Episodes

This session explores how a meditation on a “triggering” children’s movie helped me see how the compassion in the term “compassion fatigue” is probably not compassion at all… Please note: slight distortion from 00:00-03:00 and briefly around 15:00

We can learn to use a practice of skillful pendulation in our sitting practice, and in the whole our life as a means of grounding with challenge. This is a practice of flowing with a natural movement of coming and going, contraction and release, breathing in and breathing out, tides moving in and out, day moving to night and back to day, movement of seasons, and the up and down of bird wings. Rumi, translator-Coleman Banks The Essential Rumi: Your hand opens and closes and opens and closes. ...

This sharing explores the congruency between refuge in the Dharma and modern behavioral medicine, particularly drawing from Judson Brewer’s gears model for habit change. If you want more information on Judson Brewer, please see this Ted Talk.

Revisiting the poem, “What It Is“ is an opportunity to explore even deeper opening into what is here with compassion and wisdom.

This talk again explores the Buddhist practice of taking refuge in the Dharma. Dharma refers to an inherent knowable wholeness in all things— a concept that is palpable and useful in everyday life when we look for it. Note: there is a background static sound in the first 2 minutes of the talk and again for around a minute starting at 10:30. This is not present for the majority of the talk.

What It Is (English translation of Was es ist) Written by: Erich Fried. Translated by: Anna Kallio It is nonsense says reason It is what it is says love It is calamity says calculation It is nothing but pain says fear It is hopeless says insight It is what it is says love It is ludicrous says pride It is foolish says caution It is impossible says experience It is what it is says love.

In this sharing, we look at the Buddhist concept of “Taking Refuge.” This can be understood in many ways, one of which is through a deep examination of feedback pointing to wholeness in the natural world as well as within our own bodies. No need to be Buddhist to appreciate the beauty and usefulness of this understanding of the way of things. For the video How Wolves Change Rivers, see here.

A meditation to help remind us that home is always already here and available in each moment now. Tasting Mindfulness, Jon Kabat-Zinn Have you ever had the experience of stopping so completely, of being in your body so completely, of being in your life so completely, that what you knew and what you didn’t know that what had been and what was yet to come, and the way things are right now no longer held even the slightest hint of anxiety or discord? It would be a moment of complete presence, bey...

This sharing looks at specific practices for integrating our practice into daily life– even when daily life is 5 failed attempts to get your car towed… Click here for the handout. If you want to learn more about polyvagal exercises, Polyvagal Exercises for Safety and Connection, written by Deb Dana is a good place to start. There are also numerous YouTube videos available demonstrating these exercises. If you are unfamiliar with the “Flipped Lid” concept, this comes from a brilliant “Brain/Han...

The word yoga has a definition of “to yoke“. In this sitting meditation, we are practicing a kind of yoga, or yoking, of body, mind and heart.

There is a tradition beautiful Buddhist practice of taking refuge. In this practice I expand on that practice with a broadened understanding of taking refuge.

Join me for a sharing of an old Zen story about a head cook and his unexpected soup and how this story is so useful for being skillful with our mistakes, including those involving racial bias awareness.

There are many different flavors to “efforting” — some useful and some not so useful. What is it like to intention explore a balanced soft effort that allows you to stay engaged with your practice, without over-efforting and contracting.

A dream about engaging the right kind of effort inspired this exploration of different kinds of “efforting” — everything from not enough effort, to punishing grunt work effort, to a soft, open, trusting effortless effort.

So often we burden our meditation practice with loaded expectations of what it should look like and what should happen if I am a good meditator. But in reality every meditation is an open invitation to lay down those expectations and meet what is here. Just as it is. Without needed it to be any different. Without needing to change or fix anything. Maybe even with a sense of wonder and awe that we can even perceive what is here…

I share how our beloved cat, Ana, who has been in “hospice” care for a while, died sometime during the night, and how a serendipitous find of Licity Collins and her beautiful music and writing spoke to the tenor of my day and the mystery of letting go into the current of the universe. Here is the link to read her story and listen to her 22 min musical meditation called “Currents.” Note her generosity in freely offering this beautiful sharing and her link to donate in support of her work if you ...

In this meditation we explore a formal practice for strengthening a resource of “taking in the good.”

As our continuation of resourcing for challenging times, we examine “Taking in the Good” primarily through the teaching of Rick Hanson, PhD.

In this meditation we explore using an anchor of self-kindness for opening to what is here and now.

Watching my cats this week was a lesson in the practical grace of taking in the good. We explore this and end with the ABC Gratitude practice of Br. David Steindl-Rast.

We are often taught that we should follow an ethical code in order to “be good.” But there is a completely different way of approaching ethics, not as a “should,” but rather as a resource, a foundational strength for living in challenging times.

We start with a short body scan and then move into an exploration of life’s unfolding energy moment by moment

Today we continue an exploration of strengths and resources for meeting challenging times with a look at developing a compassionate way of understanding all behaviors, our own and others, in this world. Note: I’m working to improve the audio with our new set up. Thanks!

In this podcast, we look at when to let go through the lens of the 8 Worldy Winds, and how to let go through a radical re-framing of welcoming.