Washington, DC PHP Developers And Mission of Love Charities

Greetings and welcome to the DCPHP Blog . Whether you want to know what's going on, who's hiring, tips and tricks, or generally want to meet and talk with some other smart people, this is the place for you. We hope to be your one-stop shop for all things PHP in the Washington DC Metro region Mission of Love Charities, Inc is a community based non-profit geared towards building self-sustainability for families experiencing the effects of poverty.

Monday, 16 March 2026

[Downtown Dharma Sangha Listserv] Follow up from Slow Insight Dialogue Last night! 🦥

Hey all,

It was so great to be with you last night. To take Quentin's challenge to heart, how can we bring insight dialogue and the power of Downtown Dharma into our daily lives? I don't have the answer, but let's live that question together.

The practices I led to connect us to pause and relax/open were: "How are you" but with a 30 second pause before speaking and "What would you like to share with me" with the invitation to take a full breath after each sentence. You might explore this or the dedicated containers of listening and speaking with those around you. It may be awkward, but most things worth doing have their share of awkward. 😀

A few calls to action

Financial support: After leaving my federal job last year, I am a full time facilitator/ writer, and your support matters–a lot! If you enjoyed last night and weren't too sad you missed the Oscars, here's how you can give via Downtown Dharma venmo
Stay in touch

I have a Substack called Slow Mindfulness which is the best way to stay connected
My book Sometimes You Should Be Late - preorder here!
I coordinate a Mindful Sundays community group that meets 9-10am at Elle in Mt Pleasant (new location) WhatsApp group link

And you have my email, reach out & connect with me (and each other).

Thanks for being such a thoughtful and heartful bunch of humans!

Be well,

Alex

Slowmindfulness.com | Substack | Instagram

Learn more about and preorder my book Sometimes You Should Be Late

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Sunday, 15 March 2026

[Downtown Dharma Sangha Listserv] Finding Awe at the National Gallery of Art—May 2

Dear friends,

I've attended several Finding Awe workshops at the National Gallery over the past year and keep going back. Each one has drawn me into deep engagement with a single work of art I might otherwise have walked right past. Quiet looking, mindful conversation, and playful exercises make the experience both meditative and connecting. They feel very aligned with what we're building together as a sangha.

Thanks to the NGA, we now have a special Finding Awe workshop reserved for friends of Downtown Dharma on Saturday, May 2, 10:30 am-12:00 pm, led by a Senior Educator at the museum.

Together we'll spend 90 minutes with a single Georgia O'Keeffe painting—lingering with it rather than moving on. We'll explore where artists have found awe, and reflect on how we cultivate it in our own lives.

If you'd like to join, please register here (via Partiful):
https://partiful.com/e/50J7TN1alVNTlpugUD37?c=rvXnabtN

The museum requires at least 20 participants, and space is capped at 30, so sooner is better. You're welcome to invite a partner or friend.

Full details are on the Partiful page. For anyone who'd like to continue the conversation, some of us are likely to grab lunch afterward at the Cascade Café.

It would be lovely to experience this together.

-Vince

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Artist Canvas for Painting: 2026 Material Selection Parameters

What dictates the structural integrity of blank painting canvas?

Artist canvas for painting is a highly specialized woven textile substrate engineered specifically to hold pigment securely. As a materials scientist analyzing biaxial tensile strength, I categorize these surfaces by fiber composition. Cotton duck fabric offers an economical, short-staple weave. Belgian linen utilizes long bast fibers from the flax plant. Polyester provides a purely synthetic, climatically neutral polymer alternative. Laboratory aging simulations from 2025 prove that pure linen retains forty-two percent more structural rigidity over a half-century than standard cotton. The presence of natural lignin allows linen to resist severe hygroscopic expansion.

How do oil and acrylic mediums alter substrate preparation requirements?

Painters must match the fabric primer directly to their chosen chemical binder. Linseed oil binders generate an exothermic oxidation reaction. This reaction releases hexanoic acids that break the beta-glycosidic bonds in raw cellulose. Painters block this degradation by applying a Polyvinyl Acetate size directly to the raw cotton. Acrylic polymer emulsions do not rot natural fibers. Acrylics require mechanical tooth for proper adhesion. Manufacturers apply calcium carbonate and polymer emulsion mixtures, known as acrylic gesso, to create this porous grip. Proper gesso application also blocks Support Induced Discoloration caused by migrating water-soluble impurities.

Why does raw fabric weight determine tension dynamics?

Textile mills measure substrate density in ounces per square yard before applying any chemical ground. Heavyweight canvases measuring twelve ounces or higher provide the necessary rigidity for heavy impasto techniques. Tension tests demonstrate that twelve ounce fabric supports three pounds of applied modeling paste per square foot before demonstrating center-sag. Lightweight fabrics warp immediately under heavy moisture. Artists producing large gallery installations rely on heavy yardage from bulk raw canvas rolls to maintain surface tension. Retailers also stretch medium fabrics over wooden chassis to create standard prepared canvas supports.

Review material specifications carefully before acquiring artist painting surfaces. Compare professional stretched canvas options to verify gallery profile depths. Evaluate yardage requirements using bulk raw canvas rolls to manage high-volume studio production efficiently for specific oil or acrylic painting applications today.

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Thursday, 12 March 2026

[Downtown Dharma Sangha Listserv] Submit haiku & artwork for the new Downtown Dharma charity haiku collection!

Hello!

Since this week has decided to be spring, summer, fall, and winter all in one--I thought I would put out a call for submissions for our new Downtown Dharma haiku collection! We welcome your seasonally inspired haiku and artwork :)

Last year, Downtown Dharma and friends showcased beautiful haiku and artwork--and raised over $1100 for Capital Area Food Bank with our collection, A Walk With Others. This year, we're doing it again! Inspired by our seasonal haiku events, this collection will again celebrate our community's creativity and raise funds for a local DC-area anti-hunger organization. Anyone connected with Downtown Dharma, IMCW, the DC poetry community, and beyond is welcome to submit.

Please consider submitting one or more haiku by May 22 via this Google form: https://forms.gle/WNWGXh6HKTLuE1pq6

Care to contribute visual art? Please do! You can submit photography, illustrations, and haiga (illustrated haiku) here: https://forms.gle/1UGAQujo6dzn3iXZ7

Submission guidelines and details on printing/distribution/fundraising are available here, but please let me know if you have any questions! Some folks have generously offered to help me co-edit, design, and distribute this collection. If you would like to be involved in any way, please don't hesitate to reach out.

Very best,

Jude

You are receiving this email because you are part of Downtown Dharma or have attended our haiku events.

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[Downtown Dharma Sangha Listserv] This Sunday: Slowing down with Insight Dialogue

Dear Downtown Dharma,

The other day I got a call from my mom and realized, a bit too late, that all I wanted to do was end it as soon as possible. No appreciating her desire to connect or how lucky I am to have a loving mother in good health, just wanting to get back to whatever trivial thing I was doing.

Perhaps you too have rushed through a moment that mattered?

Insight Dialogue, the interpersonal practice we've been doing every month at Downtown Dharma for a couple years, asks us to take five steps before we open our mouths. So it won't come as a surprise that s l o w i n g down is central to the practice.

But do we really believe it? In our daily lives, how often do we take the time to pause, relax, open, listen deeply, trust emergence, and speak the truth.

This Sunday I will be guiding us in practicing something different: slowness. No need to have a witty retort or polished speech, just an opportunity to inhabit a nourishing space where we collectively slow down with ourselves and others.

As Tara Brach says, "move half as fast, see twice as much." And here's a first chance to practice: this Sunday consider aiming to arrive ~10 minutes early, not so we can begin on time or to avoid the awkwardness of striding in late, but to give yourself the gift of slowness.

Join us:

In-person: Sunday, 7 to 8:30pm @ Yoga District — 1910 14th Street NW, 3rd Floor, Washington, DC
Online via Zoom here

See you,

Alex

Slowmindfulness.com | Substack | Instagram

Learn more about and preorder my book Sometimes You Should Be Late

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Wednesday, 11 March 2026

[Downtown Dharma Sangha Listserv] Musicality of Being returns to Rock Creek Park this Saturday!

Dear Friends,

Are you feeling more alive now that the days are getting warmer and brighter?
What do you want to do with that energy?!

I'm excited that this weekend the weather will be in the 40s, 50s and 60s - not toasty, but warm enough for a community walking meditation in the beautiful surroundings of Rock Creek Park!

After repeated cancellations since the start of the year, the first Musicality of Being workshop for 2026 will finally take place this Saturday, March 14, 10am-1pm in Rock Creek.

This workshop combines several kinds of awareness practices with the beauty of nature and the warmth of connection to awaken the somatic experience of the interconnectivity of all things in our bodies. During our 3 hours in the park we slow down together and deepen relationships to our bodies, each other and the surrounding world - through walking meditation, present moment partner dialogues (in a similar spirit to Insight Dialogue), meditation at the creek and group sharing. Past workshop participants regularly report coming to a deeper felt sense of connection to both their inner and outer worlds.

I love this practice and I would love to share it with you!

Register here

Happy Almost-Spring!

Warmly,

Seth Dellinger

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Monday, 9 March 2026

[Downtown Dharma Sangha Listserv] thank you for last night! + invitation to The Nectary

Dear friends,

Thank you so much for the fun + rich evening of practice last night!

As a follow-up, I want to invite all of you to The Nectary's spring events. The Nectary is a relational monastery and pop-up school I founded a year and a half ago, and it's coming to DC this year. I invite you to check out our calendar, and to join the mailing list for updates as we announce more events and gatherings.

Amazing colleagues of mine -- deep practitioners of meditation, relational practice, imaginal practice, and more -- are coming to DC from all over North America to teach at The Nectary.

Please let me know if you have questions about any of the events. Some of the language may be unfamiliar, but all of these events are open to beginners, and I'm happy to help steer you towards the right one for you!