A wonderful translation of the Pali word Metta is friendliness. This talk looks at friendliness through an evolutionary lens, and explores ways we can cultivate a more open heart.
To keep returning to presence is a brave and noble response of the heart. Let’s explore the role of wise effort in the heart’s persistent movement towards what is beautiful and beneficial.
With a wise expectation of the three kinds of vedanā, we steady our mindfulness to intimately connect with unpleasantness, pleasantness, and neutral experiences. This is the first step with vedanā. The second is to cool off the old habits of reactivity , and the third is seeing vedanā is not inherent in the objects of our attention. Vedanā arises due to contact with the 6 sense doors, and operates on its own independent conditinality. This is difficult to see in daily life, and a precious opportunity on silent retreat.
A Guided Metta Meditation emphasizing the integration of Metta and Insight Meditation, including utilizing Sylvia Boorstein's phrase, "May I meet this moment fully; May I meet it as a friend," and variations of the second phrase such as "May I meet it with _______ (kindness, compassion, gentleness, patience, curiosity, receptivity, etc.). Includes a poem by Matty Weingast from "The First Free Women."
Die sieben Erleuchtungsfaktoren helfen uns in der Praxis. Um welche handelt es sich und wie fördern wir sie, wie stehen sie zueinander? All das wird erörtert.
A classical text from Kashmir Shaivism entitled "Realization of Our True Heart" or Pratyabijñāhṛdaya, describes in a few lines how we and everything in physical form is simply an expression of Divine Play of the universe –what in Hinduism is called the lila or dance of consciousness. This talk explores one perspective of the Mystery, that which cannot be named.
