Episodes

Today we start our exploration of the Four Noble Truths with the first one– in life, there is suffering. While seemingly simple and straightforward on the surface, learning to reckon with this truth has a radical potential for transforming how we meet life in all of its complexities and realities.

The teacher asked his students, does it hurt more to be shot by one arrow or two? Of course, two. The first is what has already arisen, what is unavoidably already here. The second is the one we shoot into ourselves in reaction to the first. In this meditation, we use an anchor for grounding and support for exploring opening with wisdom and kindness to the first without contracting into a suffering story of the second.

In our continued exploration of Buddhist psychology, today we explore the myth story of the Buddha’s life and how it relates directly to understanding our own personal causes of suffering and the path to our healing.1-13-21

We need to look deeply in order to see our true nature and the true nature of the Earth. We need to look deeply to see that we are the Earth. With this insight, love will be born. Our love and understanding will heal us and heal the Earth. -Thich Nhat Hanh Thich Nhat Hanh offers beautiful “Touching the Earth” meditation practices. This meditation is a modified version.

This meditation offers an invitation to explore 2 of the “Three Marks of Existence”– impermanence and the interrelatedness of impermanent arisings.

In this sharing, we look at the last of the 3 Marks of Existence– the reality of suffering in life. This is so easily misunderstood as pessimistic or a negative view on life. But in practice, when we follow the radical potential in this teaching, we begin to understand how a clear, wise seeing of suffering present is a natural doorway to compassion.

In this talk, we explore what’s referred as one of the three “mark of existence,” the concept of non-self. We look at it through the lens of a translation that I prefer, “nothing exists in and of itself, without dependencies,” and in particular not only on the widened ethics that arise naturally through this understanding, but also a certain quality of joy that opens to us when we understand the world and all that is in it in this way.

In this meditation, using the breath, we explore the quote “nothing exists in and of itself, without dependencies.”

Today we start with a short vignette on dandelions from Anthony de Mello’s book “The Song of the Bird, followed by a sharing by Michael J Fox and how he works with having Parkinson’s. I don’t look at life as a battle or as a fight. I don’t think I’m scrappy. I’m accepting. I say “living with” or “working through” Parkinson’s. Acceptance doesn’t mean resignation — it means understanding that something is what it is and that there’s got to be a way through it. I look at it like I am a fluid that’...

Acceptance doesn’t mean resignation — it means understanding that something is what it is and that there’s got to be a way through it. I look at it like I am a fluid that’s finding the fissures and the cracks and flowing through. -Michael J Fox

Today we explore the old story of Two Monks and the Lady as a way of deepening our understanding painful ruminating thought and how to cut through that habit.

It is very helpful to begin to see how the unconscious mind categorizes all moments in some version of pleasant, unpleasant or neither pleasant or unpleasant, also called feeling tones. If we are not aware of this process, then the feeling tone can set off a cascade of reactivity. Learning to catch the feeling tone of any given moment opens the possibility of a choice in how to respond to any feeling tone arising. This meditation practices with learning to see into the feeling tone of any moment...

In this sharing, I draw from Shinzen Young’s teachings on equanimity as non-self-interference and a radical permission to feel. We look at this in very practical ways of what does this mean for a moment of tangled reactivity and how to work in real life with these concepts with some skillfulness. When feelings are experienced with equanimity, they assume their proper function as motivators and directors of behavior as opposed to driving and distorting behavior. – Shinzen Young

In this practice, we open to letting thoughts be thoughts, feelings be feelings, body sensations be body sensations without adding to a story about any of them. This practice is very useful for learning a skillfulness with untangling our reactivity in life.

Autobiography in Five Short Chapters is a much beloved poem from Portia Nelson. In my years of working with this poem, my understanding of it has radically changed, and that has been so helpful with orientating myself in a useful way with the world as it is: I I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk I fall in. I am lost … I am helpless. It isn’t my fault. It takes me forever to find a way out. II I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I...

In this meditation, we practice with opening the sense doors– sight, sound, touch, smell, taste and mind– for grounding practice.

This meditation draws from a poem by Mary Oliver, I Have Decided: I have decided to find myself a home in the mountains, somewhere high up where one learns to live peacefully in the cold and the silence. It’s said that in such a place certain revelations may be discovered. That what the spirit reaches for may be eventually felt, if not exactly understood. Slowly, no doubt. I’m not talking about a vacation. Of course, at the same time I mean to stay exactly where I am. Are you following me?

In this podcast episode, I draw from a beautiful book called, Learning To Fall, by Phillip Simmons. Simmons was diagnosed with ALS at age 35 and given 5 years to live. He wrote this book at 9 years on the “blessings of an imperfect life.”

In this meditation, we start with standing movements to release tension and connect with breath and body. This is followed by a short sitting practice.

This week we look deeper at the movement from worry to care– worry, as a fear based reactivity and care, as a wise strong compassionate connected responsiveness. This movement is a powerful support in challenging times. I share Joseph Bruchac’s version of The Chenoo, a story of a man-eating ice giant from the far north and a young woman who faced him, as a metaphor for understanding both the reactivity and responsive sides of ourselves and where our deepest strength lies. When I say it’s you I ...

In this talk, we explore practices to support ourselves in the midst of a challenging Election. These include resourcing in the good, intentional planning with media consumption and practicing with “Don’t Know Mind.” Here are some of resources I would like to share: How to Survive Election Night and Beyond: https://tricycle.org/trikedaily/election-day-toolkit/ Stability in the Storm, A Pre-Election Day Meditation Sit with Sharon Salzberg, Mon 11/2 at 7p: https://www.dharma.org/spe20/ Don’t K...

In this final week before the Election, grounding and resourcing practice can be an important support to our well-being. This meditation starts with some gentle stretching and then moves into a sitting practice. Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery it is. In the boredom and pain of it, no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it, because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace. ...

For this short sharing and meditation, please have some small bit of food available, such as a couple of raisins. Contemplations before eating from Thich Nhat Hanh: This food is a gift of the earth, the sky, numerous living beings, and much hard and loving work. May we eat with mindfulness and gratitude so as to be worthy to receive this food. May we recognize and transform unwholesome mental formations, especially our greed and learn to eat with moderation. May we keep our compassion alive...

Excerpt from St Francis and the Sow, by Galway Kinnell The bud stands for all things, even for those things that don’t flower, for everything flowers, from within, of self-blessing; though sometimes it is necessary to reteach a thing its loveliness, to put a hand on the brow of the flower and retell it in words and in touch it is lovely until it flowers again from within, of self-blessing.