Are government and other institutitons failing you? Globalism got you down? Organized religion rubbing you the wrong way?

Well, then our "Journey of a Thousand Moths" retreat is the thing for you! It just doesn’t get much more local and non-institutional. Plus, when it comes to the food, we are mostly organic, and, more-and-more, home-grown. Plus it is free!

Well, sort-of free. Yes, we provide the place to practice, the food, the talks and teaching environment, and, space permitting, even lodging. But you, in turn, provide us with help in the garden, help with projects around the house, and help with the sesshin jobs (like cooking). Most importantly, you bring your spirit, the spirit to come to the sesshin and stay, to really sit there with whatever is coming up for you. Your bringing this spirit is a great gift to us and to everyone who attends, as it is very difficult to do this sort of practice alone.

OK, time to come clean about the title of this sesshin. What does "A Journey of a Thousand Moths Begins with One Step" mean? Well, the title of this sesshin is a malaproprism. It is what Joni’s younger sister Jan heard when she first encountered Lao-tzu’s famous saying:

The "journey of a thousand moths" became quite a theme in Joni’s family for awhile — Joni even came up with a drawing of the moths launching from the grass as a result of that first step. Come to the sesshin, and you will get to see this drawing for yourself!

I don’t know about you, but I just love this "journey of a thousand moths" theme. It is the "journey of a thousand miles" subverted, derailed, at the first step, even before the first step. I think Lao-tzu would be proud. After all it is Lao-tzu who also said:

In keeping with this theme, the talks at this sesshin are all about following those moths and making that 180-degree shift that Zen is all about. This is a five-day sesshin. There is time enough for a real transformation. The talks:

Note that the Thursday schedule is different. The plan (weather permitting) is to extend the usual outdoor picnic to include outdoor walking, sitting, and the talk. This is a taste of the "Mountains and Rivers" style wilderness retreats that I hope to do in the future.

Our son’s after-school program just got cut due to the loss of California State funds. Joni and I will probably each need to take some time out during the retreat in order to take care of our son. Between us, though, we should be able to keep the schedule going.

As usual, part-time attendance is fine. I know that some of you, too, are struggling to cope with changes in our economy. On the other hand, I do encourage everyone to attend as much of this retreat as possible. If there is any way that we can help to better integrate this retreat into your life, please let us know.

Sam Gabriel, San Diego, CA
http://home.roadrunner.com/~clothespin
sam_gabriel@yahoo.com