However challenging, we are in these times because we need to be here. We are here to release from what no longer serves and to infuse a new story with clear, wise, conscious intention; a story about building our collective resilience as we rise, with compassion, to save what we can.
Discover more from the Dharma Library
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Coming Home To The Body with Breath
Recorded :
December 9, 2018 The teachings of the dharma originate from meditation, sitting in zazen, in samadhi. Everything we need to know is in the depths of our being, but we must first come home. One breath at a time, until it is safe for us to turn all feelings back on, and be at home in the body….
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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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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Ulla Koenig – Week of Jan 16, 2023
This week’s theme is “Change, Loss and Dying: Meeting the Common Denominator”. When we come in touch with the fragility of our existence, it is only natural that fear or sadness might well up. The constant inward and outward change contrasts with our lack of control. To experience change, loss and death, is a substantial challenge for all of us. The Buddha did not shy away from these common human denominators, but offered perspectives and practices which allow us to meet them with compassion, while enabling the heart to rest in love and peacefulness.
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Sophie Boyer – Week of Nov 13, 2023
This week’s topic is “Entering Fall”. The autumn season can be a challenging (transitional) time of the year with darkness, rain, wind, mist, and a sense that the cycle of life is coming slowly to an end. Paradoxically, nature also offers intense scents and colors before heading into the coldness and barrenness of winter. This week is an invitation to experience autumn within us. A time to bring the mind momentarily to a stop and explore what can nurture and provide a refuge for the heart. Let’s explore the sparkling colors of autumn’s heart and mind together.
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Soften the hard places: opening our hearts to those we find difficult
Recorded :
May 5, 2019 The teacher Neem Karoli Baba said, “Don’t throw anyone out of your heart.” What about people who have hurt us, or are currently hurting us or others? In this session we explore together practices that help us to transform our resentment, fear and anger toward these difficult people, and learn to open our hearts to…
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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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Blunt Suffering
Recorded :
April 29, 2018 Let’s not flinch when we look at the lived experiences of illness, confusion, and relational pain. Let’s allow the texture of hurt to be known. Awareness remains brilliant, for sure. Any of us can experience this. Maybe the more we allow the blunt pain of the body-mind, the more we can sit squarely in awareness….
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Integrity – A Bridge Over Troubled Water
Recorded :
July 12, 2020 In challenging situations, we can lose our ground. Not knowing what to rely on, we are liable to reactivity, either withdrawing or lashing out. Fear and anger are very human reactions to what we perceive as injustice or threat. While there is no need to condemn us for experiencing them, our hearts might yearn for…
