Chill.

Ah, PRIDE....the opportunity once a year to get out and be proud. And loud. And GAY!

But OH the flurry of activity to get ready for pride! Gym,work,shop,gym,cocktails,shop,gym,tan,shop,gym. And that's just Monday.

In the midst of all this activity it can become easy to get LESS connected and LESS present with one another. There is however, in the Castro, a refuge of sorts. A place where we gays can get our chill on. And, of course, this wouldn't be a post worthy of Dancing on the Dole if this event were not FREE!

Every Monday night a small group of LGBT folks gets together at the Center on Market Street for an hour of Buddhist meditation and a dharma talk. The upshot is that you sit, still the mind for a half an hour and then have a discussion led by a lay-person on one of the teachings of Buddhism. It could be on loving-kindness, easing of suffering, compassion, impermanence of thought...you name it.

Here's the thing about this group. It is one of the rare instances in the frenzied world of urban gay life that you can sit with fellow LGBT folks in a non-politicized, non-sexualized environment and commune for the purposes of finding stillness.

Quiet your thoughts? Bring stillness?

"Oh, Mary!", you declaim, martini in hand. "Why would I wanna do that?"

Well meditation has many benefits:

Physiological benefits:

1- It lowers oxygen consumption.

2- It decreases respiratory rate.

3- It increases blood flow and slows the heart rate.

4- Increases exercise tolerance.

5- Leads to a deeper level of physical relaxation.

6- Enhances the immune system.

7- Reduces activity of viruses and emotional distress

and my personal favorite

8- Decreases the aging process

Psychological benefits:

1- Builds self-confidence.

3- Helps with focus & concentration

4- Increase creativity

5- Increased emotional stability.

6- improved relationships

and IMPORTANTLY...

7- Reduces road rage

Spiritual benefits:

1- Provides peace of mind, happiness

2- Increased compassion

3- Brings body, mind, spirit in harmony

4- Increased acceptance of oneself

5- Helps living in the present moment

6- Creates a widening, deepening capacity for love 9

and if that weren't ENOUGH..

7- Discovery of the power and consciousness beyond the ego

Need I say more?

More importantly, though is the opportunity for LGBT folks to be able to come together in an environment of shared compassion, insight and non-aggression. The overwhelming majority of our existence (clubs, gyms, bars, even seemingly innocuous dinner parties) can be pretty sexually charged and socially aggressive environments. Even if that's your thing, it can get pretty exhausting after awhile. We simply do not (and some of this is of our own design) have as many non-sexualized outlets as our straight brothers and sisters do.

The Buddha says, "Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without."

As we wind down from Pride and all the other hectic maneuvers of our overly busy lives let's not forget that to be still, to sit with the quiet and the discontent can be one of the most liberating and revolutionary acts we can do. And to do this in the presence of fellow travelers of our own tribe can be remarkable.

San Francisco LGBTQ Sangha

Monday Nights 5:30-6:30pm

Location: The SF LGBT Center, 1800 Market Street, 3rd Floor, Room 300

http://www.maxkelly.info/sangha.html