Heart-mind will be shaped by whatever we put our attention into, so aim to shape it with supportive influences. A commitment to integrity will shape the mind to be steady, strong, confident, reliable. Shape it around refuges and precepts, for your own welfare and the welfare of others.

The theme of mindfulness of breathing is to regulate so our bodily system comes into a moderated state. When heart-mind tunes into that it naturally gives rise to beneficial psychologies – simplicity, generosity, sympathy, warmth. When we begin to take in the qualities of our good actions, it helps to repair our nervous system so it’s no longer so tense, irritable, jumpy or feeling so guilty – things shift. That’s the process. Therefore, we should cultivate this way.

00:40 Guidance on the reclining position; 08:48 Managing energy, not overexerting but staying diligent; 15:06 Samādhi process as a settling “downwards” of the citta; 16:17 How can we meditate on space in the body; 22:08 How to distinguish cultivation from craving to become; 24:27 What weakens resolve; 26:29 Feelings of disappointment and resentment; 31:25 Feeling like the “I” was inclining to drop but felt stuck in recent meditation.

The natural shape of the heart when it’s not dragged out by the sense world has the quality of stable well-being to it. This is the highest happiness. Do what you can do from good intention, restraint and kindness. Keep returning to that because that’s your home base where your heart is naturally able to express itself, manifest its values and qualities into your life.

By and large we’re looking for the ending suffering, for the possibility of bringing forth what’s good. This is the realm of citta, it wishes to do good. This body is just a tool, to do good deeds with, to work with this person, rather than being it. It’s a vehicle to bring forth the good, the true, the beautiful. Don’t be deceived by appearances, this is a transformation. Bring forth your aspiration vehicle.

00:30 Questions about meditation; 16:01 What is awareness of awareness? Difference in mano, manas, citta and viññāṇa; 26:00 How to deal with impatience and restlessness; 30:27 How to know if I’m cultivating well; 31:37 Obsessive compulsive disorder; 36:47 Meditation on the 32 parts of the body; 39:54 When thoughts stop and fade away; 41:10 How to deal with death and loss; 43:20 Standing meditation; 45:02 Easier to recognize some feelings but not others; 48:42 Conditionality, saṇkhāra and the aggregates.

Wherever you are, you’re always present. We tend to focus on what we’re present with, the sights and sounds, but what’s the capacity to be present with them? Remove the fear, agitation, craving, imagined hostility of other people – these block presence. Presence is a certain stability, freedom from regret and agitation, goodwill towards myself and others. This is the most peaceful abiding.

00:06 Mind in body or body in mind; 01:31 Citta voice and thinking mind voice – how to bring them together; 03:12 Mind storm leads to confusion, compulsive thoughts; 05:51 Sleeplessness, especially accompanied with anxiety; 08:02 how to ensure qualities like love are not coming from self-centeredness or craving; 11:09 Fear around upcoming surgery; 13:34 Losing the balance of mind when overcome with pain; 20:22 Others means of practice in addition to meditation; 21:59 Practicing meditation with the aim of attaining jhānas; 27:04 Getting a sense of pīti during meditation; 34:55 If there's no self who inherits the karmic residues from past lives; 36:51 discernment vs judgment.

When your heart becomes buried under thought, or you can’t manage what’s happening in the heart, then you need your body to bring you back. Body provides the steadying effect that allows the heart to come out. The other approach is through kindness, the ability to maintain presence, pausing and lingering whilst waiting for the heart’s response. This is how we begin to put aside the reactions and compulsiveness, and find our way out of the tangled web of confusion and distraction.