We can cultivate the attitude of appreciation and allow it to enhance and strengthen our mindfulness practice. Shaila Catherine speaks about the powerful impact that joy and appreciation can have on the quality of our minds, and the development of our spiritual path.
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From Dukkha to Freedom: Dharma in Times of War and Crisis
Recorded :
January 28, 2024 Intense times of war and crisis can and does often lead to intense Dukkha. But a crisis can also serve as a bedrock to spiritual breakthrough, deepening of liberating insights and openness of the heart. The Upanisa Sutta talks about the possibility of stepping out of Samsara: that Dukkha can lead to Sadha, i.e faith and trust,…
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Pathways to Happiness
Recorded :
November 10, 2019 Being human includes feeling great and feeling pain; given the changing nature of experience what kind of happiness is possible for us? Can we cultivate freedom, happiness and contentment that are less reliant on things ‘going our way’? The attitudes of goodwill, care and friendliness are some of our greatest allies in practice, and also…
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Touching the Earth: Turning the Mind to the Roots
Recorded :
April 10, 2022 During this session we discuss the teaching on ‘wisely directing one’s attention to the roots’ (yoniso manasikāra). It is a remarkably pragmatic approach to contemplative practice and one of Early Buddhism’s unique contributions to the human emancipatory effort from suffering.
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As wide as life and as open as space: practicing inclusivity.
Recorded :
March 22, 2015 As we get familiar with the practice of meditation and the language of Dharma teachings, we can find ourselves getting comfortable, even complacent. Yet our practice in many ways is designed to make us uncomfortable! Designed to keep us open to ambiguity and uncertainty, to invite us to question and explore rather than to settle…
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Miles Kessler – Week of July 29, 2024
This week’s topic is “Cutting Through To Ultimate Reality”. The word “Dhamma” means ultimate reality, the absolute, or universal principles. This refers to the 3 universal characteristics of conditioned phenomena, and to Nibbana, the unconditioned. In this week of practice we will explore how insight into the Dhamma arises in meditation, and get practical instructions to cultivate the conditions for “Cutting Through To Ultimate Reality”.
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Leela Sarti – Week of 08 December, 2025
This week’s theme is: Heart Ground
Can we awaken an awareness that does not contract in contact with experience? Stabilized embodied awareness, heart presence, invites us to a territory that is often underappreciated: sacred neutrality. The ground of the heart.
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Zohar Lavie – Week of May 2, 2022
This week’s theme is: Opportunities for Deepening Compassion and Wisdom. Dharma teachings and practices invite us to use our difficulties and problems to awaken our hearts. Rather than seeing the unwanted aspects of life as obstacles, we can relate to them as the raw material necessary for awakening genuine wisdom and compassion.
The cultivation of wisdom and compassion for ourselves leads naturally to compassion for others. True compassion does not come from wanting to help out those less fortunate than ourselves but from realizing our kinship with all beings. -
Of Two Minds: The Mind of the Body, the Mind of the Mind
Recorded :
May 3, 2026 Awareness opens doors to discovery – the Buddha emphasized it, and science is proving it. We have two minds that work together, yet the body knows before the mind cognizes. The Buddha’s teaching of Nāmarūpa – mind and body as two forms of consciousness – honors the body’s deep wisdom. How the mind elaborates on…
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