Talks

How can we best go about living when the world feels greatly disrupted at times and not just fall into despair. This talk was recorded on Zoom.

Talk 6-11-23: When The World Feels Greatly Disrupted

Sometimes, the conditions are such that we simply can’t muster enough inside to switch gears and be still and quiet with ourselves. In these moments, sometimes the best we can do is be aware that it’s happening. Not resist it, but compassionately surrender to the current that’s pulling us away. This talk was given live on Zoom.

Talk on 6-25-23: Nothing's Wrong, I'm Just Uncomfortable

Inspired by the number of recent contentious supreme court rulings, I thought it might be helpful to reflect on how we can use mindfulness to help us have a more beneficent mindset, when decisions get made that we don’t agree with. This could be helpful with decisions not only in our government, in our local towns, in our social communities, in our schools, even in our family units. How do we put mindfulness to work? This talk was recorded on Zoom.

Talk on 7/9/23: Hard Decisions

This week's talk touches on our stuck places and why we have the tendency to get frustrated that they are still here. Recorded on Zoom.

Talk on 7/16/23: Being Stuck

The purpose of a Sangha or community is to have a place where we feel a sense of belonging and where we support each other in our practices. Since we're about to take a break from meeting and because I am hearing some concern about being away from this support system, I thought it might be helpful to spend some time with what we can do to help us when we don’t have that supportive structure and why mindful self-reliance is helpful. Recorded on Zoom.

Talk on 7/23/23: Mindfully Self-Reliant

This week's talk contemplates having a clear mind. What does it mean to you to have a clear mind? What does it feel like? Recorded live on Zoom.

Talk on 8-20-23: Too Much In My Head

The change of seasons offers us an opportunity to look at how we respond to change. This talk was recorded live on Zoom.

Talk on 8-27-23: Change

This holiday weekend offers us a nice opportunity to contemplate what it means to take a break from our “labor." This talk was recorded live on Zoom.

Talk on 9-3-23: In The Spirit of Labor Day

This week's talk investigates how can we bring mindfulness to those moments when we are activated by our opinions and preferences?  Recorded live on Zoom.

Talk on 9-10-23: Having Opinions

This talk recorded live on Zoom from 9/17 shares an experience of eating out on our anniversary and savoring an experience.

Talk on 9-24-23: A Fancy Dinner

This talk was recorded live on Zoom.
It has been a heavy week. This past Sunday's talk speaks to the question of how we can witness and be present to suffering and go about our everyday lives. And, if fear has its grip, how to take care of our fear so that we are not overwhelmed by and caught in reacting to it. It addresses why our mindfulness practice matters in the face of suffering.

Talk on 10-15-23: Feeling Helpless in The Face of Suffering

The teaching that has been coming to mind this week is the teaching on equanimity. I’ve been thinking about it in terms of all the things that we get presented with in a lifetime, a year, in a single day. Anything along the spectrum of what we consider pleasant, or meet favorably, to what we feel neutral about, to what we consider unpleasant, or unfavorable. We don’t get to choose what comes. We have the power to cultivate more of something, but so much is out of our control and largely because we are all connected and so even if I do my best to nourish positive seeds, many unwholesome seeds have already been watered by me, around me, and I’m not separate from them. Even if I were to hide away in a cave, I cannot escape the full experience. How do we practice meeting what comes with equanimity? This talk includes an excerpt from The Heart of The Buddha's Teachings by Thich Nhat Hanh.

Talk on 10-22-23: Strengthening the Muscle of Equanimity

What has been coming up in my mind lately are the Buddhist teachings on non-self and signlessness. Across all areas of life, it seems the world right now is overly identified with names, labels, identifications, getting caught in signs. Of course, the problem in identifying ourselves as this or that, or not this or not that, is that there will inevitably be greater division and discord. It sets up factions, feelings of belonging and not belonging; it creates feelings of separation. The harm comes when we start to believe that we are separate. This talk includes excerpts from Thich Nhat Hanh's, The Heart of The Buddha's Teachings.

Talk on 11-12-23: Caught By Separation

This talk was shared live on Zoom. At the start of the year, people often recommit to their intentions around self-care. Often it can come from an idea that we need to improve ourselves. While the intention is a good one, it often falls flat after a month or even less because it is not driven by what is truly motivating (the “why” underneath the action), but because we think we “should”. The reason why we want to do it is what really matters, but to be in touch with the why, we need to slow down and listen to ourselves.

Talk on 1/7/24: When We Take Care of Ourselves, We Take Care of Others

This week's talk reflects on what motivates change in our habits.

Talk on 1-14-24: The "Why" Underneath

In meditation, we talk about letting go. But, what does it mean to let go? Most of the time, it’s not something we can simply say and then "poof," we let it go. Have a listen to this talk recorded live on Zoom at Sunday night meditation.

Talk on 2/18/24: Letting Go

With the fear factor high these days and likely to raise as the year goes on, it seems like a good time to strengthen our capacity to face fear. I am planning to continue talks and readings on the subject. Here is one from this past week.

Talk on 6/30/24: Fear Talk #1

This talk was given live on Zoom. A busy mind is exhausting and our thoughts can be very convincing. We tend to believe them. This talk reminds us why meditation practice helps us to not be a servant to our thoughts.

Talk on 8-18-24: Not A Servant To My Thoughts

After 11 years, we held the last Sunday evening meditation as a group. This was the talk I gave. Recorded live on Zoom.

Talk on 8-25-24: Last Sunday Session - No Beginning & No Ending

This is a recorded version of the talk I gave on New Year's Day 2025.

Talks

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