
When Meeting Trauma and Stress, Finding Balance Is a Natural Thing: An Interview with Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner Jane Lazar
by Jay Pennington
Fight, flight or freeze? When it comes to handling stress, at the most basic level I have more in common with a wild animal than I tend to think—and this is actually good news. It’s always grounding to talk with my friend Jane Lazar and be reminded of that, especially when she discusses her work helping people heal from trauma. Key to accessing natural stress-relieving tools, I’ve learned from Jane, is the capacity to be in the present and in the body. Read more

A Warm and Present History: A Tribute to the Archivists Who Visited City Center
by Chris Shelton (photos by Jesse Stanley)
For the fifth year in a row now, City Center has had the pleasure of hosting a group of students from the Information School of the University of Washington, whose annual visit helps Zen Center organize and safeguard a mountain of records of all kinds from all three temples, one handful at a time. Read more

Featured Photo, August 13: Spotlight on the Zen Center Archives
Representing just a small sample of the SFZC relics and records that the visiting University of Washington archivists work to preserve (see related article), these photos were taken during HH. the Dalai Lama’s visit to Green Gulch Farm in 1979. Read more
Jeff Broadbent, Sociology Professor and Environmental Activist, Speaks Aug 19
Way-Seeking Mind: Lay Wanderings in East/West Heart/Mind Scapes
A talk by Jeff Broadbent in the City Center dining room (free; by donation)
Tuesday, August 19, 7:30 pm Read more

Volunteers Needed for a Day in the Country
Clara House, a residence for families in transition, and City Center have a long-standing relationship. Once a year, we bring the parents and children to Green Gulch Farm for a day including a farm tour, lunch and time at the beach. Read more
TassNow: Last minute availability for August 11-17 at Tassajara
Tassajara has some great last-minute opportunities for solo travelers from Monday – Thursday during the week of August 11. We also have a couple of private cabins available on the weekend of August 15-17.
Interested in a last-minute retreat? Shared housing and space in Touching Earth, Creating Space or Zen Poetry available for a male retreat participant.
Tassajara last minute room availability for August 11-17:

Kids Harvest Potatoes and Education at Green Gulch Farm
Photo and caption by Donn DeAngelo (posted to SFZC’s Facebook page July 31)
Below are kids from San Francisco’s CommunityGrows after harvesting potatoes and having a Green Dragon Zen Temple experience at Green Gulch Farm on July 29—part of the ongoing popular Green Gulch Children’s Education Program.
Read more

How Leftovers Help Us Reach Out
We don’t just drop off the food; we get to serve and be part of the community in some way.
—Clare Hollander
A spotlight on SFZC outreach and volunteers, by Jay Pennington
It’s 1:00 on Thursday afternoon. Time for leftover magic. As part of City Center’s outreach activities, volunteers convene in the kitchen every Thursday to turn the week’s leftover food into something really useful—to feed those in need. Read more