Buddhist Recovery Meetings Refuge Recovery, 2615 Lincoln Bl, Venice CA

A Buddhist Recovery Path.

The location of my new apartment was carefully chosen to be near recovery meetings, enlightened community and the beach. Randy Mermell’s excellent Principles in Application Primetime A.A. meeting will probably soon be live and in-person a few blocks from me at the Westside Hope Center. But it gets even better. I just found out that there are morning meetings at a Buddhist recovery center three miles away from my apartment. It’s called Refuge Recovery at the Against The Stream Meditation Center, 2615 Lincoln Blvd., Venice, CA 90291.

Zen Buddhist Meditation has been important practice in my life for over forty-five years.

The bad news is that the Delta surge of the coronavirus is really taking off big time. Unvaccinated, unmasked people in Los Angeles are getting sick and dying in very high numbers. My heart condition and immunocompromised status preclude me from going to indoor venues, even though I am fully vaccinated and always wear a mask. I can’t wait for this pandemic to finally be permanently over!

I Am The Compassionate Buddha

The good news is that this reawakens my Buddha mind and enables me to experience new found compassion for people who refuse to wear masks or get vaccinated. As someone with underlying health factors who has been fully vaccinated and wears a mask, I was starting to get angry at stupid people who do not believe in science. However, I have now made my peace with the unvaccinated. I am really sorry that they are dying in such large numbers. However, it will take whatever it takes for the pandemic to be finally be over for good.

I Immediately checked out a public library e-copy of Refuge Recovery by Noah Levine

As soon as I learned that there was a book entitled Refuge Recovery, I immediately got online and checked out a digital copy from the Los Angeles Public Library. This book is extremely well written. Noah Levine does a great job of articulating the suffering and inner conflict of addiction in his well-tooled book.

Everyone is selling recovery these days. After checking out Rachel Hart and Russel Brand’s recovery writings and websites, I wasn’t expecting too much from Mr. Levine. However I was pleasantly surprised by the depth and quality of his insight and writing. As soon as it is safe, you will find me practicing Buddhist meditation at Refuge Recovery in Venice.