The magic of mindfulness is how it weakens unwholesome (akusala) states of suffering and strengthens wholesome (kusala) states of well-being. This talk explains this process of alchemy: how greed, hatred and delusion are trnsformed into generosity, loving-kindness and wisdom.
This talk explores the three components of self-compassion: 1. mindfulness to deal with self-critical thinking; 2. loving kindness, to increase our sense of love for ourselves; 3. and shared humanity, the recognition that we are not alone.
We review briefly the last two talks and explore three ways of practicing: 1. Investigating self when it appears; 2. Opening to experiences of not-self; and 3. doing "heart practice" like lovingkindness and compassion to balance our being as we do more deeply.
This talk explores Metta or loving kindness, and how to shift our view from being identified as a separate self (and the heartache that can cause) to understanding that nothing is fundamentally wrong with us.