These audio files are often (but not always) my newly revised and spoken versions of teachings that I have offered elsewhere or essays that are also posted on this site.
For myself, I find the speaking and listening to be a sweet and powerful way to rest the teachings in my daily heart and mind and life.
Sacred Moments, Even Now
I contemplate the “in between” moments of my day, the moments of quiet in the midst of confusion and struggle, moments when I am invited to pause and open to the sacred gifts waiting to be revealed in my so-very-ordinary life.
https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/show/29fd5af5-2b95-4107-9b08-c575a9cc6271/id/31132788
Everything Is Illuminated
When we encounter the difficult, we are invited to slow down, to pause – even with this – to bring a kind curiosity, an investigation of this difficulty as a doorway to some new growth, new understanding, new possibility, new light.
“Embracing the Hurt, we learn to trust that there is something greater, something mysterious and full of grace.” Thanissara
https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/show/29fd5af5-2b95-4107-9b08-c575a9cc6271/id/31700487
Small Things That Really Aren’t
So often, what is truly meaningful is such a small thing, maybe something that words can’t even capture.
“When the eyes and the ears are open, The Indian mystic Kabir says, “… even the leaves on the trees teach like pages from the scriptures.”
https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/show/29fd5af5-2b95-4107-9b08-c575a9cc6271/id/31849017
They Say There’s a Radish in There
On the surface, practicing mindful awareness makes no sense at all. How can mindful attention to everyday moments help when the roof leaks and the contractors don’t show up and a nephew is struggling with addictions and the politicians are endlessly wrangling and there are floods in Texas, and bombings in Gaza and I need to drop everything because my aging cat needs to go to the vet yet again? Don’t I need to focus attention – first – to DO something? To fix all that is wrong??
One of my teachers reminds me: “The guidance available cannot protect us from objective adversity. Mindfulness can only safeguard us from the dangers of a negative response — from anxiety, sorrow, frustration, and despair.” This git of mindfulness practice is, ultimately, the only protection possible, and because mindfulness grants us this essential protection it can be a valuable practice and, indeed, a genuine refuge.
Here, I contemplate the simplicity of my own everyday mindfulness…
https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/show/29fd5af5-2b95-4107-9b08-c575a9cc6271/id/32143342