June 2025
Click the link above to read the 2nd Edition of the Recovery Dharma book, including updates to the text and 14 personal stories of recovery from members of the community!
Dear Sangha,
We are well into 2025 and nearly ready to welcome summer. As we either continue our journey into recovery or are in the early stages having just made the choice to make a change, we are all in this together. Having made it through what has gotten us to this point, the Recovery Dharma and the Buddha’s teachings offer us a path to create a better way.
Each of our paths are unique. This is also true for how our individual paths take shape into what recovery is and becomes. The various meetings whether in person or via Zoom offer opportunities to share our experiences. The greatest part of the journey is connecting in ways that may have been lost through our active addictions. We know what the past is. We come together to form a greater now as we soon welcome the summer.
Sending peace,
Recovery Dharma Denver
Upcoming Events
Sangha Social - Presented by The Phoenix Gym, 2233 Champa St., Denver, CO. (Map) Sunday, June 8th 6:30-8:00 PM. Stick around after the Recovery Dharma meeting for Sangha Social—a mellow space to Rise & Reconnect. Enjoy free drinks and snacks, play some laid-back games, and spend quality time with others walking the path of recovery. Whether you're new to the community or a regular, this is a great way to build connections and strengthen your support circle. To reserve a spot click here.
Recovery's Got Talent Showcase #2 presented by Advocates For Recovery Colorado - Denver, CO - Friday, June 27, 5-8:30 PM Central Park8801 Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard, Denver, CO 80238
The road to the Rally for Recovery 2025! Showcase #2
Winners from each round will perform LIVE at the Rally for Recovery 2025, Saturday September 20th downtown Denver at Civic Center Park to determine the overall winner. Voting will be determined by audience participation and will take place live at each performance. Winners will be announced at the end of the talent show and move on to the final round at the Rally for Recovery 2025.
Winners who perform at the Rally for Recovery will receive:
First Place - $1,500
Second Place - $500
Third Place - $200
Meetings
Join us at one of our weekly meetings. We have in-person meetings nearly every day of the week across the Front Range as well as online meetings you can join from anywhere. We practice meditation together and then read from the Recovery Dharma book or another Buddhist text. The second half of the meeting is dedicated to providing space to talk about the topic or anything you need to share related to recovery.
We have a few new meetings to announce!
Sundays 5:30 The Phoenix (In-Person) 2233 Champa St. Denver, CO 80205
Tuesdays 6:45 The Phoenix (In-Person) 2233 Champa St. Denver, CO 80205 (in Baby Champa, the door to the left of the gym entrance).
Thursday 6:30 pm MT Lakewood (In-Person) @ Shepherd of the Hills Church - 11500 W 20th Ave, Lakewood, CO 80215
Thursday 7:00 pm MT Denver (In-Person) @ FREE Spiritual Community Center - 2122 S. Lafayette St, Denver, CO 80210
For a complete list of meetings in the area, visit our website.
From the Book
THE SECOND NOBLE TRUTH:
The Cause of Suffering P. 13
As people who have become dependent on substances and behaviors, we’ve all experienced the sense of failure and hopelessness that comes from trying, and failing, to let go of our fixations. Addiction itself increases our suffering by creating a hope that both pleasure and escape can be permanent. We go through this suffering again and again because substances or behaviors can only give us temporary relief to our pain, our unhappiness, and our lost or damaged sense of self.
Our refusal to accept the way things are leads to wanting, or craving, which is the cause of suffering. This excludes discrimination-based suffering and harm which do not need to be “accepted” but met with wise boundaries, wise action, and compassion. We don’t suffer because of the way things are, but because we want — or think we “need” — those things to be different. We suffer because we cling to the idea that we can satisfy our own cravings, while ignoring the true nature of the world around us. Above all, we cling to the idea that we can hold on to impermanent and unreliable things, things that can’t ever lead to real satisfaction or lasting happiness, without experiencing the suffering of one day losing them.
Read the full chapter here.
Community Resources
Recovery Dharma supports a holistic path to recovery. There is no one right way to recover! It's always a good idea to add more tools to your toolbox to facilitate your healing.
Here are some other community resources to check out:
Advocates for Recovery - recovery meetings, events, coaching
CHOW (Culinary Hospitality Outreach and Wellness)
CAIR (Colorado Artists in Recovery) - artists workshops and events
Rooted303 - personal development classes, recovery coaching, support groups
The Phoenix - A Sober Active Community offering free exercise classes
Hard Beauty - recovery coaching and workshops
Meditation Resources - Insight Timer App, Sounds True One, Waking Up, Headspace, Plum Village App, Recovery Dharma Meditations.
Recoverydharmametrodenver@gmail.com
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