The Buddha said that we continue to live in hostility, with confusion, because we hold onto preferences. Mindfulness practice helps us recognize and trust that awareness has no preferences

When practicing meditation we can observe different sensations in the body, feelings, states of mind, and mind objects. They are as they are – and we need to recognize and understand that.

Viriya is a quality of mind that is an essential aspect of our path; frequently mentioned by the Buddha. Often translated as “effort” we can easily confuse this quality with one of striving or “efforting” which leads to suffering. Viriya: patient courage supports mindfulness and wisdom.

Fear is a deep issue and a challenging one. Dealing with fear opens the door to new territory and gives us the courage to jump over the edge.

The Buddha famously stated that he taught one thing, dukka and its end. The heart-mind of non clinging is one way to describe the end of dukkha. One way of looking at the commonality of purpose in the various skillful means of our path is that they are rooted in the mind of non-clinging.

A Strong determination helps deal with strongly ingrained patterns in body and mind.

Self-judgment is a common and at times almost crippling, mental state. This talk explores some of the conditions that may give rise to this habit of mind.