Some Thoughts on Concentration
Concentration, our ability to focus and stabilize awareness, is meant to be both a result of happiness and a cause for increased joy. This talk offers some thoughts about deepening all of these dimensions in our daily lives and practice.
June, 2019
Attunement
“Attunement” means one’s wholesome skill in refining awareness in order to perceive and respond appropriately to the message that has been sent: receiving and responding to how things actually are, internally, externally and both internally and externally. This talk outlines three dimensions of attunement and the place of each in our journey of liberation.
May, 2019
Remembering What Matters
Our spiritual practice invites us to investigate deeply: what really matters in this life of ours? What is a wholesome way of walking in this world? What leads to suffering and what leads to the end of suffering? This talk explores aspects of Wise Intention in our busy, everyday lives.
January 13, 2015
Happiness: Delight in the Pleasant
Our spiritual path invites us to cultivate and, indeed, to simply awaken, a deep and abiding happiness that is independent of conditions. This talk is a beginning exploration of different kinds of happiness that we can awaken and cultivate as both the nourishment and the fruit of our practice.
March 24, 2015
Happiness: The Bliss of Blamelessness
This talk continues to inquire into happiness with an exploration of morality and virtue as one of the kinds of happiness that we can awaken and cultivate as both the nourishment and the fruit of our practice.
April 14, 2015
Joyful Effort: link
Wise and joyful effort in our spiritual practice brings to every moment the full energy required by the task. In this talk, we explore an effort that is creative, alive, personal and playful. With these qualities, we can truly sustain our practice as we each navigate the ups and downs of our own personal path.
May 11, 2015
Wise Intention: link
Over and over in his teachings, the Buddha invites us to remember the profound limits of the human mind’s ordinary habits. While we can appreciate the relative benefits of personal safety, stability and security, his teachings remind us to cultivate the intention toward full presence and letting go in every moment of this wild, unpredictable life.
May 13, 2015
With a Boundless Heart: Releasing Shame and Self Criticism: link
Our spiritual path invites us to cultivate and, indeed, to simply awaken, a deep and abiding happiness that is independent of conditions. This talk focuses on the happiness and kindness of a boundless heart as we release shame and self criticism and allow our own goodness and worthiness to be awakened and revealed.
July 5, 2015
True Refuge: Wise Action in our ever changing worlds
What to do? What to do? Wise action can vary widely from situation to situation and even from moment to moment. The entire Noble Eightfold Path offers guidance through our confusion. (SDRC, June, 2018)