Dharma in Times of Heartbreak

Take refuge in the deeper intelligence of the dharma in times of heartbreak

As news of more natural destruction lands, it causes intense shock, grief, and outrage.

As well as a sense of profound heartbreak with the lack of political will to address the health crisis of our earth and the essential ecosystems we all share.

Do you recognise this in yourself?

In this revolutionary course, Thanissara beautifully explains how we reached this point of crisis, what blocks us from acting, and why we need a profound, collective and compassionate response.

A wise response which is immediate and direct.

This is dharma in the time of heartbreak.

Module 1 - Suffering as Catalyst

We are living in a time where a great amount of destruction and a great amount of awakening happens in such a short space of time.

How do we find a place of inner stability, perspective and clarity?

How can we energise ourselves to our optimum potential?

How do we free ourselves from our pain, heartbreak and rage so we can respond as fully as we can, at a time when we must respond with our full selves?

Thanissara guides us through these and other urgent and sometimes overwhelming questions.

Module 2 - The Walls of the Mind

Our delicate biosphere which sustains life, allowing us to breathe and live is heating up and degrading. The karma of the anthropocene, the cause and effect of where our human minds have been for so long, is now in full view.

Of course we must protest on the streets, pressurise politicians and look at new forms of regenerative culture. But in doing so, where does our consciousness come from?

What is driving this movement?

To bring an end to this cycle of ignorance and destruction we must ensure our response and action is informed by wisdom, compassion, clarity and decisiveness, we must shift our listening towards and operate from a deeper intelligence of reality.

The deeper intelligence of the dharma.

Module 3 - The Journey from Mind to Heart

Many of us have been in a mindless pursuit, letting energies of craving drive us to the point where our thirst spills out into our natural environment, depleting and destroying that which sustains us and all of life.

Thanissara names this as our collective journeying into a separative consciousness.

Do you recognise these energies in your own experience?

Thanissara invites us to journey into strategies and practices to counter what Ann Baring calls, “Individuating out of this web of belonging”.

To stop filtering and translating everything through “my needs” and “what I want”, both as individuals and as a species.

Rather than trying to survive as individuals, there’s the possibility of experiencing ourselves as participatory beings within the great web of life.

Module 4 - A Mindful Path

Without our deeper senses of empathy and sensitivity, we find ourselves in this shocking scenario. The shock, realising our natural world and habitats are dying and, like us, are now in crisis.

What is the collective responsibility and the collective solution to the climate crisis we all face right now?

How do we reverse this dislocation and disembodiment with ourselves, each other and our environment?

Thanissara guides us as we practice holding our collective and individual reactions to what is unfolding around us and the task ahead which faces us all.

On-Demand Course Details

4 Hours of Teachings

Filmed in high definition with only you in mind, pre-recorded video lessons from Thanissara each week have an intimate and personal feel that will keep you engaged as your body, mind and heart tune in.

Daily Inquiry Questions and Journaling

With each module, Thanissara will offer self-inquiry questions and journaling exercises, all to be practiced each day of the week, or as often as your schedule allows.

I See You Mara! From Inner Critic to Inner Freedom with Martin Aylward

Pre-Recorded Q&A Sessions

Videos of recorded interactive sessions from a previous live release of this course are also included. Each recording is approx. 1 hour, and is oriented around the themes and practices covered in the week's teachings.

Total Flexibility

Complete this course independently, on your own schedule, at your ideal pace. Watch and re-watch the videos as you please.

About Thanissara

Thanissara is Anglo-Irish and originally from London. She is a Dharma teacher, author, poet and activist. She trained as a monastic for 12 years in the Thai Forest School of Ajahn Chah and has co-led, with her partner Kittisaro, meditation retreats for 35 years. They also co-founded Dharmagiri Sacred Mountain Retreat in South Africa, Chattanooga Insight in Tennessee, and Sacred Mountain Sangha in California.

Thanissara has an MA in Mindfulness Psychotherapy Practice. Her current book is Time To Stand Up, An Engaged Buddhist Manifesto for Our Planet (2015) and she is a member of the Spirit Rock Meditation Center Teacher Council. Click here to learn more about Thanissara.

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