This is a three part series of talks on James’ basic meditation instructions: “Receive the moment with a relaxed, interested and kind awareness. What does a kind awareness mean? How can we meet each moment—including moments of fear or physical discomfort—with this attitude? This is a key issue for deepening our practice.

Fire is our teacher - the fire of pain, the fire of persevering through difficulty and the fire of going beyond what we think we are capable of. For we are greater that we know and our journey is one of learning to trust what is right and true. When the heart’s compassion, wisdom, and generosity mature, there is no space for fear. All the dross of the world melts away in the silence of pure presence. Here is the absolute sanctity of awareness, unencumbered, and joyous in the knowledge of pure love itself.

Within us is the seed of awakening. And yet we are so blind. Can we free ourselves by seeing through clouds of delusion, greed and hatefulness? Do we have the resolve and patience to begin and the humility and forgiveness to keep going in hard times? Vigilance in ethical practice, unremitting mindfulness, inner stillness, and sharp discernment melt ignorance and purify the mind. Not only that – joyous and aware, we radiate a fearless unequivocal compassion. When the sun rises, darkness disappears. Just so, we emerge from our blindness, at peace with all conditions

When life presents fearsome obstacles, be your own spiritual ally and turn those obstacles into windows that open to the depths of the heart. There, cultivating loving-kindness, compassion, radiant joy and the wisdom of discernment, behold the fierce gifts of the Dhamma that defy delusion and rescue us from the mire of every perceived burden.

Responding appropriately to sila, emotions, and fear of non-being

The nature of being human is that we get caught in anger and judgment, hurt and fear. This talk explores what it means to be without anxiety towards this universal emotional conditioning as it appears in ourselves and others. Condemning imperfection binds our identity with an imperfect self. As we learn to pause and open to the direct embodied experience of emotions, we discover a space of presence that is filled with compassion and wisdom. Like the ocean, we can include difficult waves of experience and yet remember our inherent vastness, mystery and wholeness.

One understanding of the spiritual path is relating wisely to fear. Our conditioned reaction is to feel aversion to fear and do anything but simply experience it. We discover freedom when instead of reacting, we recognize and open to fear with a kind, committed presence. While fear might or might not remain, with awareness, the suffering of being identified as a fearful self dissolves. In Part I of this talk, we look at how to recognize the physical, mental, emotional and behavioral facets of the body of fear. In Part II we explore a range of pathways for cultivating a healing and freeing presence in the midst of fear.

One understanding of the spiritual path is relating wisely to fear. Our conditioned reaction is to feel aversion to fear and do anything but simply experience it. We discover freedom when instead of reacting, we recognize and open to fear with a kind, committed presence. While fear might or might not remain, with awareness, the suffering of being identified as a fearful self dissolves. In Part I of this talk, we look at how to recognize the physical, mental, emotional and behavioral facets of the body of fear. In Part II we explore a range of pathways for cultivating a healing and freeing presence in the midst of fear.

Turning the state rather than being turned by the state Liberating the orphans of consciousness & being liberated from them Stories of Ajahn Chah – Knowing pain & ‘What About the Rest of Us?’ The man who wanted to hang himself Returning to the Still Bestower of Courage & Fearlessness.

Courage is the greatness of heart that allows us, in the face of fear, to be true to what matters. This talk is a reflection on how we can become increasingly courageous in those parts of our lives where we have held back from living and loving fully.

After a review of four guidelines for practicing with fear, we explore more deeply the nature of fear, including many of the more unconscious ways that we carry fear, as well as the biological basis of fear. We also examine the relationship of fear to a sense of self, and of opening into fearlessness.

We continue to explore the nature of fear and how to practice with fear, with several stories and a deeper look at how fear appears. Fear is not the problem - our unskillful way of reacting to fear with confusion and repetitive negative stories is what we explore and transform.

A Monday Night class with Jack Kornfield and Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo

A Monday Night class with Jack Kornfield & Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo

The challenges and crises of our times are immense - at the current time, there are economic, political, ethical and ecological crises, among others. To face these crises as practice demands, however, the same qualities demanded by the immensity of awakening -- (1) wisdom expressed as the ability to hold together opposites, (2) a deep listening for our calling, (3) a toolbox of skillful means, (4) a heart to transform difficult emotions, such as anger, fear and sadness, and (5) continual persistence and growing confidence in liberation.

As we follow the steps of the Eightfold Noble Path, our hatred, greed, and delusion abate. We may yet suffer, but we use our suffering to fathom the meaning of it, see its causes, and see the possibility for ending suffering. The four Noble Truths come alive within. Invariably, our suffering manifests in many forms. It may never ‘end’ but it ceases to be a problem as our fear or aversion to it die. Persevering in this work is the way to make peace with our suffering.

Fear is a very powerful force in our lives- personally, interpersonally and socially. What is fear and how do we work with it? Here we explore the nature of fear and its complex nature as involving intelligence and an urge to action, but also commonly reactivity and delusions. We suggest several main ways of practicing, 1) coming back to balance through antidotes such as metta, beauty and refuges in our deeper values; 2) mindfulness; 3) wisdom and 4) active inquiry and engagement with our own fear.

Listening in a full and open way allows us to come home to our natural state--awake, vast awareness. In an immediate way, a listening attention dissolves the tangles of fear and craving that obscure our wholeness. This class includes both a talk and guided meditations on deep listening to our inner experience and with others.

The ways we try to control our life imprisons us in a contracted, fearful sense of self. Yet when we contemplate letting go of control, there is a sense that we will be endangered, that we will fail, that something will go wrong. This talk explores how, if we have the courage to "let everything happen" we discover a presence that is healing and freeing. As we learn to live from this allowing presence, our actions become naturally wholesome and wise.

The near enemy of metta is attached affection, common in romantic love. The far enemy is aversion, which takes many forms, such as resentment and fear. The talk explores these responses and how to work with them in metta practice.

Our predicament is intuiting our true nature--love, awareness--and yet regularly contracting into the self-identity conditioned by wants and fears. This talk explores three essential and liberating ways of relating to our human conditioning: forgiving that it arises, interest in what is true, and regarding experience with friendliness and kindness.

Looking at pleasant, unpleasant and neutral feeling tones and exploring the emotional habits of fear and anger in the context of awareness meditation.

Our most valued renewable resource is the heart, the seat of awareness and our true refuge in what is worthy of refuge – the ancient virtue of the noble ones. Breath by breath, we embody pure presence, wisely seeing how suffering arises and understanding the Noble Truth of how it ends. With courage enough to face our fear, we cut the currents of negativity and we stop feeding them. This is our path to the ending of pain – the heart’s total release.

How training the mind in following precepts, such as the rules regarding the use of four monastic requisites - food, robes, shelter, and medicines, can win us greater patience, faith, gratitude, calm, courage, and mindfulness. Such ways of renunciation test our commitment to the path and teach us how to forgive and let go even our fears so that we harvest the riches of joy, compassion and inner peace.

These talks investigate how fear, nature's protector, proliferates and becomes a trance of fear and the cause of deep suffering. We look at the "body of fear"- the thoughts, physicality, emotions and behaviors that express and fuel the trance of fear. Through stories and guided reflections we explore the ways that Buddhist meditation can free us from the grip of unhealthy fear.

Opening talk for a retreat that explores our reactive mind, recognising and liberating our habitual compulsion, negativity and fear, pointing towards the freedom of being that is our True Nature.

Opening talk for a retreat that explores our reactive mind, recognising and liberating our habitual compulsion, negativity and fear, pointing towards the freedom of being that is our True Nature.

These talks investigate how fear, nature's protector, proliferates and becomes a trance of fear and the cause of deep suffering. We look at the "body of fear"- the thoughts, physicality, emotions and behaviors that express and fuel the trance of fear. Through stories and guided reflections we explore the ways that Buddhist meditation can free us from the grip of unhealthy fear.

Guest Dharma Talk

What is action when it is not related to conditioning and fear? This talk explores action from stillness.

The brahmaviharas are four mental states that the Buddha encouraged for the practice of meditation. They are loving -friendliness (metta), compassion, sympathetic joy (rejoicing in the happiness of others), and equanimity. Through these practices we develop a loving heart, concentration, self-acceptance, fearlessness and happiness. These practices also establish our fundamental connectedness to all life.

The fruit of practice is releasing our identification with core beliefs and fear-based emotions, and realizing and inhabiting our Natural awareness. This is described as the N in RAIN - an acronym that can guide us in awakening loving presence.

Application of Shamatha Vipassana practice in working with fear.

Fear often drives our lives in unhealthy ways. This talk explores having a conscious and wise relationship to it.

The Buddha taught that our fear is great, but greater yet is the truth of our connectedness. These two talks examine the often unconscious habits that generate the pain of separation, and the practices that allow us to realize and live from an awake heart.

Emotions are expressed through a mood, body sensation, and thoughts. Mindfulness of these aspects is illustrated in the talk for desire, anger, sadness, and fear.

Doubt can be an obstacle to meditation or a form of healthy inquiry. It is helpful to ask questions, to ponder, and be willing to doubt our beliefs and opinions. Ask yourself: are my views true? We hold many unexamined beliefs—beliefs about self, about how things should be, about what other people should do. The Kalama Sutta encourages us to question what we think, and to not adopt beliefs based on hearsay or mere tradition. We can use our minds to critically inquire into how things actually are. Doubt as an obstacle, on the other hand, is a painful state that leads to confusion, fear, indecision, and uncertainty. It manifests as obsessive thinking, planning, and anxiety. The Discourse to Malunkyaputta (Middle Length Discourses, M. 63) proposes that if we indulge in speculative thinking we might miss the opportunity to free ourselves from suffering. Specific suggestions are offered for working skillfully with the hindrance of doubt.

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.

This talk explores in detail the tools and approaches we can develop to work skillfully with fear in our lives, both those fears that are obvious and those that are more hidden. There is a genuine possibility of liberation from the power that fear seems to have to constrict us

What activates the desires and fears we have when we come into contact with another? Meditation is about seeing things as they actually are, the operation of the heartmind intra and interpersonally. The mind will then incline towards what is wise. The heart is moved by contact with another. However there is pressure/tendencies of the mind to move into agitation and confusion on contact with others. What activates the fears and desires of interpersonal interaction? Hunger (tanha) pressurises thoughts and feelings so that the mind doesn't settle. It is like fuel or an electric current for the system (personality) that is in place. All thoughts/actions/speech are conditioned by past habits and occurrences (sankhara conditions namarupa). Hunger/craving fuels/energises the system to generate more constructs along the same lines as previous ones. (These can be wise or unwise habits) There are three hungers: 1) Hunger for sense desires which includes social desires as well e.g. avoidance of loneliness which is like a death of the self. it might be seeking pleasure from others, seeking approval from parents, or in a Buddhist rebirth sense of driving from life to life. 2) Hunger to be seen, to become. 3) Hunger not to be seen e.g. interacting whilst performing a role, wearing a mask so the 'real you' is hidden, limiting contact with people, or having contact defined procedurally so it is blinkered - again a form of 'hiding'.

Appreciating the healing and liberating power of fear and mind. Learning to trust and use awareness.

When you move towards what is fearful step by step with courage, it is possible to overcome the darkest moments breath by breath.  Draw together all the threads of your life, and let each one go strand by strand. A guided meditation on death at a 10 day retreat, Galilee Centre, Arnprior, Ontario Canada.

This talk explores how entering the Third Noble Truth opens the mind beyond its habitual addiction to interpret life from a sense of being a personality, needing to 'sort things out'. Opening the mind implies an ability to tolerate the reality of uncertainty. This talk also explores compassion and loving kindness as fearlessness and includes a simple guided meditation on well-being.