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Through our practice we can directly experience our body as a field of energy in constantly changing forms. Sometimes what seems to be a wall is actually a doorway into the direct experience of our true nature.

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A guided meditation leading to an exploration of the first foundation of mindfulness. Questions addressed include: why focus on the body and how the body relates to the other foundations.

What activates the desires and fears we have when we come into contact with another? Meditation is about seeing things as they actually are, the operation of the heartmind intra and interpersonally. The mind will then incline towards what is wise. The heart is moved by contact with another. However there is pressure/tendencies of the mind to move into agitation and confusion on contact with others. What activates the fears and desires of interpersonal interaction? Hunger (tanha) pressurises thoughts and feelings so that the mind doesn't settle. It is like fuel or an electric current for the system (personality) that is in place. All thoughts/actions/speech are conditioned by past habits and occurrences (sankhara conditions namarupa). Hunger/craving fuels/energises the system to generate more constructs along the same lines as previous ones. (These can be wise or unwise habits) There are three hungers: 1) Hunger for sense desires which includes social desires as well e.g. avoidance of loneliness which is like a death of the self. it might be seeking pleasure from others, seeking approval from parents, or in a Buddhist rebirth sense of driving from life to life. 2) Hunger to be seen, to become. 3) Hunger not to be seen e.g. interacting whilst performing a role, wearing a mask so the 'real you' is hidden, limiting contact with people, or having contact defined procedurally so it is blinkered - again a form of 'hiding'.

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Our greatest suffering is not realizing who we are. Identified with a sense of separate and deficient self, we forget the basic goodness of our heart and awareness. In this two part series we will explore the practices of presence that support us in awakening from the prison of trance, deepening our empathy and embodying the goodness that is our deepest nature.

Dharma Talk

Because we live in such a mental culture, we sometimes interpret meditation as getting rid of all thinking. But inquiry and investigation, often aided by language are crucial to Buddhist practice. We look at three practical methods of inquiry, using (1) mindfulness (2) deep listening, and (3) the lens of particular teachings.

This talk examines some of the Buddha's teachings on wise companionship. It outlines what constitutes spiritual friendship.

When we speak of the healing power of mindfulness, we mean healing the clinging mind. For this, we draw on mindfulness that opens the door to our wisdom and compassion, so we can see the truth clearly with a kind and loving-heart.

Appreciating the healing and liberating power of fear and mind. Learning to trust and use awareness.

Dharma Talk

Beth Gendler, author of Notes On The Need For Beauty, reflects in dialogue with Donald Rothberg and the Sanga, on the nature of beauty, “cleansing the doors of perception, and the place of beauty in transformative practice.”

A talk for beginners exploring the difficulties we encounter when we practice (the mud) and the joyful benefits we'll discover as we find more and more freedom (the gold).