Heart of Freedom Mindfulness Meditation Instruction

Compassionate Awakening

This podcast focuses on the simple and basic principles of compassionate awakening.  What is it that helps us discover freedom from suffering?  What are the common impediments to this discovery?  How can we apply these principles in our lives? 
"Spiritual awakening is not a special feeling, state, or experience. It is not a goal or destination, somewhere to reach in the future. ...... It is not a superhuman achievement or attainment. Rather, it is a constant and ancient invitation – throughout every moment of your life – to trust and embrace yourself exactly as you are, in all your glorious imperfection".  Jeff Foster
“So forget the tyranny of perfection. The point is not to perfect yourself. It is to perfect your love. Let your imperfections be an invitation to care. Remember that imperfections are deliberately woven into Navajo rugs and treasured in the best Japanese pottery. They are part of the art. What a relief to honor your life as it is, in all its beauty and imperfection”.  Jack Kornfield
 
“One thing, all things
move among and intermingle,
without distinction.
To live in this realization
is to be without anxiety about non-perfection.
To live in this faith is the road to non-duality,because the non-dual is one with the trusting mind”.
Seng-Ts'an

Self As Story and the Experience of Freedom

This podcast explores the Buddha's teaching on Anatta.  Anatta is often translated as non-self or not-self. The Anatta teaching is not a doctrine of no-self, but a not-self strategy for shedding stress, anguish and suffering that comes with clinging to the mind's "selfing" stories that are at odds with the flow of life in the present moment.  One of the most compassionate insights that arises directly from experience in mindfulness practice is non-identification with the mind's story of self.  This starts with learning that we don't have to believe everything we feel and think.  And not believing the mind doesn't mean we have to try to stop feeling or thinking (this usually doesn't work).  Self stories can be useful maps as long as they are not confused with the actual territory, the experience of life itself.  
“To experience ourselves and the world as interactive processes rather than aggregates of discrete things undermines both habitual ways of perceiving the world as well as habitual feelings about it. ....understanding the philosophy of emptiness or inter-being is not enough.  Ideas need to be translated through meditation into the wordless language of feeling in order to loosen those emotional knots that keep us locked in a spasm of self-preoccupation” Stephen Batchelor in his book Buddhism Without Beliefs
"Herein, Bahiya, you should train yourself thus: 'In the seen will be merely what is seen; in the heard will be merely what is heard; in the sensed will be merely what is sensed; in the cognized will be merely what is cognized.' In this way you should train yourself, Bahiya. When, Bahiya, for you in the seen is merely what is seen... in the cognized is merely what is cognized, then, Bahiya, you will not be 'with that.' When, Bahiya, you are not 'with that,' then, Bahiya, you will not be 'in that.' When, Bahiya, you are not 'in that,' then, Bahiya, you will be neither here nor beyond nor in between the two. Just this is the end of suffering."  The Bahiya Sutta, The Buddha
"Nothing whatsoever is to be clung to as 'I', 'me' or 'mine'" The Buddha

Mindfulness of Thinking

We often treat thoughts as if they are facts. For example: “I am no good at this,” “He’s is a jerk,” “Nobody understands me,” “I am brilliant,” etc. When we have a thought many times it can condense into a belief. A belief is just a thought or thoughts that I have a lot of the time. Beliefs can then be taken as facts. For example: “The world is flat” – enough people had that thought often enough for it to be assumed to be a fact for centuries! When we start to pay attention to our thoughts, with a gentle curiosity, then we move away from believing that the thought is a fact.  This makes it possible to shape a destiny through mindfulness and wisdom.  We can wisely choose which seeds of thought we want to cultivate.
"Mind precedes all mental states. Mind is their chief; they are all mind-wrought. If with an impure mind a person speaks or acts suffering follows them/her/him like the wheel that follows the foot of the ox.  Mind precedes all mental states. Mind is their chief; they are all mind-wrought. If with a pure mind a person speaks, or acts happiness follows them/her/him like his never-departing shadow"  From the The Dhammapada: The Buddha
 
"To discover our inherent freedom, we do not need to give up the world, our preferences, relationships, desires, feelings, compulsions, obsessions, memories, or emotions. There is only one thing that needs to be done. That is, to no longer identify with our thoughts. Our thoughts are the world and the source of all confusion, disharmony and suffering. The way that identification with thoughts comes to an end is to see that thoughts do not belong to us and to realize their utter emptiness. They have no inherent reality. None. They cannot lead us to freedom, have nothing to do with freedom, and only lead to living an imagined life. This can be directly realized through consistent and penetrating meditation practice".  Matt Flickstein
Please join us to explore mindfulness of thinking through guided and silent meditation, group sharing and a short Dharma talk. Being curious about thinking is often supported by spiritual friends and community sharing. 

Practicing Peace with Mindfulness

We can’t easily change ourselves through a force of will.  This only reinforces the mind's dynamics and continues the patterns of self-judgment and aggression (the inner war effort).  It just keeps the war against ourselves alive.  Force of will against ourselves usually ultimately fails.
The purpose of a spiritual discipline is to give us a way to stop the war, not by force of will, but organically, through compassionate understanding and gradual training. When we let go of our battles and open our heart to things as they are, then we come to rest in the present moment.  This is the beginning and end of spiritual practice. To stop the war and come into the present is to discover a greatness of our own heart that is big enough to feel the fear, the discontent, the difficulties we have always avoided, and our heart softens. Stopping the war is opening to the greatness of the one heart.  We can open to the ten thousand joys and ten thousand sorrows. Stopping the war means embracing our own personal griefs and sorrows, joy and triumphs.
Where in your life would you like to hold peace talks?  How can you listen to the deep needs underlying the strategic decision to go to war?  Please join us to explore these questions and more.  This teaching will happen through the practice of mindfulness and self-compassion meditation, a Dharma talk and group sharing.

Knowing and Not Knowing In Mindfulness Practice

Mindfulness practice involves an interplay between knowing and not-knowing. We often emphasize knowing and seeing deeply into our lived experience. However, just as our capacity to know can be developed, so can we cultivate a wise practice of not-knowing. In Zen they talk about the beginner's mind. It refers to having an attitude of openness, eagerness, and lack of preconceptions when engaging in life activities just as a beginner would. With the practice of mindfulness we are invited to enter the mystery of life and discover what's true from direct experience in the present moment.  Through a beginner's mind we learn to see one another mindfully, free from views. Without views, we listen more deeply and see more clearly. But lest we take the not-knowing practice too far, Suzuki Roshi said, “Not-knowing does not mean you don’t know.” It doesn’t require us to forget everything we have known or to suspend all interpretations of a situation. Not-knowing means not being limited by what we know, holding what we know lightly so that we are ready for it to be different. Maybe things are this way. But maybe they are not.
 
Listen to this podcast to receive support for this practice of knowing and not-knowing and learn more about what the benefits are of doing so. It includes silent and guided meditation, a Dharma talk, and discussion.

Mindfulness of Embodied Feelings

On this podcast we explore feelings that arise in the body with mindfulness and compassion. In this simple, yet powerful practice we are not fixing anything or trying to change feelings.  No holding onto the pleasant, resisting the unpleasant and ignoring the neutral.  When we use the word "feeling" to label our embodied feeling tone in meditation, "feeling" is a synonym for welcoming and letting go/letting be the feeling so that the next "guest can come through the door" and be met with mindfulness.  We can investigate how conditioned the experience of feeling is and in turn how it influences our biases.  This practice is of utmost importance in freeing us from deep conditioning that leads to distress and anguish. 
"It’s very helpful to realize that the feelings we have, the negativity and positivity, are exactly what we need to be fully human, fully aware, and fully alive"    Pema Chodrin:  
“There are two kinds of suffering: the suffering which leads to more suffering, and the suffering which leads to the end of suffering. The first is the pain of grasping after fleeting pleasures and aversion to the unpleasant, the continued struggle of most people day after day. The second is the suffering which comes when you allow yourself to fully feel the constant change of experience – pleasure, pain, joy, and anger – without fear or withdrawal. The suffering of our experience leads to inner fearlessness and peace”.  Ajahn Chah
 
 
 
 

Mindfulness of the Body in the Body

You are invited to listen to this podcast to deepen your understanding of embodied mindfulness practice. Many people today feel disconnected or even alienated from their own bodies. There are many reasons for this, but it can lead to a sense of disconnection from life in general.  Mindfulness is an embodied practice. It invites us to heal this sense of disconnection. When mindful of our body, we open to the changing stream of sensations without grasping or resisting. The experience might be fear or joy, it might be the intensity of aliveness, or it might be numbness. Mindfulness is not a distanced kind of witnessing.  With mindfulness we “observe sensations within sensations.” It is a practice of mindfulness of the body, in the body. Mental, emotional and physical suffering all can be reduced through skillful cultivation of this form of practice. 
"Be strong then, and enter into your own body;there you have a solid place for your feet.Think about it carefully!Don’t go off somewhere else!Kabir says this: just throw away all thoughts of imaginary things,and stand firm in that which you are".
Kabir

Forgiveness Brings Freedom

Martin Luther King Jr Day was this past Monday in the U.S. and it offers an opportunity for us to reflect on the life of someone we might call a 20th-century metta master.  Here is a famous quote from him:
“I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.” 
Martin Luther King Jr.
In this podcast I invite you to join me In honoring Dr. King's enduring legacy as we cultivate forgiveness or relinquishment of resentment.  Maintaining resentment towards others or towards ourselves is one of the greatest impediments to working with our minds on the deepest level and realizing freedom. Resentment acts as a barrier that prevents us from seeing things as they really are. 
"In order to be released from deeply held aversion for ourselves and for others, we must be able to practice forgiveness.  Forgiveness has the power to ripen forces of purity such as love, and affirms the qualities of patience and compassion. It creates the space for renewal, and a life free from the bondage to the past”.  Sharon Salzberg
This podcast includes silent and guided meditation, a Dharma talk, and a blessing circle. Please join us in practices that invite relinquishing resentment and attachments to the past.  

Loving and Wise Intention In Mindfulness Practice

This podcast explores how we can shape our destiny through consciousness and choosing which seeds of thought and emotion we really want to cultivate.  One of the Buddha's most penetrating discoveries is that our intentions are the main factors shaping our lives, and that they can be mastered as a skill. If we subject them to the same qualities of mindfulness, persistence, and discernment involved in developing any skill, we can perfect them to the point where they will lead to no regrets or damaging results in any given situation.  Ultimately, this practice can lead us to the truest possible happiness. Skillful intention is about coming home to ourselves and aligning actions with the deepest part of the human heart that is loving, wise and compassionate. Skillful intention is organic; it thrives when cultivated and wilts when neglected.
 
"Intention, I tell you, is kamma. Intending, one does kamma by way of body, speech, & mind."  The Buddha (Anguttara VI.63)
"The Metta Sutta is basically a recipe for cooking Right Intention. Whenever there’s friendliness, joy, compassion, and equanimity there’s Right Intention. So, whenever we’re aware that there’s a Wrong Intention present, it’s recommended that we do a little metta or Four Immeasurables meditation" Thanissaro Bhikkhu
 
Join us as we explore the Buddha's teaching on loving and wise intention through a guided meditation practice and a Dharma talk. 

The Undefended Heart: working mindfully with difficult emotions

In this podcast I explore working mindfully and compassionately with strong emotions with wholeness of heart.  In this practice we are not trying to fix anything. We are trying to welcome things as they are; to realize that we are inherently whole just as we are. Emotions do not need to be "fixed" by meditation It is an opportunity for us to  remember our inherent capacity to keep our hearts open to ourselves when we face challenges that bring up difficult emotional states like fear, anger and sorrow.  As we are able to be mindful, kind and feel our common humanity during difficult times it becomes possible for our hearts to soften toward ourselves and others. This form of love can be a powerful healing force in our lives and in the world.  The beginning point is creating space to breathe into the reality of whatever is here for us, right now, in this moment. To look this suffering directly in the eye, not turn away. You are invited to join me as we explore using Buddha's teaching to bring mindful  compassionate presence to our emotional life.  
 "It’s very helpful to realize that the emotions we have, the negativity and positivity , are exactly what we need to be fully human, fully aware, and fully alive"    Pema Chodrin:  
 
“There are two kinds of suffering: the suffering which leads to more suffering, and the suffering which leads to the end of suffering. The first is the pain of grasping after fleeting pleasures and aversion to the unpleasant, the continued struggle of most people day after day. The second is the suffering which comes when you allow yourself to fully feel the constant change of experience – pleasure, pain, joy, and anger – without fear or withdrawal. The suffering of our experience leads to inner fearlessness and peace”.  Ajahn Chah
 
This podcast includes for 30-40 minutes of meditation, a Dharma talk exploring ways we can work mindfully with difficult emotional states, and a sharing circle.