This talk explores the core teaching of letting go and how it relates to profound states of well-being. We learn about Natural Awareness-- the luminous quality of the mind-- and try a few "Glimpse practices" to access it. Diana then shows us how Natural Awareness practice can help us navigate the complex, challenging, and heart-breaking times in the world today.

We begin with a short account of some of the history of Juneteenth and its origins in Texas, as well as how it developed in the decades after 1865, including under Jim Crow. We ask how consideration of Juneteenth and the ensuing history informs our practice, considering the three main elements of our practice: Training in wisdom (particularly in understanding the roots of racism in greed for power and wealth and a "divide and conquer" approach); meditation (both in examining our conditioning and working with difficult emotions), and ethical practice (developing care and addressing harm, for the benefit of all beings). The talk is followed by discussion.

This session explores equanimity-- what it is, how to cultivate it, and how to work with the "mosquitoes" we encounter.

This talk explores the different ways we might meet difficult emotions on retreat and in life. And in case you're not experiencing only difficult emotions, there is also some guidance on how to hold pleasant states, too!

In this talk, on day 3 of the retreat, Gullu discusses expanding the frame of awareness from just the anchor to include more and more experience, especially thoughts and emotions.

We explore how to be aware of body sensations from a "Somatic Mindfulness" or body-based perspective, as well as get guidance on how to mindfully work with physical pain

Adam will give the talk. Over the past seven months, Adam traveled through Bali, Nepal, and Japan on a pilgrimage that became both an outer journey and an inner exploration. At the heart of this journey was a simple question: What allows a human being to feel truly at home within themselves? Drawing from meditation, spiritual pilgrimage, and somatic practice, Adam reflects on how love transforms shame and restores our innate dignity and belonging. He will share how he sees the journey through the lens of the five elemental stages of SomAwaken that he teaches.

In the talk Gullu introduces a simple accesible loving kindness practice to cultivate an attidude of friendliness, benevolence and good will for a beloved being, self and all beings.