Use code SUMMERPRACTICE for a 25% discount on all On Demand Courses through August 31.

Belonging: The Dharma as a Journey to Connectedness

With Willa Blythe Baker recorded on July 10, 2022.

Found our teachings useful? Help us continue our work and support your teachers with a donation. Here’s how.

Behavioral scientists have long known that human beings are wired for connection. But recent studies show that in the wake of the social isolation imposed by the Covid crisis, the world is experiencing a spike in loneliness.

In such times of isolation — physical or felt — how can meditation help? What do the Buddha’s teachings have to offer with respect to developing and strengthening a sense of belonging?

Listen to the audio version below, or click here to download the mp3.

Discussion

Leave a Reply

Discover more from the Dharma Library

  • Daily Meditation Recordings, with Leela Sarti – Week of April 26, 2021

    This week’s theme is: Timeless presence in the midst of daily life.

    This week we will invite the possibility of being grounded in the depth of timeless presence in the midst of daily life. We will practice and inquire how to live a full and heartfelt life from silence and emptiness, and yet being yourself in peace with others, and doing what needs to be done.

    Read More

  • Eugene Cash

    Not Clinging to Anything in the World

    These words, spoken by the Buddha in the Satipatthana Sutta, point us to the potential for awakening inherent in mindfulness practice. Even now, in the midst of the pandemic of Covid-19, we can explore what it means to live a life of love, commitment and authenticity as we discover the freedom of not clinging to…

    Read More

  • Miles Kessler

    Daily Meditation Recordings, with Miles Kessler – Week of June 24, 2024

    This week’s topic is “Let Come, Let Go, Let Be, Let Grow – Practicing the 4 Noble Truths”. Join Miles in this exploration of the Buddha’s 4 Noble Truths. Over 5 days you will gain insight into how the 4 Noble truths unfold in your practice and in your life. You will learn how these 4 practices unlock your true nature, allowing it to grow and flourish in your life.

    Read More

  • Trudy Goodman

    Presence as an Act of Compassion and Love

    Mindful presence is the necessary ground of compassion and care. With presence, we courageously enter an intimacy that connects us with ourselves, each other and the world, body, heart and spirit. The beautiful truth is that presence and love can grow and blossom through the practices of meditation and mindful loving awareness. Let’s join together…

    Read More

  • Justine Dawson

    Including All Parts of Ourself in Practice

    Are all parts of you welcome in your spiritual practice? What happens when desire, aggression, anxiety or obsession burst through your heart’s door? It is possible to cultivate an awareness that includes all, without fear or rejection. In today’s session, explore simple and potent practices for ending the internal war and welcoming ALL of you…

    Read More

  • Christelle Bonneau

    Nothing is my own, everything is my own.

    It’s a pretty delicate task to find the right posture inside ourself in relation to the events that occur in our everyday life. Some are really desired and welcome; some are unexpected or disappointing. We gain things, we lose things and people, and good health comes and goes. On the one hand, everything we experience…

    Read More

  • Miles Kessler

    Daily Meditation Recordings, with Miles Kessler – Week of 19 January, 2026

    This week’s theme is: The Seven Stages of Purification in Insight Meditation

    The Seven Stages of Purification in Insight Meditation is a 5-day exploration of how insight naturally unfolds through practice, as described in the classical Theravāda map of purification. Each day will combine a short teaching with guided meditation, helping practitioners-whether new or experienced-recognize how challenge, insight, clarity, and release arise as part of a single, coherent developmental process. Rather than presenting the stages as goals to attain, this series offers them as an orienting framework: a way to understand what is already happening in your practice, normalize both ease and challenge, and cultivate confidence, patience, and continuity on the path of awakening.

    Our Dharma Library thrives through collective generosity. Your donation helps sustain this offering for our entire community.

    Read More