This talk explores the core teaching of letting go and how it relates to profound states of well-being. We learn about Natural Awareness-- the luminous quality of the mind-- and try a few "Glimpse practices" to access it. Diana then shows us how Natural Awareness practice can help us navigate the complex, challenging, and heart-breaking times in the world today.

We begin with a short account of some of the history of Juneteenth and its origins in Texas, as well as how it developed in the decades after 1865, including under Jim Crow. We ask how consideration of Juneteenth and the ensuing history informs our practice, considering the three main elements of our practice: Training in wisdom (particularly in understanding the roots of racism in greed for power and wealth and a "divide and conquer" approach); meditation (both in examining our conditioning and working with difficult emotions), and ethical practice (developing care and addressing harm, for the benefit of all beings). The talk is followed by discussion.

This session explores equanimity-- what it is, how to cultivate it, and how to work with the "mosquitoes" we encounter.

This talk explores the different ways we might meet difficult emotions on retreat and in life. And in case you're not experiencing only difficult emotions, there is also some guidance on how to hold pleasant states, too!

In this talk, on day 3 of the retreat, Gullu discusses expanding the frame of awareness from just the anchor to include more and more experience, especially thoughts and emotions.