Join me for a short sharing and meditation from Thich Nhat Hanh’s book, True Love: We have to learn the art of transforming compost and flowers. Look at the flower: it is beautiful, it is fragrant, it is pure; but if you look deeply you can already see the compost in the flower. With meditation, … Continue reading Mid-day Meditation – Gardening Practice
Please join me for this shorter sharing and meditation recorded from the Monday Mid-day Meditation. Today I draw from Philip Simmon’s book, Learning to Fall: We have all heard poems, songs, and prayers that exhort us to see God in a blade of grass, a drop of dew, a child’s eyes, or the petals of … Continue reading Mid-day Meditation- Learning to Fall
I recently finished a retreat in which every meditation started with the instruction to “get comfortable.” In this practice today, we experientially explore the wisdom and compassion of this teaching in all moments of practice.
Continue reading Sitting Meditation – Learning a Wise, Compassionate Comfort in Practice
In continuing our exploration of the 4 Noble Truths, we move on today to the 3rd Noble Truth– there is a path out of our suffering. Teacher Ajahn Sumedho says this about studying the 3rd Noble Truth: Do not feel as though you have to embrace any particular teacher’s interpretation of [the 3rd Noble Truth]. … Continue reading The Third Noble Truth
We finish our exploration of the 2nd Noble Truth today, a foundational teaching of Buddhist psychology (which is how I relate to these teachings– a beautiful study of the mind that is infinitely practical for learning how we can let go of suffering). In today’s session, I draw again from Phillip Moffit’s book, Dancing with … Continue reading The Second Noble Truth, Part 3
The Second Noble Truth states that the most proximal cause of our suffering is clinging, craving or greed. In this talk, we look at the importance of orienting ourselves with curiosity and interest in growth as opposed to self-judgment for being “greedy.” Understanding what is underneath the reactivity of greed can allow the natural responsiveness … Continue reading The Second Noble Truth, Part 2
In this meditation, we move through the senses and body to ground our awareness in heart and Earth. At one point, I name what is on the exact opposite side of the Earth from where I sit in Charlotte NC, USA. If you are somewhere else and want to know for your location, here is … Continue reading Sitting Meditation – Grounding Awareness with Senses and Heart
We continue our exploration of the 4 Noble Truths, a foundational teaching of Buddhism. These teachings are a powerful study of the mind– what causes suffering and what relieves suffering. An old story called the Monk and the Samurai makes a great introduction to the 2nd Noble Truth.
The 2nd Noble Truth is that the most proximal cause of suffering is clinging. Sitting meditation is a powerful place to explore ways in which this might be true for you and how to work with the clinging mind.
Continue reading Sitting Meditation– Seeing into the Mind that Clings
This week I share a talk I gave for a program from Temple Beth El. The invitation was to talk about healing the mind from religious, spiritual and mindfulness perspectives.