Q1 Yesterday I had this thought that there is no shame in suffering. I'm wondering what is noble about the noble about the suffering in the first noble truth. Q2 06:17 Could you differentiate between awareness and consciousness? Q3 16:18 Please speak about bowing. Q4 20:39 Do you start and end your day with any reflections or recollections or practices? Q5 28:03 What is happening when right view and release become partially obscured again after right view has been attained? Why is it becoming obscured? Is cultivation of the empty field the main practice then and purification? Q6 33:32 It's taken several retreats to uncover this tremendous sense of guilt. When it arises it makes sense to avoid reconstructing the stories. the habit is to shut down the feeling. It appears as a pain in the chest. It shifts to holding back tears. Is this karma rather than the person?

00:10 Q1 Please share tips to manage the flurry of emotions that might arise when we're back in our day today busy lives. 20:18 Q2 Sometimes when I think of my own death I don't care. How do we manage acceptance in a way that doesn't become apathetic or dull sense of I don't care. 27:47 Q3 How do you establish presence and find your center when your body is in unbearable pain? 34:16 Q4 Can you speak about the use of pharmaceuticals for perceived mental and physical imbalances?

00:13 Q1 How can one develop self-love without being accused of being selfish? 08:33 Q2 How can I cope with repeating pain in the shoulders or back and strong surging of energy? Should one change position? 14:45 Q2 What is the purpose of being alive if not to experience the senses? Trying to dull out the senses to be mindful makes me wonder if we miss the true beauty of life. 27:40 Q3 I'm wondering about the effects of tension on the citta/ sensitivity. I'm aware of deep tension in my body which could have been there since childhood. Qigong and reclining meditation are good. 45:11 Q4 The manifestation of a category such as apple in your example, is that what is meant by nama? 47:25 Q5 What's a good balance of walking, standing and sitting?

We all know the unpleasant feeling of self-consciousness. It is one thought away from self-judgment, self-criticism and a whole spectrum of “Selfing” thoughts. This week I want to share with you a simple and effective practice to cut through this painful negative mental habit which, when utilized, takes the “self” out of self-consciousness.

We cover what compassion is and how it can help soothe our pain much better than avoiding or denying it. We distinguish between compassion and pity and then offer a variety of compassion phrases we can use. In the guided meditation, we begin with a dear friend who is undergoing some kind of suffering and then move on to ourselves, offering self-compassion for our own physical or mental suffering.

Q1: Can you say more about the air and water elements. I am confused. 04:20 Q2 How can we observe our citta? I read there are 52 states of citta. Can you explain further? 10:43 Q3 I’m used to watching the breath as an object but with too many instructions I get distracted. What is your advice? 15:49 Q4 I’ve had pain for three years, back etc. It seems pain is teaching me about impermanence and uncontrolability. 25:55 Q5 You mentioned the sankhara get less as we cultivate wholesome deeds. What about wholesome sankhara? Can you expand please? 39:39 Q6 You said meditation can cause some people to go crazy. How do we prevent this? 42:06 Q7 Can you explain sati and sampajanna again please? 52:10 Q8 How to support a fortunate rebirth for my pet chicken?

Stephen Fulder, the founder and senior teacher of Tovana (the Israel Insight Society), is in conversation with Donald Rothberg. We hold the understanding of "crisis" broadly, remembering that we are in the midst of multiple crises, while giving more attention to Israel/Palestine. Such crises are a major challenge to our dharma practice. In this context, we explore a number of different themes, including bringing our practice to difficult experiences that often arise in a crisis, such as fear, emotional pain, reactivity, numbness, and the presence of repetitive negative narratives and views. We also identify, during the conversation, a number of resources, including qualities of compassion, empathy, equanimity, and the importance of finding a "refuge"and deep support in different ways. The conversation is followed by discussion, and a closing guided meditation. [During the conversation, we see a short (3:28) video of Tovana teachers speaking a sentence each about the current crisis, in Hebrew, with English sub-titles. The video can be seen at https://youtu.be/NqKoCm2TMhA?feature=shared.]

When physical or emotional pain is too much, our conditioning is to pull away and avoid direct contact with raw feelings. The result is a trance – we are split off from the wholeness of our aliveness, intelligence and capacity to love. This talk explores how this dissociation shows up in our lives and how mindfulness enables us to integrate cut-off parts of our being in a powerful way, and awaken from this trance.

00:00 Q1 When we're doing sitting meditation are we to be mindful of feelings inside the whole body as we breathe in and out? When anybody sensations or pain arises are we to contemplate them with loving kindness? 10:55 Q2 Is it okay to use the mantra Bhudo for sitting meditation? 11:58 Q3 Are there different realities of truth? For example historical, scientific, personal? Ultimate reality? Everything is what it should be, no good no bad. 17:07 Q4 How can the dhamma help two people in a relationship resolve an indiscretion of the moral code? How does the dhamma guide one to accept responsibility for actions that harm another? 20:23 Q5 Citta - is it a harmony between the brain and the heart? Does it include all levels of consciousness? 31:36 Q6 At the point of death what do we do when we're overwhelmed with pain? If the mind is too weak to maintain equanimity? What happens if one dies totally consumed by pain? 41:09 Q7 Could QiGong help me to be more balanced in body and mind?