While fear is a natural part of our make up, many of us suffering when the “on” button gets jammed. This talk looks at how our fears generate habitual patterns of physical tension, anxious thinking, emotions and behaviors; and how this constellation prevents us from inhabiting our full wisdom and love. We then explore two interrelated pathways of healing—unconditional presence, and resourcing, or cultivating access to safety and belonging (from the IMCW Fall 2018 7-Day Silent Retreat).

An introduction to working directly with the mind, practicising mindfulness of thinking

When full ground is not properly established, thinking creates the thinker. With proper ground, it’s possible to hover over the thought process and listen deeply to the underlying emotional stream. Establish ground using a simple meditation object that the mind can easily access and stabilize on.

A talk about the directionality of our thinking, based on the wisdom of the two sorts of thinking sutta (MN19). With less identification, and a sense of supporting samadhi, we can navigate the world of the heart-mind.

Recollection is not just thinking about things, it’s associated with the quality of careful attention. Encourage the mind to think slowly, touch the heart and abide in wholesome qualities. In daily life we do the external, but embedded in the ground of the heart is where your basis is. *Sutta reference is AN11:11-12.

All phenomena are fabricated by perception: all things are empty of inherently existing separate from the atmosphere of attention. We explore what happens to phenomena and the sense of self when perception is soaked in kindness and care. Supported by the suttas: Two Sorts of Thinking (MN19), and the Karaniya Metta Sutta (SN1.8).

Mindfulness of breathing is the gathering of attention around a process that is flowing and fluid. The steady and suffusive quality of breathing eases tensions in the heart and mind. The thinking process quietens down and external sights and sounds don’t impinge allowing the natural qualities of the heart become more apparent.

In meditation we use the thinking mind minimally, placing greater emphasis on the listening mind. This guided meditation gives practice in lengthening the listening, lingering mind.

Thinking subject

William James said that death was the ‘worm at the core’ of the human condition that turns us all into ‘melancholy metaphysicians.’ A century later, awareness of mortality is documented to affect our thinking and emotional lives in powerful ways. It figures prominently in Buddhist practice. In what ways does consciousness of death distorts our view and lead us away from wisdom and compassion? Alternatively, how can we open to the truth of finitude such that our heart is softened? Can we intuit the freedom or love that might be released were we more deeply at peace with our mortality? In this evening program, we’ll consider the way death can harden or soften our heart – and how dharma practice might lead us to a life that feels complete. All are welcome.