Thank you, Stephan.  I dedicate this practice to my daughter, who is seeking her way, her future, her place.

In this meditation you are invited to connect with the warmth of a friendship and from there your are gently guided to a place of radical self-acceptance. From resting in the open heart sharing your love happens naturally and without effort.

May I be happy

Allowing is effortless, but it takes effort to not allow this moment. For this moment is already present, already perfectly what it is. In the vastness of your own heart even resistance is allowed. 

Allowing this moment to be what it is

Tonglen (giving and taking) is a method for connecting with suffering — ours and that which is all around us — everywhere we go. It is a method for overcoming fear of suffering and for dissolving the tightness of our heart. Primarily it is a method for awakening the compassion that is inherent in all of us. We begin to feel love both for ourselves and others and also we begin to take care of ourselves and others. It awakens our compassion and it also introduces us to a far larger view of reality.

Healing Through Tonglen

So who are you? You are not objects out there, you are not feelings, you are not thoughts - you are effortlessly aware of all those, so you are not those. Who or what are you? 
You have feelings, but you are  not those feelings. Who are you?  But then people usually make a big mistake. They think that if they rest in the Witness, they are going to see something or feel something - something really neat and special. But you won't see anything. If you see something, that is just another object - another feeling, another thought, another sensation, another image. But those are all objects; those are what you are not. 


Awareness recognizing Awareness

Tonglen reverses the usual logic of avoiding suffering and seeking pleasure and, in the process, we become liberated from a very ancient prison of selfishness. We begin to feel love both for ourselves and others and also we begin to take care of ourselves and others. It awakens our compassion and it also introduces us to a far larger view of reality. It introduces us to the unlimited spaciousness that Buddhists call shunyata. By doing the practice, we begin to connect with the open dimension of our being. At first we experience this as things not being such a big deal or as solid as they seemed before.
- Pema Chodron

Tonglen Meditation 1

Practicing Tonglen is a powerful way to connect with yourself and all of humanity. We all experience sadness and other "negative" emotions at different times, yet when we do, we often feel very alone in it. This practice reminds us that we're not alone when we are in pain. If we have the courage to break the habitual pattern of pushing away the pain, we can experience deep compassion for ourselves and all beings.

Befriending difficult emotions - Tonglen with yourself

Guided Body-scan to gently slide into a deep relaxation, connecting with the natural peace of your mind. 

Compassionate Body-Scan

An invitation to slide into a place of fulfillment by letting the moment be just as it is. If you stop to struggle with reality there is peace.

Letting be and letting go

A guided meditation in which you connect with gratitude about the richness of this moment. If you are truly present, gratefulness is arising naturally.

Gratefulness

When we practice mindfulness meditation, many things arise in awareness. We typically turn our attention to each thing in turn - different thoughts, feelings, body sensations, states of mind. We often don’t turn our attention to that which is doing the observing, that which seems to be doing the thinking, that which is aware. This is what you are invited to do in this meditation - to actually seek, in a very practical way, who it is that is doing the seeking, who it is that is practicing. Of course, you say, I am seeking, I am practicing. But who is this I? Can you show it to me? When we turn to look for it, what do we find?

Self-Inquiry

In this Meditation you are invited to approach an area of emotional or physical discomfort and hold it softly. Trusting the healing and transformative power of mindful acceptance. A meditation for difficult moments!

Being with  emotional or physical discomfort

Stephan Wormland, MA in clinical psychology and trained in Gestalt therapy. He has studied and practiced meditation in multiple Buddhist traditions for over 30 years and spent altogether 5 years in meditation retreats. Stephan was a monk in the Tibetan tradition for 11 years and teaches meditation in Buddhist centers in Europe.

Healing Through Tonglen

Natural Meditation podcast

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