Rather than waking up it seems that most of us need to wake down. How can our insights and the awakening process move from being primarily experiential to becoming functional, relational, and lived? In this session Leela explores spiritual practice as a fundamentally earthly practice. How do we awake a presence that does not contract in contact with experience? It is an invitation to explore what it means to awaken a belly presence that makes us truly embodied and that potentially embraces and integrates our instinctual nature: our social, sexual and survival drive.
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The Necessity of Trust
Recorded :
May 28, 2023 The qualities of trust, faith, and confidence are essential for mental health, profound spiritual explorations and the depth of relationships. To serve well, trust needs cultivating in conjunction with qualities of discerning wisdom and conscious intention. This session explores how this can be encouraged in both meditation and in our heart’s countless daily actions.
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Cabbages & Condoms
Recorded :
October 24, 2021 During this session we be explore life’s basic necessities and drives, and the critical difference between ‘getting along’ and ‘getting ahead.’ Our meditation practice will be based on the Wise-Heartedness Bhavana to help us cultivate skilful response to distractions in daily life. A transcript of this session is available here.
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Jaya Rudgard – Week of 11 May, 2026
This week’s theme is: Less Stuck Than We Think
When we find ourselves feeling stuck, it may be that we are less so than we think. Even in circumstances beyond our control, there is some possibility of agency and freedom. These daily sessions will support us to find the ground under our feet and investigate ways we stick to experiences and they to us, and what we can do to set ourselves free.
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Living the Bodhisattva Vow
Recorded :
February 1, 2026 In Buddhism, a Bodhisattva is one who, having realized deep insight into the nature of self and reality, dedicates their life to alleviating suffering and guiding others toward awakening. Through examining the foundational principles of the vow of the Bodhisattva, we will consider what it means to be “Bodhisattvas in training” and how this intention…
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The Beauty of Impermanence, a Doorway to Freedom
Recorded :
March 15, 2026 “If we were never to fade away…how things would lose their power to move us. Because we will fade away, we are moved, because we are moved, we realise more deeply that we will fade away.”– Keith Dowman If I had to sum up Buddhism in one word, it might be impermanence. Often, it’s impermanence…
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Equanimity: Finding Balance in Uncertain Times
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January 4, 2026 Equanimity is a highly-valued quality in Buddhist teachings. But what is it, and how do we cultivate it in our meditation practice? How can we access equanimity in daily life, especially in the midst of uncertainty, fear, and sadness over the suffering in the world? Howard Zinn from “The Optimism of Uncertainty”To be hopeful in…
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The Power of Connection
Recorded :
October 10, 2021 The pandemic has highlighted now, more than ever, how interconnected we are with life on this planet, and also the importance of human connection for us as social animals. The preciousness of relationship is at the heart of Buddhist teachings. How can our meditation practice help us to remain connected and integrated with ourselves, others,…
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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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