This week’s theme is: Staying Steady in the Flow – Supports for Everyday Practice
This week will consider different ways we can stay connected with and resourced by our practice in the midst of the ups and downs and unpredictability of everyday life.
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Poems shared by Jaya:
“Just For Now” by Danna Faulds
“There Is Wisdom in Pausing” by Mary Anne Byrne
There comes a point
when the world feels too heavy,
the headlines,
the scrolling,
the quiet ache of trying to keep up
with a world that never stops.
We carry it all
without noticing the weight,
the stories,
the sorrows,
the constant pulse of urgency.
But the body knows
when the heart is full.
It begins to ache for stillness.
Switching off is not indifference.
It is an act of care.
A soft refusal
to be endlessly available
to the steady hum of the world.
It is the slow exhale
after too many held breaths,
the gentle turning inward
to the steadiness of our own pulse.
We are not made to hold it all.
We need to rest.
There is wisdom in pausing,
in letting the world go on for a while
without us.
And in that quiet,
when the light softens,
when the breath deepens,
when the hands finally unclench,
something tender returns.
A remembering.
A small, steady peace.
The knowing
that we are still here,
and that this,
for now,
is enough.
Poem shared by Jaya:
Recorded :
Joy is both a Factor of Enlightenment and one of the four Divine Abodes. Today, as we are bombarded with news that heightens our fear and sadness about the world, more than ever it’s vital to understand the importance of joy as a central aspect of spiritual practice. We need to remember how to stay…
Recorded :
The encounter with sensory experiences can lead to insight and calm, or reactivity and suffering. How do you guard your mind in the midst of a daily barrage of sensory input? How do you protect your mind so that tranquility and wisdom will be well established? The Buddha encouraged restraint of the senses, but this…
Recorded :
‘All things fall apart’ was the Buddha’s last teaching before passing away. How can we live peacefully with this universal and challenging truth? In this session, we’ll practice how attuning to change supports letting go.
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The huge popularity of mindfulness is accompanied by a lot of confusion in relation to mindfulness in and of itself and how much it embodies the wider teachings of the Buddha. What is dharma? When, if and how is mindfulness the same as or different from dharma? This topic will be discussed in relation to…
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His Holiness the Dalai Lama has shared that compassion is not a luxury but a necessity for human beings to survive. There is no more important time to understand and strengthen compassion than right now.
Recorded :
Mark explores how mindfulness practice in the natural world can help bring peace, insight, compassion and freedom.
This week’s topic is “Awakening in the Midst of Life”. Our relationship with life is revealed through our words, thoughts and actions. Reflecting on these in the light of the Dharma opens up possibilities of transformation and wellbeing. During this week we’ll explore ways of perceiving and engaging with experience that can help us to deepen our understanding and awaken to a fuller way of being in the world.
Recorded :
Allowing the beautiful to guide us in our practice opens up possibilities beyond our conditioned habits. Awakening to beauty involves being with the messiness and the challenges of our lives. Beauty does not belong to anyone. As we orient away from that which is pleasing to that which is beautiful in ourselves and in our communities, we align ourselves with a path that blossoms into liberation for all beings.
Discussion