We live in challenging times. Biologists speak of micro-systems where species sequester during times of crisis. They are called refugia. In times of uncertainty and fear, we too need refugia, places of spiritual safety where we can put down roots, grow and thrive. In this Sunday teaching, Willa invites us to explore the concept of refugia, and how it can help expand our conventional understanding of what “refuge” means in the Buddhist context. Refuge, an ancient Buddhist practice of finding sanctuary in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, is not a ritual or initiation. It involves a deep exploration of the role of safety in spiritual life. Refuge is an ongoing inquiry into what refugia looks like for each of us, into our crisis-sanctuaries and how they become a catalyst for our spiritual evolution.
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Meeting Grief with Love
Recorded :
October 4, 2020 Amidst so many changes and so much loss this year, many of us are grieving. We may be grieving the loss of a loved one, of our own health, of a job, or even a way of life. Come gather in community to explore how we can meet our grief with tenderness, create space to…
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Apply as Needed; the Benefits of Skillful Means
Recorded :
November 8, 2020 Becoming quiet allows for deeper listening – to the whispers of the body, heart and mind as parts of a whole and as harmonic convergence. How we tune our instruments depends on what we hear. Skillful means provide a variety of tools to self prescribe and address what is needed in the moment. We’ll practice…
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Martin Aylward – Week of November 23, 2020
We’re fortunate that Martin Aylward has generously offered to lead our daily meditation sessions for Europe and the UK this week. To find out more about Martin, and view his other recordings on the platform, click here.
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Christine Kupfer – Week of October 9, 2023
This week’s topic is “Presence: At the Heart of Everything, Free from Everything”. I first heard this phrase when I was a young student of Zen. Since then I have practiced it every day. It is a radical proposition, an invitation to live fully. Embodied presence is transformative, healing and liberating.
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Gail Aylward – Week of 09 March, 2026
This week’s theme is: Kindness Begins Within
This week, we will explore kindness as a gentle strength of body, heart and mind where we can learn to meet our thoughts and feelings, meet ourselves and others with warmth rather than judgment. As this inner kindness deepens, it naturally flows outward, shaping how we speak, listen, and move through the world.
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Zohar Lavie – Week of May 30, 2022
This week’s theme is: Bringing the Practice to Life. The Buddha’s teachings emphasise the whole of our lives as a rich ground for exploration and growth. Through meditation, we cultivate skills and ways of relating that can be applied beyond formal meditation. This week we will explore bringing the practice to different areas and aspects of our lives. We will open to taste how this enlivens and rejuvenates our practice, and how it can nurture wellbeing for others and ourselves.
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Ulla Koenig – Week of June 13, 2022
This week’s topic is Healing Shame and Guilt. Psychologists describe shame as soul-eating emotion. Shame and guilt prevent us from developing trusting connections with others and a healthy sense of appreciation for ourselves. The Buddha taught that systems of self-reference such as shame and guilt can cause pain and stress. To find liberation is to find freedom from these deeply harmful emotions. We will look at practical ways to find such freedom in our own lives.
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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….
Discussion