There is a substance we need for every meaningful part of our life. We only have a small amount of it, it’s being spent constantly, we can’t get more, and we’re surrounded by predators hungry for it. Attention: every moment we give it to something, and if we don’t choose wisely, a salesperson or an old trauma will. As we learn to protect and train our attention, every part of our life and path improves.
With Sean Oakes recorded on September 3, 2023.
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Milla Gregor – Week of July 22, 2024
This week’s theme is “Comfort and Discomfort”. Comfort and discomfort can show up in practice, as well as in life. In what ways are they interwoven? What assumptions do we make about them that might hold us back from fully engaging? We’ll explore these ideas through meditation and contemplation, to see what can be learned – and liberated – in support of living and practising more freely and fully.
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The Wisdom of No Escape
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February 16, 2020 Our lives include facing things we didn’t choose, and often cannot change; such as getting ill or injured, or loosing something or someone that we love. Dharma teachings invite us to turn towards these, instead of turning away from them. What is the wisdom that is available to us when we meet our experience with…
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Relational mindfulness: how to stay awake in our daily interactions and relationships.
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October 2, 2016 It is one thing to deepen our practice through silent sitting meditation or on retreat, but how do we bring our practice into the dynamic, messy, and beautiful field of human relationship? What if our daily interactions offer the perfect gateway for awakening? This dharma talk is about letting go of the needless efforting of…
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The Power of Change
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June 21, 2020 We wish for change. The time of the old is up. Its structures, habits and perspectives have lost their appeal. We sense the potential for something fresh to start. We can witness change. Feel victimized or beaten by it. Or find ways of empowerment and respond with wisdom. Meditation, mindfulness and reflection provide the tools…
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The nature and practice of right view.
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January 3, 2016 If there is one practice that defines the quality of the Buddha’s teachings, it is right view. This is a wisdom path. Right view is the beginning and ending of the path. Right view comes first among the eight path factors because it is needed for the entire path. Right view can be described as…
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Understanding Our Mind: Healing Blocks of Suffering in the Individual and Collective Consciousness
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January 12, 2020 Drawing on Thich Nhat Hanh’s teaching on the different layers of consciousness, we will explore the nature of the seeds that sleep in the depths of our mind. We can each learn to be skillful gardeners of our own and others’ minds, watering the wholesome seeds and skillfully caring for the unwholesome ones. As we…
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Equanimity: Finding Balance in Difficult Times
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January 16, 2022 In times like these with so much uncertainty, fear and suffering, how can we keep our center in a world that sometimes seems to be spinning out of control?
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From Freeze to Flow: Transforming Your Fear in the Midst of Pandemic
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March 29, 2020 Rarely has our inherent interdependence been more exposed than it is right now. As a society, we are depending on one another not only to wash our hands and keep our distance. We are depending on each other to take care of our minds and hearts, to transmit clarity and compassion rather than powerlessness and…
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