To be able to enter deeply into relationship, it is necessary to be able both to forgive and to assert yourself skillfully. Forgiveness and assertiveness support each other. Forgiveness clears out ill will so you can assert yourself with compassion and Wise Speech. Self-assertion takes care of your own needs so forgiveness can emerge without the sense that you are a doormat. This experiential workshop will get into the nitty-gritty of how to bring the Buddha’s profound teachings on interrelatedness, lovingkindness, and virtue (sila) into the messy real world of relationships with family members, lovers, friends, bosses, and co-workers. This workshop - led by a world renowned expert on forgiveness, and by an experienced couples and family therapist and meditation teacher - will offer user-friendly information with lots of practical methods. We'll cover: -- The Buddha’s teachings on non-harming, wise speech, compassion and kindness, and releasing ill will -- as well as his teachings on self-care, respecting your own needs, and looking out for your own happiness -- The primacy of relationships in evolution, and the deep capacities for both loving altruism and fearful aggression -- The neural machinery of emotional reactivity and developing grievances with others -- Why forgiveness and assertiveness are both important -- The foundation of basic mindfulness, precepts, Wise Speech, compassion for oneself and others, and emotional self-care -- Forgiveness practices -- Assertiveness practices There will be some voluntary paired activities as well as time for questions and discussion. While the teachings are appropriate for use in health care professions, no background with psychology or meditation is needed. Also please know that this workshop is not psychotherapy or any substitute for professional care.

This talk also includes John Teasdale and Jenny Wilks. This is the introductory talk for a retreat that is particularly relevant to those teaching or training in mindfulness-based applications. The retreat explores the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, as taught in the Satipatthana discourse given by the Buddha.

These two classes cover the basic instructions for Buddhist mindfulness (vipassana or insight) meditation. The first class explores the attitude we bring to meditation that makes it rewarding, and the training that helps us in "coming back" from thoughts. The second class guides us in "being here," in cultivating a mindful awareness that recognizes and accepts what is happening in the present moment. Both classes include guided meditations and valuable reminders that can support you in developing a rich meditation practice.

Mindfulness is becoming more mainstream, but if we are to truly practice it, we need to understand what right mindfulness as a path factor is.

Dharma Talk

We begin with a review of what was covered in Part I (July 10, 2011), covering the importance of speech practice, the basics of Wise (or “Right”) Speech practice, what this practice looks like in the context of small groups, and the basics of how to approach speech practice in challenging situations. We then bring in new materials, using short presentations and exercises, that expand our capacities to respond skillfully in challenging situations. We first examine how to direct mindful attention to emotions and underlying interests or values both in ourselves and in others (using some of the models from Nonviolent Communication and the Harvard Negotiation Project on "Difficult Conversations"). We also bring attention to our stories and narratives, using the model of the "Ladder of Inference" to help clarify how we often go very quickly to stories (particularly self-centered ones, often way beyond the "data") in challenging situations. We then develop further our capacities to use these tools and perspectives in situations in which we are triggered, and to respond more skillfully.

Learning to bring a mindful presence to fear is an intrinsic part of spiritual awakening. In this talk we look at the ways we get caught in the trance of fear, and how the two wings of presence--clear recognition and openheartedness--can free us. This process of facing unmet fears is necessary not only for our own healing, but for any possibility of peace and the healing of our planet.

26 of 43 from Luang Por Sumedho - CD: Talks from Thailand (2008-2014)

Short talk of Vedana and instructions for practice.

Whether you face chronic anxiety or more violent storms of fear and anger, you can cultivate the wings of freedom--the mindfulness and compassion--that free you. This talk explores how the habit of being reactive causes us suffering and the ways these tools of meditation can be applied to the inner weather systems that most challenge us.