Spiritual practice is often a journey to discover spaciousness, openness and absorption into everything else. From form to formless. From more spaciousness in the mind to subtle and beautiful limitless states that are clearly described in the Buddhist tradition such as the four formless jhanas or realms. We will explore and practice these states and I will describe my experiences of them while being researched by scientists.
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Nathan Glyde – Week of October 24, 2022
This week’s topic is Subtilising Experience. The Dharma is a path to awakening. Our experience becomes more liberated as we awaken. Similarly, we can notice that our life progresses from the gross to the more subtle in awakening. A path of awakening freedom, then, is a path of subtilising: from perceptions of self and things in the world to space-time and even awareness, all phenomena transition from rigid and gross to fluid and refined, all the way to barely here at all.
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With a generous spirit: your money and your life.
Recorded :
March 26, 2017 We often hear about Dana, or generosity, only when being asked for donations! Yet Buddha taught that “the practice of generosity is a foundation for happiness”. This session with Worldwide Insight guiding teacher Martin Aylward explores the depth and beauty of generosity, and how its practice can transform our own hearts and minds.
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We were made for these times: touching our true home in the here and now
Recorded :
June 18, 2017 In this class, we come home to ourselves to access our strength, wisdom, courage and joy, so needed for us to meet these difficult times with freedom and clarity. We explore ways to stay engaged without burning out and how we can pause regularly to make sure our action is coming from a place of…
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Refugia: Finding Sanctuary in Times of Crisis
Recorded :
September 1, 2024 We live in challenging times. Biologists speak of micro-systems where species sequester during times of crisis. They are called refugia. In times of uncertainty and fear, we too need refugia, places of spiritual safety where we can put down roots, grow and thrive. In this Sunday teaching, Willa invites us to explore the concept of…
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Blunt Suffering
Recorded :
April 29, 2018 Let’s not flinch when we look at the lived experiences of illness, confusion, and relational pain. Let’s allow the texture of hurt to be known. Awareness remains brilliant, for sure. Any of us can experience this. Maybe the more we allow the blunt pain of the body-mind, the more we can sit squarely in awareness….
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The Necessity of Trust
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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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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Nathan Glyde – Week of May 10, 2021
This week’s theme is: Invitation to Awaken.
The Buddha adopted a medical model to express the seminal and accessible four noble truths. We can see a diagnosis, a cause and symptoms, a cure, and a treatment. Namely dukkha (stress), taṇhā (thirsting), nibanna (freedom), and the noble eightfold path of release. This can be taken as a simple direction of how to understand and treat the human condition. It’s also an invitation into the depths and intricacies of the dharma.
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Embracing the First Noble Truth: Dukkha and Destructive Emotions
Recorded :
January 24, 2021 Coming to terms with the teaching and implications of the first noble truth can be challenging, confusing and ongoing. When we are unable to do the hard work of completing the task of the first truth, to embrace Dukkha, we become vulnerable to destructive emotions.
