Q and A from 04-12-2021 Monday Night

How do we tend ourselves, how do we tend this world? Can we pause, be present, take a step back and be the loving awareness that witnesses it all? We are consciousness itself having a human experience. This is an invitation to pause, to walk among the trees, to take time, to remember the sense of mystery. With mindfulness you may discover a peace that allows you to be present, compassionate and open. Mary Oliver writes: When I am among the trees, especially the willows and the honey locust, equally the beech, the oaks and the pines, they give off such hints of gladness. I would almost say that they save me, and daily. I am so distant from the hope of myself, in which I have goodness, and discernment, and never hurry through the world but walk slowly, and bow often. Around me the trees stir in their leaves and call out, “Stay awhile.” The light flows from their branches. And they call again, “It's simple,” they say, “and you too have come into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled with light, and to shine.”

Basic instructions for insight meditation.

Q and A from 03-22-2021 Monday Night

We have the capacity to be awake and to see the world as it is with a graciousness and an understanding. As the poet Mary Oliver writes, "To live in this world, you must be able to do three things: to love what is mortal; to hold it against your bones knowing your own life depends on it; and, when the time comes to let it go, to let it go." This is our dance, our human incarnation: to tend and love that which is ephemeral.

The freedom of loving awareness is available; it just takes practice for you to remember it, and to trust that it is always here. When you feel lost, stuck in a tiny part of the big picture, contracted, or caught up, take a breath and visualize yourself stepping back. With a spacious mind, you can witness even these contracted states and hold them in loving awareness.

Q and A from 02-08-2021 Monday Night

Conflict is natural—we can be attached to our needs, desires, ideas and visions. Our brains are wired with a negativity bias to look for things that are threatening. But some other part of us knows there is another way. We need to pause and reflect for a moment. What is it that matters most? This vision is needed more than ever in the midst of our difficulties.

This meditation is a deep-hearted reflection, a possibility, a yearning, a vision. Even if we cannot or should not speak to the other, we can find the courage to hold reconciliation and goodwill in our own heart.To recite the intention of reconciliation is to willingly plant a seed of reconnection and love in our heart. As we repeat each phrase, we turn our intention to the possibility of restoring harmony where suffering has set us apart. May our lives lead to wise, healthy, and courageous reconciliation. Further reading: “The Art of Forgiveness, Lovingkindness, and Peace”

Q and A from 01-25-2021 Monday Night

Many of us discover we live partially in a dreamworld, cut off from our body and whole pieces of our life. Though we may sense our disconnection, we do not know exactly what is wrong. James Joyce captured this dilemma when he wrote of one character, “Mr. Duffy lived a short distance from his body.” Enlightenment must be lived here and now through this very body. In this body and mind we can discover the cause of suffering and the end of suffering. For awakening to be an opening into freedom in this very life, the body must be its ground.

Meditation is an invitation in this moment’s practice to turn our attention to our body, heart and mind. Begin to pay attention to this mysterious human incarnation. Feel how your body is breathing itself… you don’t have to do anything. Add metta or lovingkindness to each breath. With each breath in, fill your body and being with lovingkindness for yourself. With each breath out, sense you are sending love out to the world.

Q and A from 12-14-2020 Monday Night Dharma Talk Rekindle and Renew

We are spiritual beings incarnated into human form. We need to remember our zip code as well as our Buddha nature. We are creatures of this paradox. The middle way invites us to find peace wherever we are, here and now. By neither grasping nor resisting life, we can find wakefulness and freedom in the midst of our joys and sorrows.

Q and A from 11/23/2020 Wonder, Mystery, Awe, Gratitude Monday Night Talk

How do we relate to people who are wildly different? In truth, we have more in common than not. When we can see one another with the heart and eyes of wisdom, we're reminded that there is something bigger than all our ideas.

Suffering is not the end of the story. We can get lost in our suffering. But we can also be witness to bravery and the possibility of life. Mindfulness can help us live wisely amidst difficulties.

Q and A from 8/24/2020 Suffering is Not the End of the Story Monday Night talk

In this dharma talk, Jack discusses how the combination of compassion and equanimity gives rise to a peaceful heart.

Q and A from 07/20/2020 The Peaceful Heart Monday Night talk

The value of our harshest difficulties is how honestly they cause us to question, how they intensify our courage and bring alive our deepest inner purpose, how they reawaken our soul’s task on earth. In willingly facing the unknown, we offer trust in a greater purpose. And then we must venture wherever the road leads us, in spite of the dark, in spite of the quivering of our heart. Ultimately true strength meets the vulnerability of life with courage.

Guided meditation for bringing loving awareness to all aspects of experience.

How can we navigate through hard times? This is an excerpt of a talk Jack Kornfield gave with environmentalist Paul Hawken on March 2, 2020 at Spirit Rock Meditation Center on how to stay grounded and steady as we navigate the spread of the Coronavirus and other challenges. The need for the Dharma is stronger than ever. We can choose to live in our fears, confusion, and worries, or to stay in the essence of our practice, center ourselves, and be the ones that demonstrate patience, compassion, mindfulness, and mutual care.

Jack talks about climate change, remembering the bigger picture of life, and the uncertainty of tomorrow. He also shares some memories and honors Ram Dass.

Winter Solstice and finding inner light in times of darkness.

Loving Kindness Meditation for the World

Monday Night Dharma Talk

When you are mindful, loving awareness offers you practical and revolutionary gifts of freedom.

Guided Meditation

Daylong

How we can mindfully tend and nurture the body, heart and mind

Qualities of the awakened heart - topic of love

How the depth of meditation leads to Bodhisattva service, love and joy.

Here and now, how the deepening levels of Mindfulness and Loving Awareness can free the heart and mind.

Discover inner capacities for wakefulness, joy, dignity, and compassion - your Buddhanature. Our training will study the fundamental principles of Buddhist psychology, combing practical examples, teaching stories, visonary wisdom and case studies. We will explore applications of the revolutionary perspectives in our healing work, our meditation and our life.

Discover inner capacities for wakefulness, joy, dignity, and compassion - your Buddhanature. Our training will study the fundamental principles of Buddhist psychology, combing practical examples, teaching stories, visonary wisdom and case studies. We will explore applications of the revolutionary perspectives in our healing work, our meditation and our life.