Heart of Freedom Mindfulness Meditation Instruction

Being A Good Friend To Yourself

 
This meditation and Dharma talk focus on friendship that's not based on any terms or conditions. This means being your own friend when you don't meet your own expectations about how you should look, feel, act or think. This practice is about learning to choose to be present in a loving, compassionate, openhearted way as often as possible for ourselves and others.
 
"The first step is developing an unconditional friendship with yourself. Unconditional friendship means staying open when you want to shut down, when it is just too painful, too embarrassing, too unpleasant what you see in yourself'
Pema Chödron
 
"Believing that something is wrong with us is a deep and tenacious suffering. This suffering emerges in crippling self-judgments and conflicts in our relationships, in addictions and perfectionism, in loneliness and overwork-all the forces that keep our lives constricted and unfulfilled. Radical Acceptance does not mean self-indulgence or passivity. Instead it empowers genuine change: healing fear and shame and helping to build loving, authentic relationships. When we stop being at war with ourselves, we are free to live fully every precious moment of our lives" Tara Brach
This podcast includes meditation practices that cultivate mindfulness, kindness and a sense of our shared humanity.

Compassion in Response to COVID-19C

This podcast includes silent and guided meditation (including tonglen compassion practice) and a blessing circle. At this time in the world we are being offered an incredible opportunity to see our interdependency with all life and deepen compassion. 
 
"Teach this triple truth to all: a generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity.”
The Buddha

Clear Comprehension in Daily Life Mindfulness Practice

This podcast includes guided meditation and a Dharma talk on how we can cultivate clear comprehension.  This is particularly important in the time of COVID-19 and, of course, at all times. Simply put, clear comprehension is the state of awareness that exists when your mind is sharp enough to enable you to detect your own intentions and thoughts in daily life before they become processed into action, speech and all forms of emotional, mental phenomena. The greater your ability to be aware of your intentions and thoughts, the better will be your ability to exercise skilful action, speech and wisdom in your daily life. Compassionate intention becomes the guiding light for all your actions in the world. 
 
Again, monks, when going forward and returning, one acts clearly knowing; when looking ahead and looking away one acts clearly knowing; when flexing and extending one’s limbs one acts clearly knowing . . . when eating, drinking, consuming food, and tasting one acts clearly knowing; when defecating and urinating one acts clearly knowing; when walking, standing, sitting, falling asleep, waking up, talking, and keeping silent one acts clearly knowing.” Goldstein, Joseph. Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening (p. 49)  

Working With Fear Mindfully

This week we explore how we can cultivate a compassionate relationship with fear.  Excessive fear or worry can impair our physical immunity to disease, and lead to mental health problems. Compassion delves directly into the nature of fear to understand what is needed, and responds to alleviate suffering. "What is needed, rather than running away or controlling or suppressing or any other resistance, is understanding fear; that means, watch it, learn about it, come directly into contact with it. We are to learn about fear, not how to escape from it." Jiddu Krishnamurti.  
There is  guided and silent meditation time, group walking meditation, a sharing circle, and a Dharma talk. Please note that the silent meditation time was automatically edited and shortened by the recorder.  This will be fixed in future recordings. For this session I suggest pausing and setting a timer so you can extend the silent period to your preferred length.

Faith In Dharma Practice

This podcast has guided meditation and a Dharma talk on faith. Following the dharma means following the path of embracing doubt and uncertainty.  The middle way is the path that each of us takes to find the truth.  In eschewing extremes it is a very personal path and at the same time it is a universal path. Faith is in the process of direct experiential discovery of our true nature; it is not in any particular belief system.  I am less interested in being a Buddhist or Christian or Muslim and more interested in becoming more loving and free. 

Awakening to Joy

This talk focuses on mindfulness practices that can help awaken joy in our lives. This was recorded July 16th 2015 at Portland Insight Meditation Center