The days with snow on the ground continue, and the continual minor daytime thawing and evening re-freezing make walking the Mdog treacherous. This morning, after several close calls, I completely lost it and have a good bruise on my hip and a sore shoulder to show for it. Made me think afterward about my Dad's fear of falling in his final weeks at home.



After I recovered my footing and dignity from the morning slipping and sliding, I headed over to the Fort Collins Shambhala Center, where I had signed up for a day-long Level I training. I attended the introductory session the evening before, and was a little concerned at the seeming triviality of it, and also concerned about my ability to make it through the prolonged sitting meditation to come, but today everything worked out well, and the talks and practices were interesting and well-paced. The fact that they provided us with a nice breakfast, lunch, and post-day reception was also welcome. Lunch was catered by a Tibetan restaurant in town, and was fantastic. The other participants represented quite a cross-section of very agreeable people.

One of the leaders of the days' activities was a guy who designed and supervised the development of the gardens and natural settings at the Shambhala Mountain Center, where the Great Stupa is located. He actually lived there at the site for five years. A very thoughful and soft-spoken guy, who gave a pleasant talk during the day.

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