she was doing," Assistant U.S. Attorney Alison Moe said.

Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, applauded the verdict in a statement that said Maxwell was convicted of "one of the worst crimes imaginable."

"The road to justice has been far too long," his statement said. "But, today, justice has been done. I want to commend the bravery of the [molested and trafficked] girls -- now grown women -- who stepped out of the shadows and into the courtroom."

Maxwell's attorneys had argued she was being used as a scapegoat for Epstein and sought to portray the accounts of her four accusers as not credible, saying their memories had been corrupted over the decades and that they were motivated by money.

"Epstein's death left a gaping hole in the pursuit of justice for many of these women," Maxwell's defense lawyer Bobbi Sternheim said. "She's filling that hole and filling that empty chair." More

• Ghislaine Maxwell jury wants more testimony (msn.com)

Samadhi, 2021: Pt. 3, "The Pathless Path"

Samadhi, Part 3: "The Pathless Path"

(Awaken the World Film, 12/21/21) To realize samadhi (super-consciousness, mental purification, concentration, non-distraction, full coherence of mind), here is a series of guided meditations: awakentheworld.com/meditations.

• Samadhi in Buddhism is the path-factor samma samadhi

All of AWT films are available free for the benefit of humanity at awakentheworld.com.

Support on patreon.com/awakentheworld or at awakentheworld.com/support-us.

Share and embed this video link freely, but please do not re-upload it to a channel or monetize it, change, repurpose, or edit it in any way.

The soundtrack and Blu-ray quality downloadable MP4 are available in the ATW web store: awakentheworld.com/atw-store. Music from The Fractalverse available at thefractalverse.ca. Namaste.

• #awakening  #enlightenment  #samadhi

I want to meditate, but HOW? (LA Yoga)

Lisa Gornall (layoga.com); Ananda (D Buddhist Meditation), Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

What beauty would take time for meditation and yoga? Christy Turlington (sportforums.com)

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You know you want to meditate...Now you want to know how to meditate

One of the most popular New Year’s resolutions is to learn HOW to meditate and to do it every day. We’ve heard it’s good for us, and we want to feel more calm, connected, and balanced.

Why meditate?

The common reasons heard for this resolution include the following. Meditation has been recommended by doctors. We’ve been told to meditate to reduce our stress from family and work. We haven’t been able to meditate, so now it’s a goal. Other people who meditate swear by how helpful it is. We want to slow down and we’ve heard meditating will help us do that.

I spent years working at five-star spas leading meditation classes (some immediately coming after a meditation retreat). These classes were always the fullest throughout the month of January.

Every single person struggled meditating on his or her own. They all had apps they listened to, but even those weren’t helpful every day.

But they did find the meditation I’m going to share here to be very powerful.

There are billions of meditations out there. What I have found to be the most helpful and easy to do is what I call a Guided Energy Healing Meditation.

Why is this so helpful? It addresses the two areas everyone struggles with, the body relaxing and the mind wanting to think and not be quiet during meditation.

This meditation is also customized to the practitioner in that moment, so it’ll also be exactly what we need.

We know meditation is good for us. So why is it so hard for us to meditate? This is a really important question to ask ourselves. The follow up question is, Do we have a hard time relaxing?

If we do, this is where we want to focus. There is no way we’ll be able to sit down and meditate for two minutes if we already struggle with relaxing.

How to Meditate

Not all meditation is Buddhist meditation. There are lots of choices. The Buddha taught many.

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Step one in how to meditate is being comfortable sitting down and relaxing. We may have to let go of any resistance we have in giving ourselves permission to sit down and take care of ourselves.

We don’t have to always be busy, hustling, jumping from one thing to another. This mentality actually hurts us when we do finally sit down to meditate because our thoughts are, “I need to do ____” or “I can’t sit here in the middle of the day and do nothing!”

Author Lisa Gornall (LA Yoga)

Release whatever thoughts there are about sitting, relaxing, and taking care of me that keep us from being in the moment free of action.

Decondition what we were taught as children. Our body needs us to relax. It isn’t a machine, so stop treating it like one. More

Highest Blessings: Nature of the Retreat Day 2

The Highest Blessings: Nature of the Retreat Day 2

(Ajahn Sona, Dec. 28, 2021) Enjoy the natural setting, inside and out, at Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery. Visit birken.ca/blessings for the full broadcast schedule and retreat information.

Ajahn Sona Podcast:

• Apple: bit.ly/AppleAjSona
• Spotify: bit.ly/SpotifyAjSona
• Podbean: bit.ly/PodbeanAjSona

To support more virtual Dharma from Birken Monastery, British Columbia, Canada, visit: /birken.ca/support.

What is "System of a Down"? (video reaction)

🎵 System of a Down: "Chop Suey" (reaction)

(Brad & Lex) It's May 23, 2021, Lex. Is Brad turning metal? This is our first time hearing System of a Down. "Chop Suey" is a pretty interesting song. It has layers and seemingly a lot of randomness. It's a catchy tune.

• Join the Couch Gang discord: discord.gg/Ya6rszwY9Q
• Instagram for blocked videos, pics, and conversations: https://www.instagram.com/bradandlex
• 💲 CashApp: cash.app/$bradandlex

Thank you so much for the support! Thanks for watching. Remember to subscribe for new releases youtube.com/channel...

OTHER SOAD VIDEO REACTIONS

• "Toxicity" by SOAD
• "Aerials" by SOAD
• "Lost in Hollywood" by SOAD
• "Spiders" by SOAD

To help the helpless in Afghanistan

International Rescue Committee; Amber Larson and Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

The green-eyed magazine cover "Afghan girl" (Sharbat Gula) is not the only beauty.

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We're freezing after a war older than me.

Winter weather can be devastating for families living in refugee camps.

In places like Afghanistan, Syria, Lebanon, and other places the US military and CIA have brought misery, refugee families face cold temperatures and extreme weather.

Should we donate now to help provide winter supplies, emergency medical care, and other vital aid to refugee families around the world? What does the heart say?

The IRC helps refugees in some of the toughest places on earth to survive, recover, and rebuild their lives.

The US War Machine has ruined our lives.

Donation today help to make this work around the world possible. Tax-deductible gifts will be MATCHED for a limited time. Further the impact and donate now!

All gifts (up to $2,000,000) will be matched by a generous donor until 11:59 PM on December 31st, 2021, or until the match total is met.

Gifts received after the match amount has been met will not be matched but will be used where needed most.

Gifts allow the delivery of comprehensive help to people affected by humanitarian crises and will be used where and when most needed.

When combined with those of other donors, our gifts become a powerful means to support vital work, including education, health care, emergency support, and job training for families in crisis worldwide. More

• Donate by phone: 1-855-9RESCUE
• To give by check, mail to:
• International Rescue Committee
• P.O. Box 6068, Albert Lea, MN 56007-9847

Winter will be devastating to babies.

Highest Blessings: Virtual Retreat Orientation

The Highest Blessings: Virtual Retreat Orientation (1 of 6)

(Ajahn Sona, streamed live on Dec. 26, 2021) Ajahn Sona answers questions as part of "The Highest Blessings: Teachings on the Mangala Sutra" Virtual Retreat taking place from December 26-January 1.

See the Ajahn Sona YouTube Channel (youtube.com/AjahnSona) for videos relating to the retreat. Questions may be asked in the live chat, or in advance, here: bit.ly/HighestBlessings.

Ajahn will only be answering questions based on the retreat topic for this series of livestreams. Visit birken.ca/blessings for the full broadcast schedule and retreat information.

Those wishing to ask general Dhatma questions may do so when Ajahn Sona's weekly Q&A returns January 29, 2022.

• Ajahn Sona Podcast: Apple - bit.ly/AppleAjSona
• Spotify - bit.ly/SpotifyAjSona
• Podbean - bit.ly/PodbeanAjSona

To support more virtual Dhamma from Birken Monastery, visit: birken.ca/support

Brief blessing of food before mealtime contemplation in Pali

Walking Meditation explained (video)

(Ajahn Sona, Dec. 27, 2021) The Highest Blessings: Walking Meditation is live from Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery, British Columbia. Abbot Ajahn Sona gives walking meditation instructions.

Visit birken.ca/blessings for the full broadcast schedule and retreat information. To support more virtual Dharma from Birken Monastery, visit: birken.ca/support.

Why psychedelics are banned (Russell Brand)

“We WANT you sick!” The REAL reason psychedelics are banned

(Russell Brand. Dec. 27, 2021) Mental health studies into psychedelics reportedly show increasingly positive results. So why aren’t they being more widely used, and what’s the real reason that Big Pharma isn’t jumping into psychedelics?

• #Psychedelics  #PTSD  #BigPharma
• Tickets for 2022 tour: bit.ly/33_2022

Elites are taking over! Our only hope is to form our own cartel (not a euphemism). To learn more, join mine at russellbrand.com/join and get weekly bulletins too incendiary for anything but private inboxes.

Listen to Brand's Luminary Original podcast Under The Skin to hear from guests including Edward Snowden, Jonathan Haidt, Jordan Peterson, Naomi Klein, Kehinde Andrews, Adam Curtis, and Vandana Shiva.

For meditation and breath work, subscribe to Brand's side-channel: AwakeningWithRussell... NEW weekly meditation podcast, Above the Noise, is available now only on Luminary. Meditate with me. 

FOOTBALL IS NICE is Brand's free, weekly, full-length podcast: FootballisNice... Audible Original Revelation is out NOW! US: adbl.co/revelation, UK: adbl.co/revelationuk, AU: adbl.co/revelationau, CAN: adbl.co/revelationca.

• Facebook.com/RussellBrand
• Instagram.com/russellbrand
• Twitter.com/rustyrockets
• Tiktok.com/@russellbrand
• Rumble.com/c/russellbrand
• Russellbrand.locals.com

What is "Dhamma"? (Ajahn Chah)

South Park; Ajahn Chah (ajahnchah.org); Ellie Askew and Dhr. Seven (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

The wise, bald Buddhist monks Marklarians of planet Marklar (South Park)

(South Park Clips) This South Park clip is from "Starvin' Marvin in Space" (Season 03, Episode 11). Cartman is being difficult, while Kyle finally manages to figure out how to effectively communicate with the Marklarians.

Turning the True Wheel

(Ajahn Chah) "Whether a tree, a mountain, or an animal, it's all Dhamma. Everything is Dhamma. Where is this Dhamma?

"Speaking simply, that which is not Dhamma does not exist. Dhamma is Nature. This is called the Sacca-Dhamma, the 'True Dhamma.'

If one sees Nature, one sees Dhamma; if one sees Dhamma, one sees Nature. Seeing Nature, one knows the Dhamma."

*EDITOR'S NOTE: By this definition, is the meaning of the Pali word Dhamma (Sanskrit Dharma) not something the English equivalent of da kine or aloha in the state of Hawaii or Marklar on the planet Marklar?

A word can take on so much meaning that, by encompassing all, it distinguishes nothing, becoming the most important and least important word, the most meaningful and therefore in a sense a quite meaningless word, except in context. Then, like da kine, it takes on all kinds of meaning. Dhamma lower case means "thing," as the closest English approximation. When capitalized, it means Doctrine or the Teaching of the Buddha.