(Note: This talk has some occasional sound distortion but it's worth it.)
As the Buddha said, "We are what we think. With our thoughts we make the world." Our minds can go to the the greatest places of fear, anxiety and ill will or understanding, compassion and peace. When we're lost in confusion we have in us the capacity to remember the goodness and wisdom that our hearts long to connect with. This talk is about remembering that possibility and cultivating access to that Buddha right inside, especially when the outside world is giving us very different messages.
The purpose of insight as seeing clearly into the three universal characteristics of anicca - impermanence, dukkha - unsatisfactoriness, and anatta - not-self, and how the five hindrances of sensual desire, ill will or aversion, sloth and torpor, restlessness and remorse, and sceptical doubt get in the way of clear seeing
Some definitions of mindfulness, and two ways of working with mindfulness of breathing: for calm and concentration, or to refine mindfulness and clarity
The three archetypal refuges of truth, love and awareness are interweaving pathways home found in most spiritual traditions. This talk looks at our habitual pursuit of substitutes to feel happy, and reflects on how we awaken through each true refuge. The talk ends with a living ritual anyone can participate in that helps us remember these refuges as we move through our lives.
