Episodes

In this sharing I explore lessons from both the Virginia International Raceway and Thich Nhat Hanh on opening to life well in all conditions. The Two Promises from Thich Nhat Hanh: I vow to develop understanding in order to live peacefully with people, animals, plants, and minerals. I vow to develop my compassion in order to protect the lives of people, animals, plants, and minerals.

This is a shorter sharing and practice with the sound of silence. This is a practice that has been offered in many meditation and spiritual traditions from around the world. Much of my sharing is drawn from a book by British monk, Ajahn Amaro called “Inner Listening.” The book is a lovely short read that is available for free download at: Inner Listening

In this longer combined talk and meditation, we will more deeply explore the practice sometimes called “the sound of silence.” It is a practice that has been offered in many meditation and spiritual traditions from around the world. Much of my sharing is drawn from a book by British monk, Ajahn Amaro called “Inner Listening.” The book is a lovely short read that is available for free download at: Inner Listening

Jack Kornfield offers the observation that at the end of life, our questions become very simple– Did I live fully? Did I love well? Meditation becomes a opportunity to learn to live into these questions now.

We think sometimes of compassion as a quality that we “should” be accessing if we are “good.” There is a totally different way of understanding compassion instead as that quality of being that brings us sanity, strength, courage and even ease in the midst of difficult situations.

There is a radical freedom offered in practice when we learn to open in all conditions. From the book, “Thoreau’s Ecstatic Witness,” comes this account of Henry Thoreau from his sister, Sophia, in his last couple of months before dying of tuberculosis in his early forties: One friend, as if by way of consolation, said to him, “well, Mr. Thoreau, we must all go.” Henry replied, “when I was a very little boy I learned that I must die, and I set that down, so of course I am not disappointed now. D...

It is very helpful to feel into how a true open mindfulness or loving awareness doesn’t discriminate or have preferences for what it is knowing in awareness. In this practice, we explore feeling into the relationship of loving awareness, preference and no-preference.

Join me for this short reflection and meditation on the usefulness of goodwill in challenging times.

In this short meditation, we give time for our eyes to rest and relax into spacious awareness

Compassion arises naturally as the quivering of the heart in the face of pain, ours and another’s. True compassion is not limited by the separateness of pity, nor by the fear of being overwhelmed. When we come to rest in the great heart of compassion, we discover a capacity to bear witness to, suffer with, and hold dear with our own vulnerable heart the sorrows in beauties of the world. Jack Kornfield Loving compassion is like sunlight, awakening and bringing joy to beans. It’s beauty is like a...

Compassion arises naturally as the quivering of the heart in the face of pain, ours and another’s. True compassion is not limited by the separateness of pity, nor by the fear of being overwhelmed. When we come to rest in the great heart of compassion, we discover a capacity to bear witness to, suffer with, and hold dear with our own vulnerable heart the sorrows in beauties of the world. Jack Kornfield

This week’s post is the first of three parts exploring bringing mindfulness into heart of our relationships.

Join us for guided movement practice followed by a short sitting practice. We explore the intention of goodwill, letting go and compassion through it all.

I long, as does every human being, to be at home wherever I find myself. -Maya Angelou To be at home in a world where everything changes means to embrace a radical understanding of home. Join us for a short teaching and practice

In this sharing, I consider the art of pendulation, i.e. using pleasant and neutral sensations to resource us for meeting our challenges.

In this meditation, we practice the art of using pleasant and neutral sensations to resource us for meeting our challenges.

In this podcast I share a short reading from Jody Green on meeting the challenges of Zen Koan, “Every Day is a Good Day” and the lessons from our new cat, followed by a short meditation.

When things are challenging, we need strong skills to be with ourselves in the midst of the challenge. This is part 2 of last week’s podcast, but I include a small re-cap if you missed last week. Thanks!

In this body and heart practice, we allow space for our awareness to deeply settle in the body and then explore expanding circles of compassion from this grounded space.

This week we start an exploration of ways to be with ourselves in practice when it is just hard to be with ourselves. Learning to “track” is a very useful place to start.

Join us for this sitting meditation where we explore grounding in the body with gravity and breath. Thanks!

“Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.” -Kahlil Gibran In this short sharing and practice, we explore the attitudes or qualities of goodwill, compassion and letting go in support of a life well lived.

We need strong refuge points for our awareness in order to support ourselves in the midst of life. This meditation is about strengthening that knowing of refuge within ourselves.

In mindfulness meditation, we teach how to be aware of the breath as an anchor or refuge, and in our current world, to invite awareness into the breath is to invite again awareness of “I can’t breath…” That fact needs to be met with a lot of care and compassion. This week we open to an awareness of George Floyd’s plea for breath and how it can inform us through our practice how to come into a stronger, more compassionate and responsive relationship with ourselves and our world. Helpful resources...