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Retreat Dharma Talks
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IMCB Regular Talks
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Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
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2016-10-06
Finding Freedom Through Grief
48:53
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James Baraz
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How can we process deep pain and turn it into deepening compassion and understanding? Kaye Cleave shares her moving story with James and the community about losing her 18-year old daughter and finding a way to transform her grief into meaningful beneficial action. The talk begins with this video about her trip to Nepal to build a school in honor of her daughter.
To view the video: Catherine's Gift, go to Youtube.com at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HILTuvNRXrg
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2016-10-20
"Schadenfreude: Working with Your less than Noble Thoughts"
57:21
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James Baraz
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People in powerful positions can cause suffering and harm to others by spreading hate. It's natural and healthy to want to see them defeated. But what about when we actually enjoy seeing their misfortune and demise? How can we use a dharma lens to understand and hold those feelings?
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2016-10-27
"How to Bring Wisdom and Compassion to our Communication"
61:56
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Kate Munding
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I’ll be giving a talk on wise and compassionate communication. Taking our practice into our relationships and everyday interactions is often where the “rubber meets the road”. It’s not easy to stay mindful when we interact with others. It’s even harder when we are in conflict, overcome with emotions, or trigger by circumstance. Can we stay present and committed to speech that is honest, timely, and kind? We’ll explore it all.
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2016-11-03
"The Big Shift: Learning to Open to Experience"
65:49
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James Baraz
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Our typical response to very negative or positive experiences is to contract in relation to them--either with aversion or attachment. The practice helps us cultivate a radical and much more skillful and profound relationship to them--having the courage and compassion to meet and learn from the negative as well as the wisdom to enjoy the positive while realizing its impermanence. This talk explores different qualities of heart and mind that help us do just that.
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2016-11-17
"Equanimity: Finding Balance In Difficult Times"
61:48
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James Baraz
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In times of uncertainty and emotionally charged situations the teachings show us the power of equanimity–a balance of mind and heart. This is very different from a resigned quietism. Equanimity involves the courage to feel all our intense emotions and act from a balanced, committed heart.
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2016-12-08
"The Power of Equanimity"
56:49
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James Baraz
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Equanimity not only helps us stay balanced in difficult times. It is a foundation for strong, effective response, especially in response to the forces of greed, hatred and power.
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2016-12-22
An Evening with Betsy Rose
56:17
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Betsy Rose
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Betsy Rose, singer, songwriter and dharma teacher talks about her travels world wide this past year, what she learned and how to hold the current political climate.
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2016-12-29
Goodbye 2016, Hello 2017: Reflecting on What We've Learned and Where We're Heading
59:14
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James Baraz
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As we leave 2016 and open to 2017, how can we learn and grow from what's past and set ourselves in the right direction as we face an uncertain future? This talk includes recent Spirit Rock's Statement of Values: Spiritual Sanctuary and Refuge and the teacher meeting out of which it came. James reflects on his recent Huffington Post article "Holding Hands Together: From Helplessness to Empowerment." Finally, there is a ritual for letting go of the past and creating a wise intention for the future.
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2017-01-05
What Channel Are You Tuned To?
50:52
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James Baraz
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(Note: This talk has some occasional sound distortion but it's worth it.)
As the Buddha said, "We are what we think. With our thoughts we make the world." Our minds can go to the the greatest places of fear, anxiety and ill will or understanding, compassion and peace. When we're lost in confusion we have in us the capacity to remember the goodness and wisdom that our hearts long to connect with. This talk is about remembering that possibility and cultivating access to that Buddha right inside, especially when the outside world is giving us very different messages.
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2017-01-19
"Being a Sacred Warrior in These Tough Times"
49:13
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James Baraz
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Martin Luther King Jr. said, "I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear." As we enter a time of uncertainty and, many are experiencing a swirl of emotions from apprehension and fear to anger and ill. How can we use our dharma practice to acknowledge and transform our negative emotions into wise effective response coming from understanding and love?
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2017-01-26
"What Are You Going To Do Now?"
48:18
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James Baraz
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The swirl of political events with the new US administration have contributed to a culture of apprehension and anxiety for many as they adjust to this new reality. The question many practitioners are asking is what is the place of Dharma in this unfolding of events. What is Dharma and not Dharma? What is our responsibility? How does the political environment inform our Dharma practice? How does our Dharma practice inform our engagement in the world? The talk includes Bhikkhu Bodhi's essay Let's Stand Together that appears in the journals Lion's Roar and Buddhadharma.
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2017-03-09
"This Fleeting World"
62:59
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James Baraz
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In the Diamond Sutra, we are encouraged to see our lives in the context of impermanence this way: "Thus shall you think of this fleeting world: a star at dawn, a bubble in a stream; A flash of lightning in a summer cloud; A flickering lamp, a phantom, and a dream." This talk explores practicing when someone we know dies unexpectedly as happened to James this week.
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2017-03-30
"The Problem With Being a Good Meditator"
53:57
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James Baraz
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At times our meditation practice is a powerful delicious experience. The factors of awakening like concentration, calm, joy or equanimity may be strong. As wonderful as that is, the mind can easily grasp as if that were the real goal of practice. But when we're attached or take ownership of those states they become a trap--sometimes referred to as the stink of enlightenment--and we miss the true freedom that practice can reveal.
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2017-04-06
"The Role of Motivation and Intention"
54:25
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Kate Munding
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Parts of this evening will be experiential as a means to get us directly in touch with our heart-based intentions that can help guide us through confusion and distraction and propel us in the direction of freedom in our heart and mind.
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2017-04-20
Celebrating Earth Day: Calling All Eco-Sattvas
54:39
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James Baraz
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As Earth Day approaches we reflect on the preciousness and generosity of our wonderful planet, the current situation of climate change and how our Dharma practice can help us transform despair into meaningful and inspiring action.
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