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Dharma Talks
2025-04-04 Introduction and guided meditation on compassion 45:58
Yuka Nakamura
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Cultivation – Investigation – Contemplation: Insight Meditation Retreat for Experienced Students – 25AMW

2025-04-04 Metta: The Intention of Turning Toward 23:27
Tim Geil
Metta can be seen as turning toward with friendliness. This talk explores how to turn toward charged experiences.
Insight Meditation Society - Forest Refuge April 2025 at IMS - Forest Refuge

2025-04-03 talk: Sīla part 2 - the ethical training of refraining from taking what is not given 26:17
Jill Shepherd
How the practice of dāna, generosity, supports a sense of abundance rather than lack, then looking at the wider societal and environmental benefits of bringing more awareness to not taking what's not freely offered
Auckland Insight Meditation Auckland Insight meetings 2025

2025-04-03 Three Friends: Appamada – Sati – Sampajañña 55:48
Akincano Marc Weber
The interplay of three functions of the mind in helping the contemplative practice. Appamada – an attitude of care Sati - a relationship: mindfulness as creating presence Sampajañña – a value context
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Cultivation – Investigation – Contemplation: Insight Meditation Retreat for Experienced Students – 25AMW

2025-04-03 Receiving Care Meditation (Retreat at Spirit Rock) 44:39
Jessica Morey
This guided meditation is inspired by John Makransky's Field of Care meditation where we practice first receiving kindness and care from a benefactor or kind moment and then include others into that field of care.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Steadying the Heart: Refuge through the Four Sublime States

2025-04-03 A Gentle Introduction to Metta Practice (Retreat at Spirit Rock) 60:16
Oren Jay Sofer
In this guided meditation with instructions, we begin with connecting with the felt sense of metta, then explore offering phrases for a benefactor, mentor, or good friend.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Steadying the Heart: Refuge through the Four Sublime States

2025-04-03 Morning instructions: Mindful awareness and meeting physical pain in meditation. 41:59
Yuka Nakamura
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Cultivation – Investigation – Contemplation: Insight Meditation Retreat for Experienced Students – 25AMW

2025-04-02 The Courage to Love (Retreat at Spirit Rock) 45:24
Oren Jay Sofer
In this talk from the first night of a weeklong silent retreat, Oren Jay Sofer explores mettā (lovingkindness) as both refuge and strength. Framing the Buddhist path as a practice of wise relationship, he offers several ways to cultivate mettā, inviting us to consider what it means to relate to life with warmth, steadiness, and care—even in a world of change and uncertainty.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Steadying the Heart: Refuge through the Four Sublime States

2025-04-02 Awake mind, wise mind. 62:05
Yuka Nakamura
To bring attention to the right things in the right way is crucial for our path. Through the mindful contemplation of our experience we can gain insight and develop liberating wisdom.
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Cultivation – Investigation – Contemplation: Insight Meditation Retreat for Experienced Students – 25AMW

2025-04-02 Gentle Mindfulness Instructions (Retreat at Spirit Rock) 42:14
Cara Lai
When we hear the words "be mindful," it often makes us think we have to intensify and be vigilant. But quite the opposite is true. This guided meditation is meant to help us find a softer, more receptive and sustainable way of being present.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Steadying the Heart: Refuge through the Four Sublime States

2025-04-02 Brahmavihāra – Introduction to the four immeasurables. Guided Mettā Exercise. 40:46
Akincano Marc Weber
The Four Immeasurables. Brahmavihāra are not mere emotions but constitute different tones of relational empathetic resonance. They constitute nothing less but our humanity. Brahmavihāras are cultivations not just 'states'. They are more than empathy but intentntional attitudes.
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Cultivation – Investigation – Contemplation: Insight Meditation Retreat for Experienced Students – 25AMW

2025-04-02 Reflections on Three Themes from a Four-Week Retreat: Listening Deeply, Developing Samadhi (Concentration) through Practicing the Jhanas, and Integrating Retreat Practice with Daily Life 65:04
Donald Rothberg
In the talk, Donald reflects on having just completed, four days before the talk, four weeks of practice at Spirit Rock. He particularly focuses on three themes from the retreat, exploring each theme in terms of both its retreat context and its daily life context. The first is the theme of listening deeply to one's own "intuition" and what "calls." The second is the theme of developing samadhi (usually translated as "concentration"--the unified mind and heart and body) and in particular practicing the eight jhanas as taught by the Buddha. The third is the theme of bringing the retreat learning and explorations into daily life, and how in particular to cultivate the first two themes in the daily life context. The talk is followed by discussion.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Monday and Wednesday Talks

2025-04-02 Opening Talk on Brahma Viharas 1:18:47
Tim Geil, Narayan Helen Liebenson
Opening talk on Brahma Viharas at the start of a monthlong
Insight Meditation Society - Forest Refuge April 2025 at IMS - Forest Refuge

2025-04-02 Guided Meditation: Developing Samadhi (Concentration) 41:31
Donald Rothberg
We begin with a brief account of the nature of samadhi (usually translated as "concentration"), and then give instructions for developing samadhi in formal meditation. (We'll come back to discuss samadhi in more depth in the talk.) There are several reminders during the meditation to return to the focus on cultivating samadhi. In the last part of the meditation, we connect the greater stability that's developed in the practice of cultivating samadhi with cultivating mindfulness.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Monday and Wednesday Talks

2025-04-02 Morning reflection: Cultivating voluntary attention: Relating to one's patterns, voices, habits. 44:21
Akincano Marc Weber
The workings of not-knowing – the workings of attentional habits. Involuntary attentional patterns seem to govern much of our experience. Yet training is possible, training is needed. Such training entails acknowledgement, attentional tasks and specificity. Negotiating pain.
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Cultivation – Investigation – Contemplation: Insight Meditation Retreat for Experienced Students – 25AMW

2025-04-01 In Praise of Unification 58:33
Akincano Marc Weber
About the value of samatha – the practice of stillness – and samādhi – the state of unification brought about by samatha practice. Terminology: Why concentration is a bad word for either samatha or samādhi. What the diffence of attention and mindfulness is. The intrinsic value of unification, its relationship to vipassanā. Four reasons why Buddhist traditions value the practice of stilling the mind.
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Cultivation – Investigation – Contemplation: Insight Meditation Retreat for Experienced Students – 25AMW

2025-04-01 Morning Instructions: First Day 40:59
Yuka Nakamura
Calming and collecting the mind
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Cultivation – Investigation – Contemplation: Insight Meditation Retreat for Experienced Students – 25AMW

2025-03-30 Closing Session - The End and the Start - Accessing Supports for Entering the Stream 35:15
Gavin Milne
Gaia House Insight at Home

2025-03-30 Guided Meditation Concentration Mudita Practice for All Beings Everywhere 15:51
Marcia Rose
Mountain Hermitage The Heart of the Matter: Metta (unconditional loving-kindness) & Mudita (appreciative/empathetic joy)

2025-03-30 Guided Meditation - Concentration Mudita Practice for Family Member, Mudita Practice for Difficult Person 44:39
Marcia Rose
Mountain Hermitage The Heart of the Matter: Metta (unconditional loving-kindness) & Mudita (appreciative/empathetic joy)

2025-03-30 Guided Meditation Introduction to Mudita Practice & phrases for Mudita practice, concentration - Mudita Practice for Benefactor, Mudita Practice for Dear Friend 59:10
Marcia Rose
Mountain Hermitage The Heart of the Matter: Metta (unconditional loving-kindness) & Mudita (appreciative/empathetic joy)

2025-03-30 Instructions - Kind, Relaxed Continuity of Awareness 64:21
Gavin Milne
Gaia House Insight at Home

2025-03-30 Morning Welcome, Introduction to Gratitude Practice, Guided meditation - Anapanasati practice 24:42
Marcia Rose
Mountain Hermitage The Heart of the Matter: Metta (unconditional loving-kindness) & Mudita (appreciative/empathetic joy)

2025-03-29 Dhamma Talk - Introduction to Gratitude followed by Gratitude Practice, Dedication and closing 51:28
Marcia Rose
Mountain Hermitage The Heart of the Matter: Metta (unconditional loving-kindness) & Mudita (appreciative/empathetic joy)

2025-03-29 Metta Sit Instructions Concentration - Metta Neutral Person & Self, Metta All Beings Everywhere & Self 44:10
Marcia Rose
Mountain Hermitage The Heart of the Matter: Metta (unconditional loving-kindness) & Mudita (appreciative/empathetic joy)

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