Emptying the mind of fearful thoughts, we stop clinging to anything of the world – one moment at a time. And we come to know a liberating joy. It's a way to enter a dimension of transcendence and to be uplifted beyond the prison of grasping a self with all its adornments and entanglements. As we let go identification with the self, there arises the peace of selfless awareness and waking up to the ultimate truth that is the end of suffering.

Guided mettā meditation to develop positive emotions, directed towards self and all beings. Dhamma talk on dependent origination in simple terms. Dependent origination answers the question: How does rebirth happen without a soul? We are neither completely fixed or completely fluid in how we are - we are conditioned; a continuity that connects past, present, and future. The Buddha’s great insight was that everything is conditioned. Daily life, high states of meditation, rebirth, and all kinds of experiences all follow the same processes. Ignorance and craving are the drivers of these processes.

Refuge is refuge in balance and harmony, what we have in common, rather than the individual. The precepts are a voluntary taking on of training rules for mindfulness.

Recollecting, stabilizing and spreading awareness over ethical sensitivity allows action in stillness and stillness in action. Thinking is just the breath of the brain, arising and passing. Pausing to find the still point.

Our Dharma community is processing sad news this week that has sent a shock wave through the sangha. One of our respected teachers who led movement at many Spirit Rock retreats and mentored many students in the practice took her life after a long bout with health issues that affected her mental well-being. A truism of the law of impermanence is that "anything can happen at any time." I want to use this event as an opportunity to explore how the practice can help support us when a sudden major loss happens.