Encountering aging, illness, and death have the power to awaken us out of the sleepy trance of our daily routines.
How this happened for the Buddha and how it can happen for us are explored in the first of two talks.
MN:125 dealing with renunciation, virtue, sense control, mindfulness, the hindrances and entry to satipatthana by insight. Followed by tranquility. A variant of the gradual training
Mindfulness of Feeling-Tone (the Second Foundation of Mindfulness) and Introduction to the Third Foundation of Mindfulness (here, practicing with thoughts and emotions)
Much of the time our actions are motivated more by concern about what others think about us than what our own truth is.
What would it be like to not be ruled by those thoughts?
Dedicated in memory of Ruth Denison, the Talk explores traditional and innovative applications of the First Foundation of Mindfulness, including
Calming the Bodily Formations and nervous system, the wisdom aspects of mindfulness of the body, and mindfulness in all the postures and activities.
The pathway to our awaken heart includes deep recognition of our barriers to love, and as we open, the courage to express our love. This talk includes a reflection and practice that can support us in inhabiting our full capacity for loving presence.
- How metta is a practice of intention and concentration
- How to work with metta difficulties and cycles of purification
- How to develop authentic metta phrases
- Introduction of the metta muses (categories)
In the context of the beginning of a month-long retreat (and, for some, beginning the second month of a two-month retreat), we explore briefly the cross-cultural expressions of a spiritual "journey" or "path," and the typical stages of such a journey.
After practicing for one month, what have we learned to apply in our life as we go home, or carry us through the next month as we continue our practice?
The trance of unworthiness is sustained by our aversion to the dragons - the difficult emotions and related behaviors that are a deeply conditioned part of the human experience. In this talk we explore the awakening that is possible as we recognize our reactive patterns and instead of judgment, offer a loving and healing presence.
In this talk, a "map" of the path provides the framework for understanding the 10 fetters; the internal mind/heart conditions that produce our suffering.
This talk gives examples of freedom both from intensive practice and how it shows up in life. The mind free of greed, hatred and delusion and chasing sense objects is at peace.
With so many different approaches to practice how do we know if we're doing it "the right way?" And how can we decide which of the many voices in our mind to listen to? This talk includes the 5 strategies offered by the Buddha to work skillfully with distracting thoughts.
The 12 links of Dependent Origination show us how suffering is created out of ignorance. Attending mindfully to any part of this process can bring more freedom and ease into our lives.
This two-part series offers a clear and fresh understanding of practices that cultivate mindful awareness. The first class examines our attitude towards practice and gives guidance on posture, establishing an anchor for attention, and learning to concentrate and collect the mind - “coming back.” The second class focuses on the practice of mindfulness - “being here,” and the component qualities of clear recognition and an allowing non-judgmental presence.
