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

Skillful Ways to Work with Difficult Thoughts in Meditation

With Lisa Ernst recorded on November 21, 2021.

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

There’s a misconception that thoughts are a hindrance to deep meditation and tranquility. Especially during this ongoing challenging time, certain thoughts may be persistent and difficult to release. Yet, thoughts themselves are not the problem; it’s our relationship to them that determines whether or not they impede our meditation. In this session, we will explore a number of skillful ways to work with difficult or persistent thoughts in meditation to support inner well-being and clarity.

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

Discover more from the Dharma Library

  • Stephen Fulder

    Equanimity: Dancing with the Unexpected

    Equanimity is a key spiritual faculty which allows us to face the known and the unknown, the ecstasies and the despairs, with steadiness and lightness. Equanimity helps us engage with life from an unlimited and interconnected perspective. The Buddhist image is of an island in the stormy seas – remembering that all islands are connected…

    Read More

  • Jonny White

    Empower Your Self to Free Your Self

    We know that Freedom is possible, yet many of us do not feel free. In this session we will explore Freedom. What do we mean by it? What is inhibiting us from experiencing it? What can we do to heal and empower our Being to open to deeper levels of liberation. Using sitting, talks, inquiry…

    Read More

  • Ralph Steele

    Discovering Diamonds in Darkness: Racism & Cultural Diversity

    Racism and cultural identity have indiscriminately been seeded into human consciousness since the beginning of humanity. The health of any community begins with the Sense of Self. This Dharma assembly will focus on our sense of self as we investigate consciousness using the Noble Truths for Awakening. Millions have followed this path of practice for millennia.

    Read More

  • Daily Meditation Recordings, with Christopher Titmuss – Week of 09 December, 2024

    We’re delighted to have Christopher Titmuss guiding our Daily Meditation sessions this week. May they support and deepen your practice.

    This week’s theme is: Liberation Of The Heart

    Join Christopher Titmuss for a week exploring the Brahma Viharas – the Immeasurable Ways of Being.

    The Brahma Viharas, traditionally known as Divine Abidings, point to something boundless in our human experience. While Brahma literally means “God,” its deeper root meaning is “Immeasurable.” The Buddha taught four specific ways to dwell in this immeasurable space: through radical love, compassion, appreciative joy, and equanimity.

    Over five morning sessions, Christopher will offer an overview of these teachings and explore each of these profound ways of abiding. By radical, we mean getting to the very root of what matters most.

    Whether you come with an open heart or a closed one, whether you’re new to meditation or a seasoned practitioner – all are welcome to join these transformative sessions.

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

    Read More

  • Ronya Banks

    Inner Peace in a Chaotic World

    In this session Ronya leads us on a journey of exploring the Buddhist principles and practices specifically designed to promote “inner peace” – even amidst a chaotic world. “Everybody wants a happy life. This goal is entirely dependent on our inner peace… We are trying to seek a joyful, happy life from the outside —…

    Read More

  • Miles Kessler

    Daily Meditation Recordings, with Miles Kessler – Week of June 5, 2023

    This week’s topic is “Cultivating The 5 Spiritual Powers In Your Life”. The “5 Spiritual Powers” are mental faculties of faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration, & wisdom. In this week of daily meditation, each day you will experience one of the 5 spiritual powers, and you will learn the best practices for awakening, developing, and cultivating these mental powers in your practice, and in your life.

    Read More

  • Daigan Gaither

    Bodhisattva Practice

    Using the hagiography of the Bodhisattvas of Compassion, Wisdom, and Activity, let’s explore how to bring those ideals into our everyday life off the cushion. What can these perfections of compassion, wisdom and activity teach us about our own journey to practice-realization, and liberation.

    Read More

  • Nathan Glyde

    Daily Meditation Recordings, with Nathan Glyde – Week of 08 September, 2025

    We’re delighted to have Nathan Glyde leading our Daily Meditation sessions this week. May these sessions support and deepen your practice.

    This week’s theme is: Radiant Non-Reactivity

    Disentangling from the web of stress and distress is like meeting life with an open palm. This liberation shines with unequalled radiance and unfolds into the profound peace that our hearts and the world deeply long for.

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

    Read More