Through the cultures within family, education and work, we are constantly orientated towards ‘realistic’ expectations and visions for our lives. Dharma practice asks us to abandon the realistic in favour of the real; listening deeply to life and to how things actually are, so as to respond wisely and lovingly, fully and freely. In this class Worldwide Insight founding teacher Martin Aylward contrasts the realistic and the real, inviting reflection and discussion to point us towards freedom, awakening and wise engagement with the world.
With Martin Aylward recorded on March 18, 2018.
Found our teachings useful? Help us continue our work and support your teachers with a donation. Here’s how.
Discover more from the Dharma Library
-
Daily Meditation Recordings, with Zohar Lavie – Week of January 22, 2024
This week’s topic is “Wholehearted Presence”. Meeting experience as it unfolds with presence and interest, we uncover the wellbeing and freedom available to us on the Dharma path. Through this week’s exploration we will open to what supports a wholehearted approach to practice, and understand what is nourished and cultivated when we relate to experience in this way.
-
Finding Refuge Within Uncertainty
Recorded :
April 6, 2025 During these unprecedented times, it can be challenging to find a sense of refuge amidst the storms of uncertainty swirling around us. While the timeless teachings of the Buddhist Tradition don’t offer us lasting certainty, they do offer the possibility of finding a reliable refuge in what are known as the 3 jewels: The Buddha,…
-
The Sacred No: Setting Conscious Boundaries Alongside Boundlessness
Recorded :
February 15, 2026 To truly embody our Yes to life, we must equally honor our No. Liberating our minds and hearts and taking responsibility for our contribution to collective consciousness requires setting loving boundaries around authentic being. Sometimes, through spiritual bypass; concepts/ideas about mindfulness; or lack of distinction between being nice and being kind, we devalue the sacred…
-
Return to Unity: Seeing Through Duality
Recorded :
February 19, 2023 Dualities are endless. Why? Because when we look through the lens of duality, everything seen appears to be dualistic. Join Caverly for a Dharma talk revolving around a reading from her new book The Heart of Who We Are: Realizing Freedom Together, published by Sounds True. This session also includes a practice from the book that supports us in returning to unity.
-
Daily Meditation Recordings, with Jaya Rudgard – Week of 21 April, 2025
We’re delighted to have Jaya Rudgard guiding our Daily Meditation sessions this week. May these sessions support and deepen your practice.
This week’s theme is: Still Here, Still Now: Waking Up to Life
As we develop our ability to remain present to experience our insight into the nature of that experience deepens. We’ll continue to explore this week how mindfulness can lead not just to less stress here and now but to the kind of seeing that will eventually free the heart-mind from all its self-created suffering.
Our Dharma Library thrives through collective generosity. Your donation helps sustain this offering for our entire community.
-
Other People Are the Path: Relationships as Practice
Recorded :
October 21, 2018 In this session, we explore how our relationships are the very path of awakening and how we can show up fully in our interactions with others, especially those we find challenging. People we find difficult can teach us a great deal and we learn ways to practice with these painful relationships to profit from their…
-
The First Duty of Love is to Listen
Recorded :
February 10, 2019 What is meditation and everyday life mindfulness practice but listening? True listening is neutral, non-judgemental, welcoming and silent. It’s a window to a larger vision and freedom, which gets us out of the narrow jail of self and creates an intimacy with life in which we feel more alive and loving. Join Christelle to explore…
-
Joy as an Act of Resistance & Resilience
Recorded :
November 30, 2025 What brings you joy? How does joy affect you? What is your relationship to joy? Experiencing joys, small and large, helps keep us connected to what is meaningful, nourishing, and enlivening. Come explore the many aspects of dharma joy as an intentional everyday practice, and how it informs and supports not only your own well-being,…
Discussion