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.

Q1 Can you please explain once more what you mean by 'widen and expand attention around a tight solid object in the body'; 23:00 Q2 I'm afraid to leave the retreat. The world I return to is not made for the fine tuned sensitivity of awareness. Can you please advise? How can I live with my demanding small children, giving them what they need but not losing myself. 35:25 Q3 What are the differences and similarities between sampajanna (thoroughly completely knowing), dhamma vicya (exploring phenomena ) and yoniso manisakara (attention that goes to the origin); 43:35 Q4 Is it possible for a lay person to ordain when they are retired/ in old age? 47:34 How can I be with extreme fear of death? What happens when body and breath cannot be anchors for the period around death?

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.

Wisdom is having the characteristic of penetrating the individual essences is of one kind; as mundane and supramundane, it is of two kinds, etc. The breaking up of formations.

This foundational talk on mindfulness offers insight into why and how to practice mindfulness, the science behind it, what makes meditation difficult, the qualities of a mindful mind, and the fruits of the practice.

In our first morning, you are guided to slow down, settle, and turn toward your breath as your faithful anchor for the meditation.