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

Soften the hard places: opening our hearts to those we find difficult

With Kaira Jewel Lingo recorded on May 5, 2019.

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

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 them, moving through obstacles that hold us back so that we can be free to live and love fully. When we open to the boundless love that exists in each of us, not only do we experience profound transformation, but difficult relationships can transform as well.

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

Discussion

Leave a Reply

Discover more from the Dharma Library

  • Surrendering to awareness.

    Often in spiritual practice there is the encouragement to observe. From that place of observation we attempt to “be with” what arises. When does that intention get colonized by the ego? Who is it that is “being with”? What is it that is “being with”? What shifts in our practice when we surrender what is…

    Read More

  • Tuere Sala

    The Supramundane Nature of Emptiness

    Emptiness can be a loaded word for lay practitioners. It can bring up a sense of isolation and annihilation. The dharma of emptiness, however, is a fundamental part of practice. Even in the most mundane tasks of our ordinary lives, we can access emptiness and feel the freedom that comes with it. It’s not about…

    Read More

  • Daily Meditation Recordings, with Ulla Koenig – Week of March 28, 2022

    This week’s topic is Shelter from the Storm. Whether it is restlessness, worry, anxiety, panic, worry or rumination, all aspects of fear have one thing in common: they rob us of our peace of mind. If fear governs our perspective, we are focused on that which is potentially problematic. Unable to settle down and rest, we often feel exhausted by the relentless activity of our mind. The Buddha invited us to find in our practice ‘a Shelter, a Harbour, a Refuge’. In this week together, we’ll explore the underlying dynamics of fear, learn ways to soothe our minds and gain access to a sense of safety and peacefulness right here and right now.

    Read More

  • Ronya Banks

    Embracing Uncertainty – Practice During Crisis

    “The truth is that you will never be absolutely safe. All things change constantly, even what is most precious. This is the angst of life, the price of being a conscious human being.” – Phillip Moffitt As a spiritual practitioner, you learn to see and accept “uncertainty” as a fact of life – even during…

    Read More

  • Shaila Catherine

    The Roots of Discouragement

    Progress in meditation may be slower than we anticipate. Discouragement develops when the comparing mind holds unrealistic expectations, demands perfection, and craves for measurable progress, predictable results, or signposts of success. This talk explores the obstacle of discouragement and its roots in conceit and the comparing mind. To prevent discouragement, we develop skillful ways to…

    Read More

  • Nirmala Werner

    Resting in Receptivity – Opening Up to What Liberates

    This session is an embodied, compassionate exploration through our body-mind-heart into life. The door is open. What we long for is already there. This practise invites you to undo and deeply rest into the wonder of an receptive presence. BY LAL DED, TRANSLATED BY JANE HIRSHFIELD:I was passionate,filled with longing,I searchedfar and wide. But the…

    Read More

  • Daily Meditation Recordings, with Ulla Koenig – Week of Feb 27, 2023

    This week’s theme is “Samadhi – Doors of Harmony”. The Buddha encouraged us to nourish, calm, gladden and liberate our heart-mind (citta). To know ways to inner harmony, stillness and contentment independently of outer circumstances is a precious resource. It contributes to resilience, allows steadiness in challenging situations with others and brings confidence into our lives. Yet the path towards samadhi can be easily misunderstood and contribute to more pressure and self-doubt. We dedicate this week to exploring kind and nourishing ways to practice.

    Read More