Guided mettā meditation to develop positive emotions, directed towards self and all beings. Dhamma talk on dependent origination in simple terms. Dependent origination answers the question: How does rebirth happen without a soul? We are neither completely fixed or completely fluid in how we are - we are conditioned; a continuity that connects past, present, and future. The Buddha’s great insight was that everything is conditioned. Daily life, high states of meditation, rebirth, and all kinds of experiences all follow the same processes. Ignorance and craving are the drivers of these processes.

Q1 OO:04 Does kamma in its wider implication presume the concept of rebirth? Q2 17:09 Doesn’t the need for goal orientedness in life work against practice? Q3 21:34 During meditation can I approach a personal issue that requires attention? Q4 26:17 Is it possible to be fully present with an open heart? Could you explain that please? Q5 29:35 Does slow mean mindful? Isn’t it intention that’s important? Q6 33:58 Could you talk more about annata and self please? Q7 20:14 Q8 Why does standing meditation seem more effective than sitting? Is there a time or situation where standing is recommended over other postures? Q9 43:58 How can I give back living more than I take living in Switzerland? Q10 45:22 In developing samadhi, is it possible to have periods where we have to refocus more on bodily sensations and drop the external? Q11 48:19 How can we reflect on God and Christ in dhamma practice? Q12 51:09 Restlessness is my most frequent hindrance. How do I deal with it? Q13 52:19 I contemplate death daily and often get a heavy heart about being separated from my two children. How can I come to peace with that? Q14 57:38 Could you do a brief summary of your top five wisdoms? Q15 1:03:52 If QiGong is so relaxing and low energy why do I sweat?

This meditation establishes an atmosphere of loving kindness with the “smile”; relaxes and awakens through the body; and guides us into a spacious presence. We then rest in that presence, letting go of any controlling, and simply allow life to be as it is. It’s in “letting be” that we come home to the luminosity and tenderness of natural awareness. We close with a verse from Mary Oliver…

Meditation instructions are often interpreted as paying pointed attention. But wide attention allows energy and mind to decompress. Cultivating a cool awareness of the body is the key to this.

The mind’s energies and activations may contradict each other but what unifies them is the body's energy, its life force and understanding them is key to meditation and the development of mindfulness.