It is an extraordinary relief to encounter the perfection of ordinary self in a world that is screaming loudly, “There is something better out there! There is something you might be missing! There are standards you need to meet! There is something more you need to prove!” As we remember our inherent goodness, we cease to have an appetite or artificial need to participate in the outer focus, the conditioning that is telling us that what we have and who we are simply ARE not enough. Embracing our essence ends the charade of the conditioned mind, and all that is left is acknowledgement of the preciousness of our unique expression of life and all forms of life. We finally relax, aware that there is nothing to do and nowhere to get to that is worth more than being who and where we already are.
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On Meeting Conflict and the Incompatible
Recorded :
December 11, 2023 “When you can’t go forward, when you can’t go back, and when you can’t stand still – where do you go? This is your place of non-abiding. The things you love and the things you hate: these are your teachers.” – Ajahn Chah How do we perceive conflict? We often see it as disturbing, but…
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The ultimate relationship: opening to love.
Recorded :
February 19, 2017 We are deeply conditioned to look for love outside ourselves. In that desperate search, we not only experience the frustration and the futility of grasping, but we lose sight of who we authentically are. Join us as we engage in practices that not only remind us of our true nature, but guide us to a…
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Martin Aylward – Week of 18 December, 2023
This week’s topic is “In the Midst of it All”. Sanity, serenity and sangha in the silly season.
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Miles Kessler – Week of 19 January, 2026
This week’s theme is: The Seven Stages of Purification in Insight Meditation
The Seven Stages of Purification in Insight Meditation is a 5-day exploration of how insight naturally unfolds through practice, as described in the classical Theravāda map of purification. Each day will combine a short teaching with guided meditation, helping practitioners-whether new or experienced-recognize how challenge, insight, clarity, and release arise as part of a single, coherent developmental process. Rather than presenting the stages as goals to attain, this series offers them as an orienting framework: a way to understand what is already happening in your practice, normalize both ease and challenge, and cultivate confidence, patience, and continuity on the path of awakening.
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Our Struggles Are the Path
Recorded :
December 15, 2024 This session will explore how our struggles can become stepping stones on our path to growth. By learning to meet difficulties with openness and compassion, we can transform obstacles into opportunities. The session will draw upon Buddhist teachings and include guided meditation, a dharma talk, and some time for Q&A. Participants are encouraged to bring…
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Embodying the dharma: contact, curiosity and care.
Recorded :
February 1, 2015 Worldwide Insight talk from Martin Aylward: “Embodying the Dharma: Contact, Curiosity and Care”. Worldwide Insight inaugural session. Guided meditation, Dharma talk and Q&A.
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Zohar Lavie – Week of May 6, 2024
This week’s topic is “Finding Balance in the Midst of Uncertainty”. Dharma teachings support us in meeting the wholeness of our lives with interest, gentleness and creativity. Acknowledging the inconstancy and flux of our experience, both joys and sorrows, with sensitivity and care nourishes a deep wellbeing. Through the week we will cultivate a nurturing environment through which to connect with challenging aspects of the human condition. By prioritising spacious tenderness over contraction and demand, we can find the liberation of the true heart’s release.
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Meditating and speaking: simultaneously practicing Sila, Samadhi and Panna
Recorded :
February 11, 2018 The communicative loop of listening and speaking forms a powerful karmic workshop. Language taps into our karmic archive, sankhara. It reaches other people and, if they are listening, there is mind-to-mind contact. Relational contact is intrinsically powerful because humans are intrinsically relational: when we engage together, our mutual responsiveness amplifies our efforts. Speaking and listening…
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