My work since 2006 through UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center (uclahealth.org/marc) emphasizes making mindfulness teachings accessible to all, regardless of background, yet without losing depth practice. In recent years I have been teaching on Natural Awareness— the effortless, objectless, and spacious side of awareness practices. Socially engaged Buddhism is a thread woven through many of my talks-- how can we end suffering both internally and externally? Having worked with teens and young adults for many years, some of the talks are geared to young people. Finally as a mom of a tween, I'm deeply inspired by the transformative power of daily life and family practice.
This talk overviews multiple ways of practicing from focused awareness to flexible awareness to natural awareness. Specifically we deal with cultivating concentration and how it can benefit our mindfulness practice.
How is wisdom cultivated and how does it manifest itself through our mindfulness practice? And how is love cultivated-both through mindfulness and heart-based practices? And how do they fit together?
Added Bonus: The Bodhisattva Archetype!