InsightLA presents a selection of classes, talks and guided meditations offered by Guest Instructors, including Stephen Batchelor, Bhikkuni Pannavati, Linda Wheeler, Larry Yang, Marianne Williamson, HH Dza Kilung Rinpoche, George Mumford, Lama Rod Owens and others.

Guest Teachers: Classes, Dharma Talks.

DJ Sol Rising @ Ecstatic Dance LA Feb 2016

Jacques Verduin, from the Insight-Out prison project at San Quentin, came to InsightLA with a daylong entitled: Sitting in the Fire. This is the talk portion of that daylong. References are made to flash cards featuring acronyms such as: STOP & QTIP, among others.  *Please note: The audio is clipped in certain areas which may disturb some listeners. It is recommended that if it does offend then please skip ahead in the recording. We apologize for the inconvenience.

2016-06/25 Jacques Verduin on Sitting In The Fire, a 97 minute dharma talk.

Viewing the Four Noble Truths as (1) a set of tasks to be accomplished rather than simply truths to be understood.; (2) as a means to learn how to respond to situations in a new way rather than fall back on habitual reactions; and (3) as a template for dealing with the larger questions of human existence.  With dharma teacher, Stephen Batchelor, author of "Buddhism Without Beliefs," "Confessions of a Buddhist Atheist," and "After Buddhism."

2011-11/12 Stephen Batchelor on the Four Noble Truths as a Framework for Action (8 minutes)

During this recording, Lila Kate Wheeler and Trudy Goodman open up a 3-day non-residential retreat at InsightLA by inviting retreat participants to undertake the five precepts for the duration of the weekend. They describe and frame each of the precepts in terms of their immediate application to the retreat and also their deeper meaning for living a life of intention. From the 2011 Annual Non-Residential Retreat with Lila Kate Wheeler.

2010-11/04 Lila Kate Wheeler on Living with Intention: the Five Precepts, a 28 minute retreat talk.

Special guest speaker and author Marianne Wiliamson on social activism, political engagement and mindfulness practice as a way to empower oneself and others.

2014-03/29  Marianne Williamson on Empowering Communities (92 minutes)

Publisher, media entrepreneur, author and dharma teacher Phillip Moffit on the Four Noble Truths.  Recorded at a daylong class held at InsightLA's Santa Monica Meditation Center.

2013-03/23 Phillip Moffitt on the Four Ennobling Truths

Eve Ekman recounts how partnerships formed at the Dalai Lama’s 2000 Conference on Destructive Emotions led to the development of the Cultivating Emotional Balance curriculum.   She leads the class through exercises in writing and embodied awareness exercise, followed by an extended discussion about the practice.  She closes this session with a quick discussion of the Western scientific view of emotion, and recent research on happiness.

00:00:24 The Dalai Lama’s: Conference on Destructive Emotions, Dharmasala, 2000. 
00:03:20 Constructive vs. Destructive Emotions.  	
00:05:08 Western Scientific View: Emotions as Trigger, Experience & Response.
00:06:23 CEB: Contemplative Practice & Emotional Awareness Skills Training.
00:10:53 Genuine Happiness (A Writing Exercise).
00:18:22 Alan Wallace’s Fourfold Vision Quest: a 2-Person Embodied Exchange.
00:23:44 First Bell, First Speaker. 
00:23:52 Second Bell, Instructions. 
00:24:46 Third Bell, Second Speaker. 
00:24:57 Fourth Bell, Dyad Ends. 
00:25:07 Sitting Practice: Embodying Our Aspirations.
00:25:14 Fifth Bell, Sitting Practice Begins.
00:36:23 Sixth Bell, Sitting Practice Ends. 

00:37:06 Q&A: A More Precise Loving Kindness (Metta) Practice.
00:39:16 Q&A: Hedonic Pleasure vs. Eudemonic Well-Being.
00:41:58 Q&A: Overstimulation & the “Blue Mondays.”	
00:43:49 Q&A: The Goal of Emotional Awareness.
00:44:51 Q&A: Sadness vs. Clinical Depression.
00:45:52 Q&A: An Educational Course.
00:47:10 Q&A: Constructive vs. Destructive Anxiety: Lessening Rumination.
00:48:20 Q&A: Loving Presence.
00:48:49 Q&A: Exploring Our Edges: Awkwardness During Speech/While Listening.
00:54:21 Q&A: Exercise as Training in Constructive Inquiry.
00:55:26 Q&A: Dalai Lama: Forgiveness & Compassion Practices are the Same Thing.
00:56:13 Q&A Grudges: There is No Enemy So Determined As Your Own Mind.

00:57:10 More on the Western Scientific View of Happiness.
00:57:22 The Neurobiology of Pro-Social Behavior: the Vagus Nerve & Compassion.
01:00:16 Towards a Scientific Definition of Happiness.

01:05:05 Next: Working with Anger.
01:05:12 Trudy’s Close
01:05:35 End Part Two.

Eve Ekman, MSW, PhD, is the director of training at the Greater Good Science Center. She is also a UC Berkeley- and UCSF-trained social scientist and teacher in the field of emotional awareness and burnout prevention. Eve is a second-generation emotion researcher and has had meaningful collaborations with her father, renowned emotion researcher Dr. Paul Ekman. Their most recent project, The Atlas of Emotions, is an online visual tool to teach a language for improving our emotional awareness that was commissioned and supported by the Dalai Lama. Eve is the co-lead instructor for Cultivating Emotional Balance, an evidence-based meditation and emotion regulation training developed by Dr. Paul Ekman and Buddhist scholar Alan Wallace.

Difficult Thoughts & Emotions

11/23/19 Eve Ekman on CEB, Part 2: Cultivating Emotional Balance (66 min).

InsightLA offers the highest quality training in mindfulness practices available in the Greater Los Angeles area.  For 16 years, we have offered classes, retreats, and special events, and an open and welcoming community of practitioners.  Though our work is rooted in ancient traditions, we offer classes in both  secular mindfulness as well as the Buddhist Insight Tradition.  All of our efforts are dedicated toward our mission of calming minds, opening hearts, and changing the world.

11/23/19 Eve Ekman on CEB, Part 2: Cultivating Emotional Balance (66 min).

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