Short Reflection & Guided Meditation | Earthworm Practice for the Anthropocene | Online Wednesday-Mornings

An Invitation to Freedom: A conversation between Tara and Connirae Andreas: Connirae Andreas was one of the first trainers in neurolinguistic programming (NLP). She developed and wrote a book on the Core Transformation Process, and more recently, the Wholeness Process. Her new book, The Wholeness Work Essential Guide: Level I—Healing and Awakening is the focus of our conversation. Connirae’s teachings and practices are deep and impactful. She is gifted in communicating and guiding our inner unfolding in a way that makes accessible the domains of deep awakening and freedom pointed to by great mystics, poets and teachers over the centuries. And as this conversation reveals, the Wholeness Work can be transformational for new and seasoned meditators alike. Learn more about Connirae Andreas and The Wholeness Work here.

If we can recognize thoughts as thoughts, it becomes possible to open from virtual to living reality. This meditation guides us in awakening the senses and discovering the freedom – the awake space of Being that is beyond the confines of thoughts. “Relaxing back into the space between thoughts. Relaxing with what’s right here…” The poet Rumi writes, “Be empty of worrying. Think of who created thought. Why do you stay in prison when the door is so wide open? Move outside the tangle of fear-thinking, live in silence, flow down and down in always widening rings of being.”

This Daylong Retreat part 3 dhamma talk and Q&A was offered on the 30th of March, 2024 for “How do I apply the Dhamma to THIS!?!”

This Daylong Retreat Part 2 dhamma talk and Q&A was offered on the 30th of March, 2024 for “How do I apply the Dhamma to THIS!?!”

This Part 1 dhamma talk for the Daylong Retreat and Q&A was offered on the 30th of March, 2024 for “How do I apply the Dhamma to THIS!?!”

Short Reflection & Guided Meditation | Earthworm Practice for the Anthropocene | Online Wednesday-Mornings

One translation of mindfulness, in Chinese, is “present heart.” In this guided meditation we begin by awakening through the body and the senses, and then open the attention to the changing flow of experience. The intention is to meet whatever arises with a wakeful and kind presence. It’s so helpful to say, “What’s happening inside me right now?” Then, “Can I meet this with kindness, with a present heart?”

Relating Wisely to our Inner Life: In this conversation, recorded for the acclaimed podcast, No Small Endeavor, award winning theologian, Lee C. Camp, interviews Tara about radically accepting and loving our being, just as we are. The conversation includes an unpacking of the RAIN meditation, and stories of navigating difficulty from Tara’s life. No Small Endeavor, produced by Great Feeling Studios and PRX, brings you thoughtful conversations with artists, theologians and philosophers about what it means to live a good life. You can find the No Small Endeavor Podcast on your favorite podcast app or listen to more episodes here. https://link.chtbl.com/LN08h4po?sid=TaraBrach

Throughout history, hatred, human violence and horrific sufferings have plagued the world. Truth is never diminished by these worldly conditions. So we feed the mind with what supports inner peace and awakening and not with thoughts of depression, disappointment, despair, or fear. What we most fear is unconditional love. That's not consent for nor approval of hateful conduct but rather a call to bear compassion – the most difficult love of all. Like the sun that gives warmth to all beings, the awakened mind does not differentiate. It does not choose one over another. It just gives light

Bhavana, cultivation, is associated with bringing into being fruitful states and dwelling in them. Without this ground, citta- heart - goes out, focuses on conditioned phenomena. The natural result will be uncertainty, anxiety, fear. Practices for clearing fear at its root are described: contemplation of death, mindfulness of body and breathing, generosity, virtue.

The attitude of meditation is one of engaged listening – a relaxed, receptive yet intimate attention. This meditation explores how we can listen to sounds, listen to and feel sensations, and then relax back into the ocean of awareness that includes and perceives the changing waves. In this relaxing back, we realize the peace and freedom of inhabiting our wholeness and essence.

Just as presence is the heart of meditation, so deep listening is at the center of all conscious, loving relationships. This talk explores how our wants and fears block listening, ways we can deepen our capacity for listening, and the healing that unfolds when we truly feel heard by another. What happens when you’re really listening?

Short Reflection & Guided Meditation | Earthworm Practice for the Anthropocene | Online Wednesday-Mornings

This Dhamma talk, Q&A and Guided Meditation was offered on April 13th, 2024 for East Bay Dhamma

Too long we have been caught in the grip of anxiety, anger, and clinging that lead nowhere. But there is an oasis in the depths of our native humanity. To understand what is true, we must empty all that is untrue. This is ultimate care of the mind: disentangling the knots in the heart that obstruct the moral-ethical fabric of our true nature. So we set our inner compass beyond all these blinding mental habits to witness that inner radiance. In the mirror of pure emptiness we reflect that silent knowing the truth of what we are.

Short Reflection & Guided Meditation | Earthworm Practice for the Anthropocene | Online Wednesday-Mornings

In times of stress, it’s crucial that we have pathways to quiet our minds, relax our bodies and rest in a calm, steady presence. This meditation guides us in using the breath, body scan, and a home base of presence to find that inner refuge that can carry us through difficult times.

Mindfulness and compassion, when brought to our wounded heart, have the capacity to rewire our brain and free our spirit. This talk explores the ways we get trapped in the trance of feeling unworthy and unlovable, and how, with a wise attention, we can profoundly transform our relationship with our inner life. NOTE: this talk was given at the 5-day “The Undivided Heart” residential retreat in April 2024.

April 22 is Earth Day. How can we express our care and appreciation for life on this planet through meaningful action? I look forward to exploring this with you at our Thursday sangha. I hope you join us.

This dhamma talk and Q&A was offered on April 20, 2024 for “How do I apply the Dhamma to THIS!?!” This is the fourth talk in the series on Parami or The Ten Perfections.

Just as the sun is eclipsed by the moon passing over it, so the mind is submerged in 'totality' due to the veil of our human conditioning. But we can shatter that darkness by diving deeply with moral vigilance and wise attention into the silence of the mind. There we know suffering, how it begins and the exhilarating joy of witnessing its end in the vastness of the heart's inner dimensions. With unshakeable faith, insight, and understanding, we abide in that sacred space of pure awareness and unconditional love – like the sun freed from the shadow of the moon.

Q1 How important is it to maintain continuity of the meditation object? 0857 Q2 I'm confused by the word citta. For a long time I thought it was the physical organ of the heart, but now I understand that it may be mind. Can you help please? 2334 Q3 you talked about adhiṭṭhāna, resolution as being as one way of manifesting accepting and bowing to all the negative and unskillful thoughts that kept rising in the mind. Can you elaborate on this please? 2521 Q4 what is the relationship or differences between viññāṇa (sense consciousness) and sati (awareness). 2724 Q5 Can you comment on scattering ashes of a body after cremation? Is this about attaching to a body?

When we attune to the inner body, we discover a field of energy and aliveness that is the portal to pure presence. This meditation guides our attention to the inner body, opens to the play of sound and invites us to rest in the awake awareness that includes and is the grounds of this living world.

Many are familiar with the Dali Lama’s words “My religion is kindness.” In this conversation you will sense the gritty and real way that we struggling humans can learn to cherish one another. We talk about the relationship between boundaries and compassion; the unshakeable goodness at our core; how we belong to each other, and how judgments arise from delusion and blind us to the blessing of that belonging. Father Greg Boyle is an American Catholic priest of the Jesuit order. He is the founder and director of Homeboy Industries, the world’s largest gang intervention and rehabilitation program, author of several books, including Tattoos on the Heart; Barking to the Choir; and in 2023, The Whole Language: The Power of Extravagant Tenderness. Father Greg’s life and work are a huge inspiration: he is dedicated to living from love and cultivating loving community with a marginalized population of ex inmates, gang members and their families. You can find out more about Father Greg and Homeboy Industries at: https://homeboyindustries.org/our-story/father-greg/

Short Reflection & Guided Meditation | Earthworm Practice for the Anthropocene | Online Wednesday-Mornings

This dhamma talk, and Q&A was offered on April 27th, 2024 for a Daylong Retreat at Karuna Buddhist Vihara Meditation Center

A reflection on remembering the innate potential of our heart and mind given online at 4th Sunday Dhamma.

Short Reflection & Guided Meditation | Earthworm Practice for the Anthropocene II | Online Wednesday-Mornings

This guided meditation practice brings attention to the continuous space within and around the body, and the aliveness of sound, sensation and feeling that lives through us. While it’s natural for attention to get distracted, the pathway home is a relaxing back into presence – the awake space that is aware of this changing life.

We have strong conditioning to identify as a separate self, and to feel all the fears and attachments that arise from not realizing our true belonging. This talk includes teachings and several experiential reflections that help us wake up from the trance of separation. As we grow familiar with the awareness and love that is our shared true nature, we naturally live from that loving, and experience a growing freedom and joy. [Spring Retreat, April 2024 – Art of Living Retreat Center]

The Buddha spoke of like-minded friendship as "the whole of the spiritual life." He encouraged us to take refuge in the Sangha. What makes community so powerful? Have you ever been part of a group that felt quite magical, where it was more than merely a collection of individual members? What are the ingredients that make a group like that come together?

This dhamma talk, guided meditation, and Q&A was offered on , 4th of May 2024 for “How do I apply the Dhamma to THIS!?!”

Are we present here and now? How much do we obsess in thought? Is the mind filled with worry – wavering from anxiety to fear?  Here and now, we examine and ascend to peaceful states. When we’re dreaming, wake up. Know that we’re asleep. Know that we’re not present. Know the mind that is upset, angry or boiling and cool it. Use the Buddha’s tools to repair and return our attention to present moment awareness. Mindfully knowing, seeing clearly with blameless joy and wise insight, we lighten our burden. We are cultivating the garden of the mind.

Guided Meditation on the Four Elements and more ...

When we learn to listen to our inner life without interference, we open to a tender and full experience of presence. This meditation guides us in awakening an intimate quality of listening, as we attend to sensations, moods, sounds and the entire dance of life.

The pace of change is speeding up and much of the news we receive is alarming. More than ever, we need the inner reflections and meditations that help us connect with our capacities for clarity, bravery and openheartedness. This is what Tara explores with Oren Jay Sofer, in his book entitled: Your Heart Was Made For This: Contemplative Practices to Meet a World in Crisis with Courage, Integrity, and Love (2023.) Oren teaches mindfulness, meditation and non violent communication, and his prior book is bestselling Say What You Mean: A Mindful Approach to Nonviolent Communication (2018.) Learn more about Oren Jay Sofer and order books at: https://www.orenjaysofer.com Please Note: At timestamp 57:41, Oren mistakenly attributes an article to George Lakey. The author of this article is Robert Reich.

Short Reflection & Guided Meditation | Earthworm Practice for the Anthropocene II | Online Wednesday-Mornings

This dhamma talk, guided meditation, and Q&A was offered on May 11, 2024 for “How do I apply the Dhamma to THIS!?!” This is the seventh talk in the series on Parami or The Ten Perfections.

This guided meditation was offered on May 11, 2024 for “How do I apply the Dhamma to THIS!?!”

The human realm is ever fraught with greed and delusion, conflicted and loud in its extremes. These violations are just that – destroyers of our spiritual verve. As pilgrims of peace, we disarm them in the interior silence of the heart. Courageous, we stand our moral ground, resolved to hold the bar. Our faith, generosity and discernment rescue us from the flames of sensory fears and infatuations. There is giving up and letting go but the Buddha’s promise is true. Where kindness and compassion prevail, the heart knows unshakeable peace.

Short Reflection & Guided Meditation | Earthworm Practice for the Anthropocene II | Online Wednesday-Mornings

The pathway to experiencing full aliveness and openheartedness is by awakening awareness throughout the body. This meditation begins by establishing a rhythmic inflow and outflow of the breath, in order to calm and collect the mind. Then continuing with the conscious breathing, we are guided through the body – bringing attention to sensations and space. This attention becomes a very vibrant living presence, and we end by experiencing that living presence as a natural openheartedness that includes all of life.

This 3-part series explores three capacities we all have, that when cultivated, bring spiritual awakening and serve the healing of our world. Drawing on an ancient teaching story from India, we explore together the power of a forgiving heart, the inner fire that expresses as courage and dedication, and the inquiry of “who am I” that reveals our deepest nature.

A talk given at Amaravati at the celebration of Luang Por Sumedho's 90th year.

This dhamma talk and Q&A was offered on May 18, 2024 for “How do I apply the Dhamma to THIS!?!” This is the eighth talk in the series on Pāramī or The Ten Perfections. In this talk, Ayya Santussikā discusses two Pāramīs: Viriya (Energy, Effort) & Adhitthana (Resolve, Determination). 00:00 - DHAMMA TALK 10:31 - Q&A 1:15:50 - Closing Announcements Resources discussed in the video: ▸Book: Stillness Flowing https://www.abhayagiri.org/media/books/stillness-flowing%20-%202018-08-31.pdf ▸KBV Upcoming Teachings: https://www.karunabv.org/ ▸KBV Vassa Support Opportunities: https://www.karunabv.org/vassa-support.html

This Dhamma talk, Guided Meditation and Q&A was offered on May 18th, 2024 for East Bay Dhamma

Only in silence and presence do we realign with what matters to our hearts. This simple practice of arriving in an embodied awareness supports us in touching the grounds of true transformation and healing. It closes with a powerful poem by Gunilla Norris, “Sharing Silence.”

This 3-part series explores three capacities we all have, that when cultivated, bring spiritual awakening and serve the healing of our world. Drawing on an ancient teaching story from India, we explore together the power of a forgiving heart, the inner fire that expresses as courage and dedication, and the inquiry of “who am I” that reveals our deepest nature.

Short Reflection & Guided Meditation | Earthworm Practice for the Anthropocene II | Online Wednesday-Mornings

This Thursday, May 23rd is Wesak, the most special day in Theravada Buddhist countries (Burma, Thailand, Sri Lanka). The full moon in May is said to be the day that the Buddha was born, became enlightened at the age of 35 and died at the age of 80. The three holiest of days all rolled into one! On this Wesak, we can reflect on who this person was, what he discovered on his journey and the legacy he's left us.

Offered May 23, 2024 Gregory Kramer invites the Insight Dialogue Community to celebrate Vesak together. Vesak day is a celebration and recognition of the Buddha’s birth, awakening and death. It usually occurs on the first full moon of May. A common intention set on this day is a recommitment to Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha. This is a day to remember the Buddha's legacy and celebrate our potential for progress on the path to liberation, just as Gotama did before his awakening. In this talk, Gregory offers the following contemplations: Do you sense your own humanity? your own potential our own vulnerability? Does your own humanity connect you to the Buddha? and inspire you?

Reflection followed by a Guided Meditation

This Dhamma talk and Q&A was offered on May 25, 2024 for the Vesak celebration daylong retreat.

This dhamma talk, Vesak Ceremony Bathing the Buddha and Q&A was offered on 25th of May , 2024 for a Daylong Retreat at Karuna Buddhist Vihara Meditation Center

This Dhamma talk and Q&A was offered on May 25, 2024 for the Vesak celebration daylong retreat.