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To register for Medicine Buddha teachings in Charlottesville, Va

Hello Friends,

This post is for participants to register and make a donation to attend the upcoming Medicine Buddha teachings at Unity Church in Charlottesville, Virginia.

We are excited to have Drupon Thinley Ningpo coming to C’ville to give these precious teachings. He will teach Thursday & Friday evenings, April 25th & 26th, and then all day on Saturday the 27th.

On Thursday evening, April 25th, 7 – 8:30 pm, Drupon will teach about the benefits of Going for Refuge and if there is enough interest, he will give the Refuge Ceremony. See below for the donation form to pay ahead of time for this event.

On Friday evening, April 26th, 7 – 8:30 pm, Drupon will discuss the benefits of engaging in the Medicine Buddha practice. He will talk about when it is good to do it. And there will be ample time for questions and answers.

On Saturday the 27th, Drupon will give the Medicine Buddha empowerment in the morning, from 9:30 – 12 pm, and we have a translator for the morning portion of these teachings and empowerment. We will do a potluck lunch on Saturday so people can spend more time with Rinpoche.

On Saturday afternoon, 2 – 5 pm, he will go through the practice text with us, giving commentary on the practice, and we will go through the practice together as a group.

Suggested Donation amounts: $15 – 25 per evening teaching

For Saturday morning: $25 – $35; All day Saturday: $45

For all three days of teachings: $95

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Your contribution is appreciated.

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Thank you for your donation! All the money raised after expenses will go to Drupon and his Dharma center in Tampa, Florida – Drong Ngur Jangchubling. You can see more about his center at https://www.dnjus.org/

We are grateful to be co-sponsoring this event with Unity Church Charlottesville (Virginia)!

Here is a recent photo of Drupon Thinley Ningpo:

May all beings benefit from these auspicious, virtuous activities! Sarva Mangalam.

Opportunity to meet a special teacher

Hello Friends,

For those of you in or near Virginia… I have the good fortune to be hosting a Tibetan Lama starting Wednesday of this week. Drupon Thinley Ningpo is a special teacher. Yes, he is my root lama, yes he is one of my precious heart teachers, and yes I am a little biased. However, some evidence has presented itself to indicated this fact.

More on this in a bit, first, what is Drupon teaching about? He is giving Medicine Buddha teachings at Unity Church on Hydraulic Road in Charlottesville, Va. Thurs & Fri evening from 7 – 8:30 pm, and then he is teaching all day Saturday – 9:30 – 12, then we are having a potluck, and then going through the text together from 2 – 5 pm.

There is a small suggested donation for each section of the teachings – anywhere from $15 – $35 per session. Pay what you are able to.

I have known Drupon la since 2006. He was the first Lama I met when I went up to the Tibetan Meditation Center in Frederick, Maryland back then. He has been skillfully and gradually teaching me, guiding me ever since. The mandala of meditative samadhi around him is palpable, and I have heard some sensitive people mention that he gives off light.

I have been fortunate to receive numerous teachings from him, a number of empowerments, and been able to attend many of the retreats he has led. If you want to see more on those, go back through this blog and look at the Mani Drupchen posts (from 2010 & 2011) or look at the PDL retreats like Green Tara, Mahakala, or Vajrayogini.

Meeting a unique and special teacher like Drupon la is rare. He can lead us to true happiness, he teaches liberation from suffering, and how to benefit countless sentient beings. In this degenerate age, attending a special lama like him is a precious opportunity. He is a true Bodhisattva, who walks his talk and practices / teaches for the sake of others.

I hope you can get to Unity Church one day (or evening) this week. Merely meeting Rinpoche is a precious opportunity. You can establish a beneficial karmic connection with him that can benefit you in the future.

Let me know if you have questions about these teachings!

Thank you,

Kirby Moore

konchog chakchen

Hosting an IG live about the MANY astrological aspects in April 2024

Hello Friends,

Emily Lamoureax and I have an IG live session planned for this afternoon at 3:30 pm Eastern time. We will be discussing all the astrological aspects occurring this month – and there are some BIG ones!

Here is a list of a few:

The upcoming eclipse on Monday – Solar Eclipse which many of us here in the U.S. will be able to see. This eclipse is happening in Aries, very close to Chiron as well. Lots to unpack regarding this big event!

The upcoming Mars conjunct Saturn aspect – happening just a day or two after the eclipse above.

Venus conjoined Neptune three days ago – April 2nd. So at least we had something fun and creative in the mix of aspects!

Later this month, Jupiter will move to conjoin Uranus – a once-every-fifteen-year aspect!

If we get to all of this, that would be a great discussion! I hope you can make it!

You can find us on IG at traumainformedastrology or healingwithemily.

Hope to see you there!

Kirby

We are excited about hosting a Tibetan Lama (and teachings in Charlottesville Va)

Hello Friends,

We are so looking forward to late April, when we will be hosting Drupon Thinley Ningpo. Drupon is a title which means “One who is accomplished” [in meditation retreat], or a.k.a. Retreat Master. Drupon completed his three year retreat in the late 90’s, coming to America in 2001, where he was the retreat master of the Tibetan Meditation Center in Frederick, Maryland for a dozen years.

Then in 2013, he moved to Tampa, Florida, where he had more than 100 Dharma students. With their support, he opened a new center called Drong Ngur Jangchubling. It is a gorgeous Dharma center with a brand new shrine room and congregation hall.

When we was in Maryland, it was relatively easy to go see him (3.5 hour drive). And now that he is primarily in Florida, I only get down there once every several years. Therefore, it is a great blessing to be able to host him.

He arrives on Wed April 24th. Then he starts teaching on Thursday the 25th. He will mainly be teaching on the Medicine Buddha practice. This practice is really good for anyone in the health / medical industry – bodyworkers, nurses, doctors, chiropractors, acupuncturists, herbalists, etc, etc.

He is teaching at Unity Church here in Charlottesville, Virginia. Thursday evening from 7 – 8:30 pm, Friday evening from 7 – 8:30 pm, and then on Saturday all day – from 9:30 am – 12 noon, and then 2 – 5 pm.

He will bestow the Medicine Buddha empowerment Saturday morning and then we will go through the text together as a group in the afternoon.

You can see more about the teachings here: https://drigungsangha.blogspot.com/

You can see more about Drupon’s bio here: https://www.dnjus.org/resident-teacher/

And then on Sunday (a part of why we invited him up here to teach), he will participate in a wedding celebration blessing for my wife, Jessica and I. We are having a few close friends and family members over, where they will hopefully cherish us and wish us well. And having a Tibetan lama present for it makes it all the more auspicious.

Hosting him will mean cleaning well, being more intentional in our guest space, and making our home very welcoming (and planning a menu he will enjoy) as we want him to feel comfortable and desiring to come back down the road!

Drupon Thinley Ningpo giving Medicine Buddha teachings in C’ville in late April

Hello Dear Ones,

I am helping to host and organize these teachings coming up in late April. Here is more info:

Medicine Buddha Teachings with Drupon Thinley Ningpo

Join Drupon Thinley Ningpo as he gives teachings on the practice of the Medicine Buddha and Taking Refuge. April 25^th – 27^th at Unity Church.

Co-sponsored by Unity Church and the C’ville Drikung Kagyu Sangha. To register, or if you have questions, email cvilledharma@gmail.com. Advanced registration preferred, walk-ins welcome. No one turned away due to lack of funds.

Thurs evening 7 – 8:30 pm April 25^th, teachings on what it means to Take Refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, if there is enough interest, Rinpoche will give refuge on Saturday the 27^th. Suggested donation $25, $15 for students.

Fri evening 7 – 8:30 pm April 26^th, teachings on the Benefits of Engaging in the Medicine Buddha practice. Rinpoche will discuss the empowerment he is giving the following day. There will be time for questions and answers. Suggested donation $25, $15 for students.

Sat morning 9:30 am – 12 pm April 27^th, Rinpoche will give commentary on and bestow the Medicine Buddha Empowerment. Suggest donation $30 for the morning, $45 for the full day.

Sat afternoon 2 – 5 pm April 27^th, Rinpoche will discuss the Medicine Buddha practice text (sadhana), he will give further commentary, and we will do the practice sadhana together as a group.

You can see more about Drupon’s biography and accomplishments here: https://www.dnjus.org/resident-teacher.

You can see more about this Medicine Buddha teaching event at https://drigungsangha.blogspot.com/2024/

Here is the Facebook (Meta) event link:

https://www.facebook.com/events/916415616701633?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A[%7B%22extra_data%22%3A%22%22%2C%22mechanism%22%3A%22left_rail%22%2C%22surface%22%3A%22bookmark%22%7D%2C%7B%22extra_data%22%3A%22%22%2C%22mechanism%22%3A%22calendar_tab_event%22%2C%22surface%22%3A%22bookmark_calendar%22%7D]%2C%22ref_notif_type%22%3Anull%7D

Time in Hawaii is over for now, some Oahu insights

Hello Dear Ones,

We just returned from our honeymoon, where we were in Hawaii for more than 3 weeks!

We spent 8 days on Oahu, 10 days on the Big Island, and 6 days on Kauai.

I was born on Oahu, and I got to introduce my wife and her mother to my Dad, my step-mother, and my older brother (who all live there). That was nice. It was great to see Oahu through their eyes as well!

We did a lot – several beaches – including viewing a surfing competition at the Banzai Pipeline on the North Shore. We went to several museums – the Bishop Museum is amazing, and the story about how the Americans overthrew the Hawaiian Monarchy is very very sad. You will not feel very good about yourself if most of your ancestors are Caucasian. But I am glad we went – in spite of having spent many years in Hawaii, I still learned A LOT about their culture and lifestyle.

For instance, the Hawaiian people were Moon people. They did everything according to the phase of the Moon. They even planted many crops and did some fishing at night! They were a very feminine-oriented culture, even if most of their chiefs were men.

In addition, we visited several botanical gardens. I highly recommend this. Even the Foster Botanical Garden near downtown is amazing! It has several trees that are huge and very old – more than 200 years old! If you get the chance however, visit Waimea Valley in the north.

Waimea Valley and Falls are very sacred. It is a huge botanical garden – they have more than 50 little individual gardens stretching up the valley, which terminates at the Waimea waterfalls. If it has rained a decent amount (but not too much), you can even go swimming in the pool under the falls! Make sure you are ready for some chilly water however! The waters come down from Oahu’s highlands. I wish I had brought my wetsuit top.

We could have easily spent hours at Waimea. If we had the time, we all would have liked to go back to see the gardens we couldn’t get to. Plus, down at the visitor center, the food was delicious and they have several gorgeous “wild” peacocks who show up around lunch time to patrol the dining deck for french fries.

One of the surprises for me however was the Royal Mausoleum. I am very glad this is not on many tourist sites. I think the Hawaiians want to keep this low key and sacred. This property is one of the only places where only the Hawaiian flag flies – no U.S. flag there. Many of the Hawaiian monarchs and their relatives are buried there. When we were there, there was a light misty rain without a single cloud in the sky. It was amazing – a rain of blessings for sure.

Thanks for reading! I will post more insights from our Big Island and Kauai sections soon.

May we all go within to hear the wisdom of our hearts.

Kirby Moore

Wisdom on vacation

Hello Dear Ones,

I am vacationing with my new wife in Hawaii, the land of my birth. As we enjoy the sites and sounds of paradise, I am remembering, renewing, rebirthing some old wisdom.

It doesn’t have to be as hard as I make it. Because I was born & raised on Oahu, and I have spent many days on the Big Island, I took it upon myself to be the tour guide of our trip. I wanted this to be a perfect trip. But is that realistic? Well, I came down with a mild case of Covid about 5 days into the trip. So this really slowed me down. Around the same time, my wife sprained her ankle… so we went from doing 3 or 4 things a day, to doing 1 or 2. And I am coming to terms with that being okay. We can save some sites to visit for next time! We want to come back to the Aloha State within a few years, if not sooner. (I would love to lead a retreat here in the next 2 – 3 years). Thankfully we both feel better now so we can hike or do whatever we enjoy!

At Waimea Valley and Falls, a very sacred place to the Hawaiians, we made prayers and set intentions: May we both trust the process more, lean into support and safety, and go with the flow. It feels like this entire trip has been testing me in this regard. Can I trust the Universe, can I trust strangers, can I expect healthy positive regard from them? Yes! This is the Aloha State and most people here still embody the Aloha Spirit. Can I let go of any nervousness about this trip? It has already been an epic journey. We have seen whales and spinner dolphins up close (relatively speaking), we visited Volcanoes twice, we have seen multiple water falls, rainbows, and we have had such sublime, peaceful days on the beach. And we even went snorkeling a couple times!

I want to practice self-care on a moment-by-moment basis. I want to listen and honor what my body needs, what my nervous system needs. I want to lean into the safety of that. My intuition is enhanced by my bodily knowing, and this can be an all-the-time scenario if I continue to take good care of myself. In this regard, on this trip, I have seen how I have a fear of heights when I am in vehicles. I had a couple of traumatizing events in the past involving vehicles and scary heights. Well, I have some work to do around this unique acrophobia. So we don’t have to visit Waimea Canyon – whether I am the driver or the passenger, I don’t want to be squirming and freaking out inside when I look out the car window and see a 1000 foot drop. I want to enjoy myself! So that is what we are doing, and it is completely okay! I will do some work on this phobia and then we can come back in a few years and see it.

Less is better than more. My wife, a very wise woman, continues to remind me that she is completely okay with sitting on the beach watching for whales and being enthralled when we see one (or six) breech and make a huge splash. I am so thankful that we are both into less structure – less mission and more fishin’. Most days we don’t have a schedule – we have a list of possibilities. Maybe we will visit these falls, and that beach, and that blowhole. But if we don’t get to one, it is completely fine! The slower we go, the faster we will get there!

Rain or shine, we can enjoy ourselves. Merely watching a sunset or sunrise here in the topics, we are so blessed! Being able to see whales most days is crazy. Just glancing out over the horizon and happening to see a whale breeching, I am deeply appreciative and grateful. Being able to spend quality time with my wife, getting to know her better, is so very special. Leaning into intimacy and trust. Opening to each other, showing each other our soft underbellies, is what it is all about.

Magic / Manifestation on the Big Island of Hawaii

Hello Dear Ones!

At the risk of sounding annoying… (I am blessed, I have privilege, I thank my karma every day), my wife and I are having quite an amazing time on the Big Island of Hawaii, today in particular.

We are staying in Kealakekua. This is a place where I have had incredible, mystical, magical and manifestation laden experiences since 2005 – at least four or five different times!

And today did not disappoint! We started off with a slightly structured plan for the morning, but we turned into a local artisans market to start the day off. There was incredible stuff, really high quality, but we don’t have much room in our luggage (and we don’t want to try to transport anything fragile – we still have 5 more flights before we get home!).

The market was being held near an Ethnobotanical Garden, so we strolled around in there for 20 minutes. That was cool to see all the plants that were native to Hawaii, even some that have pretty much disappeared 😦

Then we hopped down to Pu’uhonua O Honaunau – a sacred place of refuge for the ancient Hawaiians, a sanctuary, a place where people would have been safe from kapu (forbidden) punishments, which included being put to death. It was like strolling through history, and it felt calming, peaceful, and special.

Then, since we were in the neighborhood, we decided to snorkel in Honaunau Bay (Two Step Beach). It was good snorkeling, but we were more enthralled with the 20 or so spinner dolphins nearby in the bay! Jess saw at least a dozen jump and spin, and I swam fairly close to them, or they swam underneath me – the sea floor was 30 feet down at that point! I could hear them at least. The rule is to give them a 50-yard berth, so I wasn’t trying to get too close.

Then we hopped over to Manini. The shortcut road between Honaunau and Kealakekua Bay is a weird, one-laned affair, so Jess was like, “This is like a road in Bali!” The road dropped off precipitously on both sides, so when another car came through, it was all about stopping and finding a tiny shoulder to pull onto!

Manini is a small, and I mean small, beach near Kealakekua Bay. It is private, so they make you read some rules before you go in, which is fine! The volunteer was very nice about it – they always have been!

At Manini, I love the lava rocks out by the ocean. Today the surf was up, so the waves were splashing and throwing water everywhere! We got to explore the tide pools, seeing all sorts of fish, anemone, and even some sea cucumbers! And we finally found the Manini Hot Tub – a secret tidal pool which is six feet deep. However, the waves were crashing over the lava rock “wall” so Jess got soaked several times, I mean drenched. She said it was like her Disney Land experience. The pictures are amazing! I will see if I can get one on here 🙂

As we were watching the waves and the ocean, guess what we saw just 50 yards off-shore? Two Humpback whales! A mother and calf were swimming pretty close to shore – but out there, it gets deep quick! That was cool!

Then heading over to Kealakekua and Napo’opo’o, we sat on the smoothed round rocks and discussed what we want to manifest in the coming year. We did this because that is the place where your wishes come true. (Be mindful what you wish for!)

As we were sitting on that “beach”, we saw several more whates in the bay!?! I know the bay is pretty deep, but what?! They were literally in the bay, and we saw their classic whale flips as they go down for several minutes. Humpbacks for the win!

Finally, we came up to a pizza joint – Black Rock – and we got to catch the Superbowl Halftime show. I really don’t care for NFL or football (head injuries anyone? no thank you!). But the performance at halftime was fun!

Sacred experiences on Oahu, Hawaii

Hello Readers,

I am currently on my honeymoon in Hawaii! It is exciting, and fun, and great to see Hawaii through my wife’s eyes. I was born here on Oahu and spent many years growing up and then summers on the island as well. It has also been a lot of processing stuff as some of those early years were challenging for me. I am so grateful that I can discuss and get support from Jessica (my wife) around these things.

We recently went up to Waimea Valley, on Oahu, Hawaii. They have local (and Hawaiian) artisans in various spots as you walk up the valley. One Hawaiian man talked to us about how to weave Ti (Ki) leaves together into a rope or lei or hanging decoration. Then he started talking about the Hawaiian monarchy and how the Hawaiians have elected a secret king. It was interesting how open he was to discuss topics bordering on succession, but nothing new to Hawaii. He even mentioned that the U.S. owes Hawaii 130 years of rent and that there are cases before the Hague court about it.

I am mentioning this to set the context for our next conversation. We forgot something at the car, so I went back for it. Then passing the same artisan (Hawaiian man), I made a choice: I decided I would mention that I occasionally have visions. I mentioned that I have some Native American blood in me and that I have the second sight. And if an area is very sacred, I will often have dreams or other metaphysical experiences around it.

Well he didn’t miss a beat. It was like I was speaking his language. He said, Waimea Valley is a portal. Many indigenous people come there to commune with mother nature. And many people have experiences there. In fact, he said the waterfall was very sacred and healing. He said to hold an intention in my heart as I walked up the valley, and to make certain I was clear about the question that I wanted to have answered. Try to stay mindful he said. But it sounded like being in the valley was like walking side-by-side with mother earth. He said that if she didn’t want you there, you would probably feel sick. He mentioned that some people are not able to make the entire walk up the valley to the falls because mother earth is kicking them out.

So that happened! I was pleasantly surprised and yet not. I held an intention in mind, I had one or two questions I wanted deeper answers to, and I shared this with my wife, who thankfully is very open to these kinds of things.

And sure enough, the waterfalls definitely felt pretty special. The water was cold – really cold! But being under the falls and then being pulled away from them by the current was wild and so worth it.

If you are on Oahu, you should visit Waimea Falls. Just do so with a sense of reverence and humility. It is sacred ground that you are treading on! Who knows though, you might get that answer you have been seeking for months.

Thanks for reading,

Kirby Moore

Trauma Informed Astrology Training

Hello Dear Ones,

I am excited to announce that we are working on the courses for a six-month, in-depth, insight-filled training. It will be called the Trauma Informed Astrology Essentials Package. It will cover a lot of great material, see below!

You can also visit http://www.traumainformedastrology.com for more info!

It looks like we will finish the pre-recorded course material by late fall of this year (2024), so we will launch registration by November or December.

We will take a cohort of students through six months of training starting in 2025.

This is for you if you (it is for astrologers and like-minded practitioners):

Want to move toward well-being and to help guide your clients there as well.
Are willing to do your personal growth work.
Are committed to heal and repair your nervous system so you can be more present and aware with your clients.
Want to learn how to transform difficult emotions and stuck energy into healthy, vital life-force energy!
Want to understand and gain competency in working with trauma in your clients. Along the way, you will realize that working with trauma is do-able!
Are committed to a deep-dive into learning about the Polyvagal System, about Embodiment Astrology, and seeing where Nervous System Repair and Western Astrology overlap!
And more!

Here is what will be included in this awesome package:

Four 18-20 hour pre-recorded courses. You will have lots of time to go through these and you can bring questions to the Discussion and Supervision groups (below).
Six 3-hour Live Courses where we will teach you how to deepen your Embodiment Astrology practices.
Four Discussion Groups – Here you can bring questions from the pre-recorded courses. The intention is to deepen the learning here.
Four Supervision Groups – In these groups, we will meet and discuss individual cases (confidentially). You can also ask specific questions about the course material.
Four Individual Supervision Sessions – You will get access to one of our faculty members for an hour per session to discuss individual cases, ask more about the course material, or to discuss other Astrological topics.
Four Demo Sessions – In these, you will get to see Trauma Informed Astrology in action along with Somatic Process tools and techniques! There will be time afterward for questions and answers about the demo.

This is a lot of awesome material. We will meet several times each month over the course of six months! Therefore, this package is worth more than $7,000! We will most likely charge $6,500 for the six-month training. We will be offering occasional discounts and savings, especially around the pre-launch period.

Leave a comment or ask questions here: https://www.traumainformedastrology.com/contact You can also let us know if you are interested and want to get on the waiting list to register!

This training is for serious seekers and students. We have a very competent team (with more than 60 years of Astrological practice and Nervous System repair between us). You will enjoy the variety of topics and we guarantee you will learn A LOT!

Thank you and we look forward to working with you down the road!

Kirby Moore and the Trauma Informed Astrology team