Greetings From Chicago RefCon5 - Day 1

“Here is the difference between Dante, Milton, and me. They wrote about hell and never saw the place. I wrote about Chicago after looking the town over for years and years.” -Carl Sandburg

Arrived yesterday morning was was lucking enough to take The Architects Tour on the Chicago River. Highly recommend. This evening after the opening remarks by Jean Tull, I've been asked to lead the opening meditation. Leaning towards the equanimity meditation. The rest of the conference agenda proves to chock full of snap, crackle, and pop especially as, [surprise!] Noah Levine has been added at a participant in the two hour State of the State plenary discussion. 

Because, as those of you who have attending meeting in the last week are aware, Refuge Recovery, the existing registered nonprofit, will be no more by August 1. It it's place [I'm tempted to write "arising from it ashes" - which might be a bit melodramatic but Phoenicians are, of course, partial to that metaphor] will be to new organizations as alluded to in the JOINT STATEMENT OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF REFUGE RECOVERY AND NOAH LEVINE ET AL. See the complete legal agreement here. 

While Refuge Recovery's main FB page has no mention of the upcoming split, discussion has been fast and furious on both Refuge Recovery's closed group page - which will be turned over to one of the new organization's, Noah Levine's Refuge Recovery Word Service [RRWS] - and the group page of the other, Recovery Dharma

Recovery Dharma already has some exciting initial literature including [in draft form] The Dharma of Recovery: Using Buddhist Practice and Principles to End the Suffering of Addiction and suggested meeting script, format, etc.  More will be sure to come. 

I'll keep you posted.