Offered on the Spring Equinox Full Moon, the Talk opens with stories & metaphors of the Moon, and then moves into exploring a map of practice from the Thai forest tradition from the perspectives of theory, practical application and guided practice. Sati (Mindfulness) - MahaSati (Great Mindfulness) - Sati-Panna (Mindfulness Wisdom) - Panna-Vimutti (Wisdom which leads to Release).

Mindfulness and introspective awareness have a mutually supportive relationship with compassion and deep understanding.

Why the body is important for cultivating calm and clear seeing. Descriptions of different areas of body practice.

The intertwining of loving kindness and mindfulness

Meditation practice cultivates a diverse set of attentional, emotional and introspective skills. Central to the practice of mindfulness is the stabilization of attention. But before our attention stabilizes, practice can be overstimulating. This talk will explore the process through which the mind comes to rest. In developing this steadiness, equanimity (the capacity to fully permit the flow of both pleasure and pain) is a vital skill. We will see how concentration and equanimity reinforce each other and support a deeper understanding of ourselves. And how this stability, in turn, makes space for the heart to respond with joy and compassion.

Meditation practice cultivates a diverse set of attentional, emotional and introspective skills. Central to the practice of mindfulness is the stabilization of attention. But before our attention stabilizes, practice can be overstimulating. This talk will explore the process through which the mind comes to rest. In developing this steadiness, equanimity (the capacity to fully permit the flow of both pleasure and pain) is a vital skill. We will see how concentration and equanimity reinforce each other and support a deeper understanding of ourselves. And how this stability, in turn, makes space for the heart to respond with joy and compassion.

After some further examination of the nature of mindfulness, we explore the Second Foundation of Mindfulness, first pointing to the central importance of the practice of being mindful of the “feeling-tone.” As articulated in the teaching on Dependent Origination, we study the sequence, that occurs when there are not mindfulness and wisdom, of (1) contact; (2) feeling-tone; (3) wanting the pleasant (or aversion to the unpleasant, and unawareness of the neutral), and (4) grasping the pleasant (or pushing away the unpleasant, or continued unawareness of the neutral). We look at the experiential nature of the pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral, and suggest a number of ways to practice with feeling-tone.

The Talk explores the traditional teachings of First Foundation of Mindfulness through personal stories & modern perspectives - emphasizing the elements of Calming the Bodily Formation & nervous system practices, the 4 Postures of Awakening, and the aspects of impermanence & not self in the Wisdom Refrain of the Sutta.

Tina Rasmussen provides 13 minutes of instruction on the Samatha (concentration and serenity) meditation, in particular the anapanasati (mindfulness of breathing) practice. This includes everything that a person needs to know to begin practicing Samatha anapanasati meditation.

Mindfulness of body sensations, thoughts, emotions and the feeling tone in relationship to them.