Freedom is a central concern of all our lives, yet has many different manifestations, some of which run completely contrary to others. This class will explores the importance of social freedoms, inner freedom, personal and collective freedoms. We explore how different perspectives on free-ness shape how we practice; and how we understand life and our own unfolding awakening in the midst of the complex world we inhabit and share.
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Awakening to the New Year: creating conscious intentions
Recorded :
January 7, 2018 When we move on behalf of the recognition of our true nature, a conscious intention becomes a way to align all aspects of our lives with our deepest understanding and recognition of truth. A conscious intention is seeped in possibility. While it may even look similar on some level, on the surface, to a conditioned…
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Joy is Always Available
Recorded :
July 13, 2025 On autopilot, our mind often resists opening to joy with: “But right now in my life, there is …” So we explore what stands in our way of the unexpected ordinariness of joy. We’ll discover how the awakening factor of meditative joy (piti) illuminates our capacity to open to delight and rapture, allowing our hearts…
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There is no Way to Peace, Peace is the Way
Recorded :
June 30, 2019 As the planet heats up, and hostilities flare between groups and nations, how do we touch and embody the possibility of peace, right here and now? Peace in the future is founded on peace in the present moment. The same is true of justice, and liberation. These are not things we have to wait for…
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Reverence is the Nature of My Love
Recorded :
October 9, 2022 The Diamond Sutra, possibly the oldest text on deep ecology, teaches that there are four notions that separate us from life that we must throw away: the concepts of self, lifespan, humans, and living beings. In this session we will learn practices that enable us to go beyond this limited perception of reality to touch how interconnected with all life we are.
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Trust in the Goodness of your Practice
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January 26, 2020 Basic goodness is the fundamental ground of your own heart and mind and being. A buoyant heart allows us to face the ‘infinite ocean of suffering’ and stay open-hearted; It is the foundation for living the Bodhisattva vows, it is how we keep on waking up and showing up and growing up, for the benefit…
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The Delusion of Separateness
Recorded :
October 27, 2019 There seems to be a sense of disorientation, disjointedness and overall running around in circles happening in the world today. And for some reason, many of us think that we’re the only ones who are feeling it; as if it’s our own personal failing. As we move into the changing of seasons, this is the…
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Untangling the Tangle
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July 3, 2022 The Buddha often described our practice in terms of untangling the tangles we find ourselves caught in. Together, let us uncover the primary tangles we get tangled in and how we can use our Buddhist practices to become free from these tangles. “A tangle within, a tangle without, people are entangled in a tangle. Gotama,…
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Natural awareness: practicing in daily life.
Recorded :
July 10, 2016 Meditation is often viewed as something restricted to a certain posture or time of day. For most of us, the majority of our life will not be on retreat or even spent in a formal sitting posture. If we want to make best use of our daily life, it’s important to know that being aware…
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