This talk offers some reflections on bringing an altruistic intention into our meditation practice.

Guided Meditation

Guided meditation into the intimate refuge of body and breath. Relaxing into the support of the great mother earth. Opening to receive the flow of breath. 45-minuted guided meditation followed by 15 minute reflection.

Any time we practice mindfulness and wise attention, we are weakening the impact of the hindrances, and strengthening what are known as the five jhanic factors: meditative qualities that support the continuity and deepening of our meditation. Each of the jhanic factors actually balances and acts as an antidote to one of the hindrances. This talk looks at how to strengthen the jhanic factors, and use them skillfully as antidotes to the hindrances.

An exploration of the 1st foundation of mindfulness with an empahasis on the four elements. Includes a short guided meditation.

This talk explores the nature of the insight into impermanence and how to support this insight within our meditation practice.

Though we receive lots of instructions for our meditation practice on retreats, let’s face it – we spend a lot of time thinking. What do we think about? At the heart of these movements of the mind is answering the questions, “Am I OK?”, “Was I OK?”, and “Will I be OK?” Our obsession with these questions is the cause of a huge amount of restlessness. Restlessness is one of the major hindrances to calming the mind and deepening our meditation, and can be seen as both the cause and the effect of all the other hindrances. The Buddha also talked about this kind of thinking, and called it unwise attention that leads to all kinds of suffering. We need to look at the core issues that lead us to dwell on these questions if we are to create a more skilful relationship to our thoughts.