Short Reflection & Guided Meditation | Earthworm Practice for the Anthropocene | Online Wednesday-Mornings

When we are stressed, our body and mind contract, and energetically we resist the life in the present moment. This meditation helps de-condition the stress reaction by guiding us to relax open from thoughts, relax physical tension, and gently relax back over and over into living presence.

Zen master Dōgen teaches that enlightenment is intimacy with all things. These two talks explore teachings and practices that cultivate intimacy – a liberating experience of relatedness and oneness with our living world.

Kevin uses suttas from the Pali Canon to bring out the practical aspects of this teaching.

In this talk, delivered at a retreat at Wat Marp Jan, Ajahn discusses the subject of cultivating, deepening Faith, and then applying the good energy that comes from this in useful ways. Learning how to apply a more consistent and diligent effort as a consequence of having deep conviction and confidence in both the goal and one's ability to realize it. A Thai version is here: https://youtu.be/0AxHwFX1yK4

After an introduction of the teacher, there is a 30-minute guided meditation. We set the intention to track for moments of reactivity, and then have the first 10 minutes or so for settling. Then there are several lightly guided suggestions of ways to practice with reactivity, including noticing moderate or a little greater experiences of pleasant or unpleasant, and seeing whether we move to wanting and grasping, on the one hand, or not wanting or pushing away, on the other. At the end, there is guided practice on bringing up an experience of reactivity and exploring it especially with mindfulness and the wisdom of appropriate response. The meditation is followed by a dana talk.