We continue to focus on perspectives and practices to help us practice skillfully with those who seem difficult or "enemies." We give attention to further practices and some of the subtleties and complexities.

We explore the nature and roots of suffering, using in part the teaching of the Two Arrows to help distinguish "pain" and "suffering" linking the latter with reactivity. Being mindful of suffering and reactivity, and learning to experience pain without suffering opens us to greater freedom. We also explore further the nature of freedom and other ways that freedom may be experienced.

We explore the meaning of developing a love or loving kindness toward all, including one's "enemies," using both Christian and Buddhist resources. Four foundational practices are outlined: 1.Ffollowing ethical guidelines 2. Mindfulness 3. Metta, and 4. Wisdom practices to help contemplate emphathically the causes and conditions of difficult interactions.

The talk, given immediately following two weeks of silent practice, explores themes of remembering what is important, mystery, doing and being, and awareness "open like the sky," connecting how we practice both in retreat and daily life.

We continue to explore a number of ways to deepen practice in daily life, working with challenges difficulties, grounding in the body, working with intention, and practicing with speech and interaction as well as others.

We explore how our practice can come alive in the flow of daily life, focusing on some of the challenges as well as three areas: (1) Various supports for daily life practice, (2) the centrality of mindfulness of the body, and (3) taking difficulties and even suffering as opportunities for practice.

We explore the nature of fear and how metta is a powerful resource to work with and transform fear.

Metta practice is a training inclining toward the awakened heart. We explore several aspects of this training in terms of the development of a number of capacities, working through what blocks metta, and the integration of metta, mindfulness and wisdom.

At this time of earth's stillness, it can be a wonderful time to touch our deeper aspirations, correct with our visions, and set intentions. We do this through reflections, guided meditation and ritual.

At the Winter Solstice, we explore how our practice is in pat to be with the "dark" -- the still, the unknown, the difficult, the generative and fertile -- and in part to open to light , as it emerges from the dark, as we deliberately invoke qualities of light.

(There is a long pause at the beginning) We complete our exploration of "mature" (or "right") mindfulness, focusing on how mindfulness may be disconnected from wisdom, how it can lead to wisdom, and how "mature" mindfulness is integrated with wisdom (as well as ethics and the awakened heart)

We continue to look at how mindfulness can be understood in the larger context of connection with ethics, wisdom, and the awakened heart. Here we explore how mindfulness and metta can be sometimes seen as separate, but how both practices point to a mature integration-loving awareness, mindful caring, the mindful and wise heart.

In the context of the accelerating application of mindfulness in "secular" settings, we can ask questions about whether mindfulness is sometimes presented as a mere technique. We look at the nature of "nature" or "right mindfulness" (samma sati) and the importance of connecting mindfulness to the awakened heart, wisdom, and to ethics. In this talk, we focus especially on mindfulness and ethics.

We again review briefly the meaning of "getting down to direct experience" and then explore how to use concepts and views skillfully as we are somewhat away from direct experience.

After reviewing the emphasis on grounding in more direct experience, we explore how to be skillful as we move away from indirect experience with our thinking, focusing on (1) having our thinking connected with direct experience and (2) using "views" wisely. Includes Q and A.

Building on the last two sessions, we explore three inter-related aspects of ignorance or confusion: 1. How we move away from direct experience, especially because of reactivity. 2. How we develop, personally and collectively, unconscious material;and 3. How we do not fully understand impermanence, the roots of suffering and the nature of the self. We suggest ways to practice with all three forms of ignorance.

We look further at the mechanisms by which we move away from direct experience. unskillfully, driven by reactivity and papanca (conceptual proliferation). We point to practices of tracking thoughts, emotions, reactivity-that help us ground in more direct experience, leading to greater freedom and responsiveness-personally interpersonally, and collectively.

The essence of our practice is to learn ever better to respond rather than react to experience. Using the model of the "Ladder of Inference," we see how we, when reactive, move away from more direct experience-personally, inter personally and socially. We then explore practices to help us "get down."

Howard Thurman, the great African American activist, mystic, and theologian, once said: “Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” In the spirit of this guidance, we continue exploring how to understand and respond some of the core issues related to the tenth anniversary of September 11, 2001. We are further guided by (1) understanding the inter-relationships between individual, relational, and collective domains of practice; and (2) taking wisdom, compassion, and courage (and responsiveness) as three touchstones of our practice, both more inner and more outer.

We begin with a review of what was covered in Part I (July 10, 2011), covering the importance of speech practice, the basics of Wise (or “Right”) Speech practice, what this practice looks like in the context of small groups, and the basics of how to approach speech practice in challenging situations. We then bring in new materials, using short presentations and exercises, that expand our capacities to respond skillfully in challenging situations. We first examine how to direct mindful attention to emotions and underlying interests or values both in ourselves and in others (using some of the models from Nonviolent Communication and the Harvard Negotiation Project on "Difficult Conversations"). We also bring attention to our stories and narratives, using the model of the "Ladder of Inference" to help clarify how we often go very quickly to stories (particularly self-centered ones, often way beyond the "data") in challenging situations. We then develop further our capacities to use these tools and perspectives in situations in which we are triggered, and to respond more skillfully.

Guided by several key teachings, particularly how we might bring together wisdom, compassion, and courage, we explore some of the issues raised in reflection on the last ten years. A focus is the parallel between personal practice and responding to larger social issues.

After a review of the material of the last weeks, we explore, partly experientially three methods of accessing extraordinary awareness: 1) dropping ordinary constructions 2) exhausting the ordinary mind 3) touching pure awareness

We focus on how practice includes that of noting impermanence, suffering, and self/not-self, leads to deconstructing the assumptions of "ordinary mind" opening us up to "extraordinary mind".

We explore the nature of "extraordinary" mind and awareness, an our "ordinary' practice deconstructs ordinary, habitual experience and moves toward extraordinary mind.

KALYANA MITTA (KM) GROUPS Workshop held Sun, Jul 10, 1:30 – 4:30 at the Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley for current and prospective facilitators or hosts of KM groups with Spirit Rock teacher Donald Rothberg and Dawn Neal. The focus was on Wise Speech in the context of small groups, and how to address challenging situations.

We continue to look at the cultivation of freedom with "ordinary" mind and "extraordinary" mind, focusing on how we actually practice to cultivate both.

After honoring the intentions for freedom linked with the 4th of July, we explore how awareness creates the space of freedom-both at the levels of ordinary and extraordinary awareness.

Donald Rothberg and Sylvia Boorstein give short talks and engage in dialogue about the foundations of loving kindness practice.

One Earth Sangha is oriented toward Buddhist and mindfulness practitioners seeking dharma, practices and community around care for the Earth. See their website here: One Earth Sangha

We explore (1) personal reflections on how to bring home the retreat; (2) grounding speech practice in personal practice; (3) continuing speech practice in daily life; and (4) bringing speech practice into our society - into our organizations, service, and participation in the larger society.

The essence of speech practice in difficult situations is to find ways to stay connected, in one's inner experience and use of speech, to our awareness, love, and wisdom. We focus on a number of supports for such practice, including grounding and centering in the body, being open to difficulties as opportunities for learning, understanding the judgmental mind, and, especially, cultivating deep listening.

Skillful practice with thoughts and emotions is explored, including (1) taking responsibility for our experience, (2) finding balance if we are reactive and out of balance, (3) using mindfulness to investigate thoughts and emotions, and (4) making connections between these approaches and our speech practice.

We explore (1) the importance of speech practice; (2) its place in the path of awakening; (3) the nature of awakening and the path to awakening; and (4) the specific teachings on speech from the Buddha, particularly on the four ethical guidelines of truthfulness, helpfulness, kindness, and appropriateness.

After considering how cultivating equanimity helps us to release and find balance with our conditioned patterns, we explore the powerful principle expressed by T.S. Elliot as "Ours is in the trying, the rest is not our business."

After a review of our first two sessions, we explore, both through an overview and through experiential exercises, bodily-based practices to help cultivate equanimity.

A continued exploration of the nature of equanimity, how we cultivate it in formal practice and in action. with a particular focus in the last part of the talk on "The Eight Worldly Winds"

We explore how mature equanimity is expressed through wisdom, the open heart, and the body. We examine some of the qualities of equanimity and how we develop it in the midst of action, as well as on the cushion.

We explore through stories, teachings and poetry two basic ways of transforming judgments: 1. through mindfulness, reflection, inquiry and other tools we directly investigate judgments and their roots. 2. through developing the awakened mind, heart and body we come to rest more in our deep nature, helping in multiple ways to transform judgments.

Exploration of the major themes of a just completed retreat, including focusing on the essentials of life, practicing fully and opening to the deeper truths.

We step back to look at how we develop the three meditative path factors separately, and how, as practice deepens, the factors become interwoven, and we move forward a kind of mindful, concentrated, effortless effort.

We review our previous exploration of concentration practices with further treatment of 1) wise effort, 2) how concentration deepens toward the Jhanas, and 3) the relationship of concentration and insight practice.

We review the basics of concentration practice,and then focus on concentration practice as a path of purification, and then on wise effort in concentration practice.

We begin four weeks of attention to the three meditative factors of the Eightfold Path, starting with concentration, and including a concentrative exercise and attention to wise effort in concentraton.

As we do on the cushion, we practice metta in daily life in widening circles. We explore sustaining individual formal metta practice, metta in our relationships, and metta in the larger world. (Followed by questions and responses.)

In this second talk of the retreat, we explore further the spirit of metta, through teachings and stories, focusing as well on the themes of metta as a concentration practice, as opening a process of purification, and, as it matures, as increasingly embodied and wise.

At this time of Winter Solstice we explore a number of ways that our practice is to open to the dark (as nature's stillness and silence, as the unknown, as the difficult and as fertile and generative) and to evoke the light, learning better how to hold both.

We look in more depth at the path of gradual awakening and its complimentary path and practice of immediate awakening, suggesting a variety of ways to practice.

We explore the complementarity of gradual and immediate (or sudden) ways of practicing, with some experiential exercises.

We examine the nature of generosity and gratitude and both how to cultivate them , and what stands in the way of their expression through stories and teachings.

We explore 1) The nature of intentions, 2) The importance of intentions in our practice, 3) karma and intentions, and 4) how to practice with intentions.

Connecting with our deep motivation for practice is a crucial support. We explore a number of interwoven motivations for practicing.

We explore a number of resources, support structures, and guiding perspectives that can help our daily life practice come alive.

An exploration of metta practice and how it works-to develop the capacity to lead with the heart, develop in concentration, purify our being and touch our deeper nature.

Wisdom across many traditions is understood as a clear and deep seeing of human experience; a seeing that cuts through conditioning and delusion. We look at the relationship of wisdom to mindfulness and the caring heart, particularly at how we see more clearly suffering, its roots and impermanence.

Mindfulness plays a central role in our practice of living with wisdom and compassion. We explore a number of the qualities of mindfulness as well as the obstacles to mindfulness.

It is helpful to connect with our deeper aspirations to practice - at the beginning of a retreat as well as before practice sessions. Twelve different responses to the question of why we practice are explored.

We continue to explore the twin practices of studying and deconstructing the separate self, and opening to interdependence, in part through a number of practices.

A exploration, with several short exercises, of how we form a separate self, and how we open to interdependence.

We conclude our six sessions on wise speech by focusing on perspectives, practices and guidelines that help us be more skillful with difficult speech situations. The talk is followed by a guided exercise and discussion.

We complete examination of the model of Non-Violent Communication, with a focus on applying the model to difficult situations.

In the context of wise speech practice, we continue to explore being aware of feelings and needs and introduce skillful ways to identify "how things are" through "observations."

We explore nonviolent communication as a refinement of mindfulness, focusing particularly on 'needs' (what matters) and feelings (or emotions)

After a review of last time, of the importance of speech practice and the ethical guidelines for wise speech, we explore two ways of cultivating mindfulness in our speech, concluding with an exercise to cultivate inner and outer attention at the same time.

A discussion of the importance of speech practice and of the four ethical guidelines for wise speech, inviting initial practice of cultivating wise speech.

Our speech practice deepens when we take difficult speech situations as becoming opportunities. We explore the centrality of working skillfully with reactivity; the possibility of becoming more skilled with finding non-dual approaches to conflict and how there are always openings for practice, even when the other seems uninterested in communication.

We explore three increasingly subtle aspects of wisdom and the speech practices related to each of them: (1) the wisdom to know what is wholesome and unwholesome, particularly in an ethical context; (2) the wisdom to know suffering and the roots of suffering, and freedom and its roots; (3) the wisdom to know the nature of more direct experience and the nature of concepts. In all types of wisdom, the basis is the close study of experience, leading to insight and clear seeing.

The Buddha spoke often of the centrality of speaking lovingly from the heart- "affectionately...with a mind of good-will". We explore the importance for speech practice of working directly with mind and heart, learning through metta practice to "lead" with our hearts. We also in the process touch more and more our radiant hearts, transforming what gets in the way of these hearts.

We continue exploring the nature of speech practice, following last night's introduction, focusing on five kinds of mindfulness practice that supports speech practice. Following an overview of mindfulness, we examine (1) connecting inner and outer attention in the midst of speech, (2) the importance for speech practice of mindfulness of the body, (3) mindfulness based on following the ethical speech principles, (4) NVC interpreted as a refinement of mindfulness practice,and (5) mindfulness of the thoughts and emotions.

We continue exploring the nature of speech practice, following last night's introduction, focusing on five kinds of mindfulness practice that supports speech practice. Following an overview of mindfulness, we examine (1) connecting inner and outer attention in the midst of speech, (2) the importance for speech practice of mindfulness of the body, (3) mindfulness based on following the ethical speech principles, (4) NVC interpreted as a refinement of mindfulness practice,and (5) mindfulness of the thoughts and emotions.

In this talk, we locate speech practice in the context of the path of awakening, first explaining the meanings of awakening and path. We then suggest a map of three broad types of interrelated speech practices, focusing on the first type - using ethical principles to guide our speech. We'll explore the others in further talks.

We continue to explore the Tibetan based teaching of the Four Reflections (or reminders) which help us turn more fully to the Dharma, giving a brief review of 1) the preciousness and rarity of human life, and 2) impermanence and suffering, then moving to examine in more depth 3) how our actions and thoughts matter and leave imprints- or karma, and 4) the importance of knowing and turning always from our habitual tendencies leading to suffering.

We explore the first two of the traditional Tibetan "mind-turning" reflections on the preciousness of human life , and on impermanence and death, with suggestions on how to practice these reflections and how this may quicken and deepen our practice.

We examine the twin tracks of transformation - (1) going into what is difficult, into our suffering and wounds; and (2) cultivating awakened states. We explore the resources of (1) wisdom, through examining the the Four Truths and the arrows; (2) mindfulness as a central tool leading to wisdom; and (3) heart practices such as lovingkindness - all with an eye to their roles in helping us to transform distress.

We build from last week's identification of four broad ways of deepening formal practice: 1) developing simplicity, focus and a sense of clear priorities in one's life; 2) developing a strong support structure in various ways; 3) cultivating, in practice, qualities like mindfulness, metta, wisdom etc.; 4) developing a wise and compassionate sense of the path. We explore what these also mean in two other domains- everyday life (work relationships, family, community, the flow of our days); and our service and action in the larger world.

Through reflection on just having taught a month-long retreat and several poems, we explore a number of ways to deepen our formal meditation practice through simplicity, focus, building a strong "container", developing mindfulness and lovingkindness in relation to what happens, and increased invocation of the "wise parent" (or grandparent...aka "discipline").

Heart practices and wisdom practices can appear to speak different languages and have different aims; for example, lovingkindness wishes well whereas equanimity says, "no matter what I wish for, things are as they are." We explore how the heart and wisdom connect through exploring (1) lovingkindness, (2) equanimity, and (3) how the two inform each other and are integrated.

We explore how "knowledge and vision of things as they are," supported by concentration and earlier factors, brings us insight into impermanence, suffering and the roots of suffering, and not-self. We examine some of the forces and structure that lead to delusion and a lack of clear seeing, as well as how to practice to cultivate these insights.

Delight (or joy or gladness, pamojja) is the second factor that emerges as we shift away from repetitive cycles of suffering. We explore how delight manifests as delight in practice, in our integrity, the "bliss of blamelessness," and in other ways. We also look at how to cultivate delight, how delight or joy support the deepening of our practice, and what makes delight difficult to access.

Mindfulness of the body is absolutely fundamental for our practice and was for the Buddha, both a starting point and an end point. We explore (1) why mindfulness of the body is crucial both in the Buddha's teaching and especially in our highly mental culture; (2) how we practice mindfulness of breathing and mindfulness of postures and activities; and (3) how mindfulness of the body works to transform us.

We review briefly our previous practices and investigations of body practices in the last three weeks. We then focus on the body's connection with mind and heart, how we practice individually with each of them, how we explore the dynamic relationship of body, mind, heart. We end by focusing on heart practices for our bodies and those of others, and on opening to the further mysteries of bodies.

After a brief review of the first two series, we focus on body practices to develop insight into 1) impermanence, 2) suffering and the roots of suffering, and 3)constructions of self. We suggest several concrete practices to develop wisdom through awareness of bodily experience.

We review and expand the themes from last time- the importance of body practices for our times and lives, exploring our attitudes toward the body and developing basic body practices. Then we focus on mindfulness of the body, outlining several further practices and emphasizing especially how body practices help us practice more fully and critically in the flow of the daily life.

The body is the doorway to great transformation and mystery. Practicing with awareness of the body is central to grounding our practice in a highly mental culture. We explore 1) the importance of body-based practice, 2) our cultural and personal attitudes toward our bodies, and 3) a set of initial body practices.

Lovingkindness practice ultimately works because we are evoking our deep nature - of kindness and love, the "brightly shining" citta associated with lovingkindness. We explore how we can open to our radiant hearts through (1) learning to lead with our hearts, (2) cultivating concentration, (3) evoking love and working through what blocks love, and (4) touching more and more our depths.

The winter solstice in our culture sometimes is close to busy and even frenzied times, yet in most cultures has been a time of deepening, stillness, and silence, like the earth. We explore four ways to practice with the darkness of the time: 1) Through stopping and stilling our habituated minds; 2) Through opening to the unknown; 3) Trhough being with what is painful or difficult; 4) Through allowing the light and the creative to emerge from darkness

The Buddha's teaching on views and beliefs is radical, pointing to how we might investigate our attachments to and grasping after views and come to hold views much more lightly. How do we practice with views? We offer a number of further perspectives, from the Buddha and Nagarjuna, and practices to work with views.

We explore the nature of "views" (or strong beliefs or opinions) and how to practice with them by 1) grounding ourselves in some of the famous passages on views in the teachings of the Buddha, 2)identifying why and how views can be problematic and lead to suffering, and 3) offering practices this week to explore our views, whether personal, political or religious/spiritual.

We look at the nature of distraction- not attending to what is our intended focus- in three main ways, each of which we can respond to: 1) our distraction moment to moment and how we train in mindfulness, 2) our distraction in our everyday lives, and 3) how our lives become distracted in relation to our deeper intentions.

After a short account of emptiness and how we cultivate a deeper understanding of it in very practical ways, we explore the nature of compassion. We look at how it can be developed and what forms it can take, all the time pointing to how mature compassion invloves a deep sense of emptiness and interconnection (and vice versa).

We review the teachings on emptiness in the context of the broader teachings on the centrality of developing wisdom and compassion, expanding our examination of these teachings from last time. The last part of the session involving doing several exercises, partly explaining experience as a flowing "stream" (and seeing what obstructs the flow) and partly doing a series of four exercises with "ordinary objects" designed to take us out of our ordinary way of constructing things.

Preceded by a short chant by Rebekkah La Dyne, our yoga teacher for the retreat, we explore two main modes of transformation - one going into suffering, one involving beautiful states. We then focus on the latter, as expressed in the practice of the Brahmaviharas, the cultivation of lovingkindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity - examining their near and far enemies, and how the four interpret each other in the mature heart.

We examine how mindfulness is distinguished from, yet leads to wisdom. We explore wisdom especially through the life story of the Buddha, moving from comfort and and illusion to deep wisdom and compassion, and through his first teaching of the Four Noble Truths - the most basic expression of wisdom in the tradition.

Transformation in practice, whether in mindfulness or metta practice, occurs through repetition, patience, understanding and faith, in a sometimes mysterious way. Using poems and stories, we explore the nature of lovingkindness (metta) and the kinds of transformation that occur as we practice.

On this first evening of the retreat, we explore the nature of mindfulness in general and how we practice mindfulness of the body in particular. We then examine the five "difficult energies" (nivarana or "hindrances"), and how they make mindfulness difficult and how to practice when they are present.

We first review basic perspectives on emptiness and compassion and then explore three basic ways to access emptiness: 1) being with inner flow of experience and seeing where self and fixation occur, 2) opening to the "flow experience" in activities and relationships and 3) cultivating a sense of interconnection

We examine the teaching of seeing the emptiness of self and things and how this, in its mature expression, is compassionate activity. We suggest simple practices to explore this sometimes confusing teaching, and everyday examples of how emptiness and compassion come together.

In the context of previous talks, we explore intention practice in three ways: 1.) understanding the importance of intention in our practice and in life 2.) cultivating intention as aspiration- being in touch with deeper intentions, and 3.) working with intentions moment to moment and in specific activities.

We continue to look at work and service as a path, naming some key aspects of this path: 1. general intention that our work and service be practice for ourselves and others, 2.connecting inner and outer practice, 3. identifying core challenges and "obstacles", 4.developing awakened qualities and 5. establishing community support for this path.