Pure present moment awareness reveals what we are not; and thereby, what we truly are. Investigate and question all thoughts you see circling in the mind – fearful or fanciful, liked or not. Know their clever disguises: impermanence everywhere! Not what we are, but empty, ephemeral in nature, they orbit like space debris – crowding the heart mandala of consciousness. Let go and rejoice when states of wanting, judgement, restlessness, fear, unhappiness and all the many faces of 'self' dissolve in the silence of pure awareness. This is true refuge – here and now. All else withers in the furnace of eternity.

Reflections on presence, impermanence (anicca) and uncertainty.

A consideration of impermanence inspired by a gentle rain

This talk touches into the suffering that results from a lack of understanding of the natural laws of impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and the absence of a solid self and the peace of resting in ‘not knowing’.

With a discussion of the perception of impermanence (anicca)

The natural world beautifully and eloquently sings the Dharma. there are countless wisdom teachings emanating from nature. In particular, we explore how nature teaches us about impermanence, dependent arising, perfection and imperfection and belonging.

We continue with our exploration of how we contact what is "deep" in our lives and in life, and how we stay connected with our depths in our practice. We initially give a review of some of what we explored last week, recalling some of the many metaphors used for deepening in our lives in spiritual traditions, including awakening, being on a journey, liberation, seeing clearly whereas previously we didn't see clearly, coming to wholeness, among others. We recall the Buddhist emphasis on wisdom (especially the three ways of seeing that liberate--seeing into impermanence, dukkha or reactivity, and not-self; as well as touching nibbana); compassion; and skillful action. We hear also from several people sharing their experiences of their depths. We then explore a number of ways to stay connected in daily life with our depths, including several not mentioned last week. The talk is followed by discussion, including sharing of some ways that people in the group find helpful in terms of staying connected with their depths, including using phrases like "Begin again" and "Keep coming back."