This guided meditation—part of the system of practices known as the "four applications of mindfulness"—is focused on experiencing our physical sensations directly, without conceptual overlays and proxy mental images. By removing the interfering projections, we train in the skill of clearly discerning different layers of our mental activity: perceptual and conceptual. This increases clarity of vision and makes us less reactive.

Guided meditations

Mindfulness of the Body: Dropping the Projections | Guided meditation

Part three in a four part series. John Preston is a former Buddhist monk and a cancer patient. This is part three in a free mindfulness meditation class given at Skanda Vale Hospice, to benefit people with serious illnesses.

Based on over 25 years of personal practice, John sees mindfulness meditation as a highly effective way to manage stress and says it is highly beneficial for patients with life threatening illnesses.

An interview with John is available here:
http://www.skandavalehospice.org/john-preston-mindfulness-meditation/
Image by Simon Turkas on Flickr: http://goo.gl/i8lCqI

John Preston - Awareness meditation. Pt3/4.

InsightLA facilitator Maria Egan leads a guided meditation with an emphasis on labelling and noting practice.  Included are her comments on working with sounds in urban spaces, and a Q&A on feeling tone, neutrality vs. equanimity, boredom & storytelling, and learning from mindfulness of the body.

00:00:00 Trudy’s Introduction.
00:00:24 Breath, Bodily Sensations or City Sounds as an Anchor.

00:02:32 First Bell, Guided Meditation Begins.
00:02:36 Collecting, Settling & Grounding; Choosing an Anchor; Noting Sounds, Thoughts & Reactions; Vantage Point; the Wandering Mind: Exploring the Object of Awareness, Itself.
00:34:15 Closing Bells: Meditation Ends.

00:34:56 Q&A: On Feeling Tone, Sound & Equanimity.
00:36:54 Q&A: Boredom, Default Storytelling, Running a Script.
00:38:19 Q&A: Skillful Means: Exploring the Body’s Varied Reactions to Stimuli.

00:41:05 Trudy’s Close. 
00:41:28 Programs End.

A veteran music industry executive, Maria currently serves as President of Pulse Music Group in Los Angeles.  She began her practice in 2012, sitting with InsightLA senior teachers Lisa Kring and Trudy Goodman.  She also completed InsightLA’s Facilitator Training Program, and recently finished Jack Kornfield & Tara Brach’s Mindfulness Teacher Certification Class.

Guided Meditations, InsightLA Teachers

06/21/19 Maria Egan:  Sound, Feeling Tone, Noting & Labelling, 30 min guided meditation, short Q&A

09/18/19, Tricia Searcy, “Be Kind,” a 35 min. guided meditation with the attention on the breath, thoughts and emotions. 

It’s important to be mindful of the quality of attention we bring to our breath, body and thoughts during our practice.  We will begin by generating a kind, whole body awareness, with an emphasis on exploring how pleasant and unpleasant thoughts and emotions register in the body.

00:00:00 Trudy’s Introduction.
00:00:24 Be Kind To Yourself: Our Attitude Colors Our Experience.
00:03:08 First Bell.
00:03:13 Guidance Meditation Begins.
00:33:33 Closing Bells: Meditation Ends. 
00:34:09 Trudy’s Close. 
00:34:32 Programs End.

Tricia Searcy’s study and practice focuses on the earliest teachings of the Buddha, with an emphasis on awareness teachings with value for contemporary householders. Pilgrimage has played a significant role in her practice, taking her to India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Thailand with Stephen and Martine Batchelor.  She has had the good fortune to attend retreats at Spirit Rock, Upaya Zen Center, Deer Park Monastery, Omega Institute, Shambala Mountain Retreat Center, Menla Retreat Center (Tibet House), and La Casa de Maria.  A member of the InsightLA community since 2009, Trica participated in the Facilitator and MBSR Teacher Training Programs led by Trudy Goodman, Maureen Shannon-Chappelle, Christiane Wolf, Diana Winston, Bob Stahl, Mark Coleman, and Ashley Sharp. She is also an attorney and mother of three teenagers.

Guided Meditations InsightLA Facilitators

09/18/19 Tricia Searcy: “Be Kind,” a 35 minute meditation on the breath, thoughts and emotions.

Dharma Teacher Mike Zittel offers an introduction to calm abiding (or in pali: samatha, pronounced “sha-ma-tah”) meditation, a form of concentration practice that clears one’s awareness, setting the stage” for insight practice.  Samatha is that aspect of concentration practice that “resolves,” “settles,” or “puts to rest” our bias, predisposition and prejudices - the conditioned mental habits and compulsions that distort and narrow of our view of the world around us.  Samatha works in tandem with Vipassana (insight practice, commonly called mindfulness).  It produces, “a mind bright and brilliant, unassailed by the hindrances,” enabling us to observe what arises, “with less stress, self-identification, and with more clarity.”  (Recorded at a 6/12/2019 drop-in class at InsightLA’s East Hollywood location.)
 
00:00:00 Trudy’s Introduction.
00:00:24 Cultivating Samatha (pali: “calm abiding,” pronunciation: sha-ma-ta). 

00:15:34 Guided Meditation Begins.
00:16:06 First Bell, Posture.
00:16:34 Narrow Focus.
00:17:64 Four Point Cycle: Joy, Wakefulness, Tranquility & Peace.
00:22:17 Widen the Lens: Narrow Focus, Global, Full Body Awareness.
00:26:57 The Seeing & Hearing Spaces of the Mind. 
00:30:25 The Ebb & Flow of the Breath.
00:36:42 Do Nothing.
00:43:04 Closing Bells: Meditation Ends.

00:43:37 “Cliff Notes” Summary.

00:45:26 Q&A: Samatha & Vipassana. 
00:48:13 Q&A: Ebb & Flow: Local, Global, Full Body & Back Again.
00:49:20 Q&A: Samatha as a Secure & Stable Refuge. 
00:51:16 Q&A: The “Do Nothing,” Prompt: An Antidote to Unskillful Striving.

00:54:28 Maintaining Contact: The Cowpen.
01:00:38 The Default Mode Network: The One-Lane Brain, Traffic Lights & Old Neighborhoods.  
01:18:49 One Point Focus: Decrease Stress, Build the Muscle of Mindfulness.

01:20:21 Q&A: Not-Self: The Healthy “Want” behind Bad Behavior.  
01:24:22 Q&A Wet vs. Dry Insight: applying Samatha & Metta to Insight Practice.

01:27:23 Dedication of Merit.
01:27:47 Final Bells.
01:28:10 Trudy’s Close. 
01:28:33 Programs End.

InsightLA Senior Teacher Michael Zittel, AMFT, has over 30 years of training and practice of Buddhist meditation, Secular Mindfulness, and the Dharma.  Micheal studied at Kopan Monastery in Nepal, Mount Baldy Zen Center, studied the Theravadan Suttas under the guidance of the Venerable Dhammananda Bikkhu of Maithree Vihara, and considers Shinzen Young as his primary teacher.  He was empowered to teach meditation and Buddha Dharma by Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Society in 2015; and his passion is to translate the essence of the Dharma in a secular context that is relevant to healing and self-actualizing in today’s world.  Mike currently leads the 7:30 PM Wednesday Night drop in class at InsightLA’s Center in East Hollywood.  Working with Eileen Ybarra, Mike is also leading a seven-month dharma study class titled, “The Path of Freedom: Emptiness & Liberation,” which meets monthly at the Benedict Canyon Retreat House.

In his “civilian identity,” Michael works as an EMDR therapist in the field of addiction and trauma resolution in residential treatment centers. He incorporates Buddhist psychology into his work by teaching the dharma, and concentration (samatha), insight (vipassana) & heart practices (brahma vihara) to individuals and groups as significant tools for clients in early recovery to gain skills in self-regulation, meta-awareness and affect tolerance.

Dharma Talks, InsightLA Senior Teachers

06/12/19 Mike Zittel, Calm Abiding 01, 50 mins, 28 min meditation, 10 min Q&A

“Today’s practice will focus on relaxing the body.  We’d like to relax the mind, but we can’t force the mind to relax.  However we can relax the body, and thereby “plant seeds,” creating the conditions for a mind to be at ease.  A relaxed body also helps us open the heart, and having compassion for ourselves and others.“ 

00:00:00 Trudy’s Introduction.
00:24:00 Opening Comments:  
00:03:27 First Bell, Guided Meditation Begins.
00:31:48 Closing Bells: Meditation Ends.
00:32:54 Closing Comments.
00:32:59 Trudy’s Close. 
00:33:22 Programs End.

A graduate of InsightLA’s facilitator training and Courage of Care’s activist training programs, Martin Vitorino Ph.D, leads with a clear commitment to upholding equity, accessibility, inclusivity and diversity – both in terms of teachers and offerings.  

In addition to Martin’s role as InsightLA’s Director of Programming, he also leads the Mindful Transitions Group for transgender meditators, organizes retreats for transgender men and women, and serves on the PFLAG speakers bureau in Los Angeles.  Prior to joining InsightLA, Martin trained foster parents and social workers in ways of better understanding and supporting LGBTQ youth in foster care.  

Martin also holds a B.S. in Psychology from Westfield State University in Massachusetts; and earned a Ph.D. in Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies from Emory University where he researched resiliency in women who had been incarcerated.

Guided Meditations, InsightLA Facilitators

10/03/19 Martin Vittarino: Relax the Body-Ease the Mind-Open the Heart, a 28-min. guided meditation.

Our emotions are always on.  They are our reactions to our sense impressions of the people we meet, the places we walk through and the events happening around us.  So long as we are conscious, our emotions provide us with a continuous assessment of what’s happening in our environment.  Our job is to feel “through” them.  

It sounds simple, but we’re often unaware how often we “check out,” and avoid feeling our emotions, fleeing at the slightest hint of discomfort.  Over time this results in poor impulse control, a dependence of maladaptive avoidance strategies, which can lead to long-term health problems.  

Cultivating continuous mindfulness strengthens our ability to recognize, acknowledge and sit with our emotions as they arise without identifying with them, and giving into our habitual avoidance strategies.  As we become increasingly familiar with our patterns of unconscious reactivity, and test the limits of our emotional tolerance, we cultivate emotional intelligence, and develop the wisdom to choose more skillful responses to what arises.  

What follows is a lengthened version of a guided meditation that was recorded during an 08/14/19 drop-in class on Emotional Intelligence at InsightLA’s East Hollywood Location.  It’s purpose is to help develop continuity of mindfulness, kindness towards our emotions, and skillful inquiry, based on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness.

00:00:00 Trudy’s Introduction.
00:00:23: Program Begins.
00:00:31 Posture, First Bell: Guided Meditation Begins.
00:00:44 The Breath as Home Base.
00:03:56 Widen the Lens: Full Body Awareness.
00:04:24 Contact: Label Your Emotions.
00:08:47 The First Foundation of Mindfulness: Can We Bring Kindness to the Sensations of Emotions in Our Body?  
00:17:58 The Second Foundation of Mindfulness: Is the Sensation of Emotion in Our Body Pleasant, Unpleasant or Neutral?
00:21:27 The Third Foundation of Mindfulness:  Are We Pushing the Sensation Away?  Do We Crave More of It?  Are We Dismissive of It?  Or Can We Be Open, Spacious and Equanimous? 
00:25:17 The Fourth Foundation: Can We Allowing Sensations to Come-Into-Being? Can We Let Them Fade Away?
00:29:58 Closing Bells: Meditation Ends.
00:30:50 Dedication of Merit.
00:31:24 Trudy’s Close. 
00:31:47 Programs End.

InsightLA Senior Teacher Michael Zittel, AMFT, has over 30 years of training and practice of Buddhist meditation, Secular Mindfulness, and the Dharma.  Micheal studied at Kopan Monastery in Nepal, Mount Baldy Zen Center, and studied the Theravadan suttas under the guidance of the Venerable Dhammananda Bikkhu of Maithree Vihara, and considers Shinzen Young as his primary teacher.  

Michael was empowered to teach meditation and Buddha Dharma by Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Society in 2015; and his passion is to transmit the dharma in a way that is relevant to healing and self-actualizing in today’s world.   He currently leads the 7:30 PM Wednesday Night drop in class at InsightLA’s East Hollywood Center, and with Eileen Ybarra, teaches a seven month dharma study class, “The Path of Freedom: Emptiness & Liberation, ” which meets once a month at the Benedict Canyon Retreat House.

In Michael’s “civilian identity,” he works as a therapist in the field of addiction and trauma resolution in residential treatment centers.   He incorporates Buddhist psychology into his work by teaching the dharma, concentration (samatha), insight (vipassana) & heart practices (brahma vihara) to individuals and groups as tools for self-regulation, meta-awareness and increased affect tolerance.

InsightLA Snr. Teacher Michael Zittel: Guided Meditations

08/14/19 Micheal Zittel: Cultivating Emotional Intelligence, a 30 min. guided meditation

Our emotions are always on.  They are our reactions to the people we meet, the places we walk through and the events happening around us.  So long as we are conscious, our emotions provide us with a continuous assessment of what’s happening in our environment.  Our job is to feel “through” them.  

It sounds simple, but we’re often unaware how often we “check out,” and avoid feeling our emotions, fleeing at the slightest hint of discomfort.  Over time this results in poor impulse control, a dependence of maladaptive avoidance strategies, which can lead to long-term health problems.  

Cultivating continuous mindfulness strengthens our ability to recognize, acknowledge and sit with our emotions as they arise without identifying with them, and giving into our habitual avoidance strategies.  As we become increasingly familiar with our patterns of unconscious reactivity, we expand the limits of our emotional tolerance, and develop the wisdom to choose more skillful responses to what arises.

Recorded at a 8/14/19 drop-in class at InsightLA’s East Hollywood Center.

00:00:00 Trudy’s Introduction.
00:00:24 Q&A: “Mindfulness = Emotional Intelligence Squared.”
00:01:46 Q&A: The First Noble Truth.
00:03:11 Q&A: Suffering as a Doorway to Liberation.

00:05:00 Class Format.
00:06:14 The Edge of our Egos: Affect Tolerance.
00:13:34 The Cost of Avoidance.
00:25:00 Experiencing Emotions with a Smile.

00:32:19 Q&A: At the Movies: Audience vs. Projectionist.
00:33:00 Q&A: Labeling Emotions.
00:23:00 Q&A: The Absence of Emotion: Neutrality.

00:34:43 First Bell: Meditation Begins.
00:37:40 Breath as Home Base.
00:38:10 Widen the Lens: Full Body Awareness.
00:38:38 Contact: Label Your Emotions.
00:42:00 The First Foundation: Can We Bring Kindness to the Sensations of Emotions in Our Body?
00:49:11 The Second Foundation: Is the Sensation of Emotion in Our Body Pleasant, Unpleasant or Neutral?
00:50:38 The Third Foundation: Are We Pushing the Sensation Away? Do We Crave More of It? Are We Dismissive of It? Or Can We Be Open, Spacious and Equanimous?
00:52:28 The Fourth Foundation: Can We Allowing Sensations to Come-Into-Being? Can We Let Them Fade Away?
00:54:07 Closing Bells: Meditation Ends.

00:55:00 Q&A: Breath Cools Anger
00:55:54 Q&A: Difficulty Using Labels.
00:57:13 Q&A: Aversion vs. Acceptance,
01:58:21 Q&A: Fantasy & Feeling Tone,
01:00:47 Q&A: Emotions & Moral Judgment.
01:04:00 Q&A: Discernment: Are We Asleep or Awake?.

01:07:53 Concluding Remarks: Dropbox, Ceremony & Dana.
01:10:29 Dedication of Merit.
01:11:04 Trudy’s Close.
01:11:27 Programs End.

InsightLA Senior Teacher Michael Zittel, AMFT, has over 30 years of training and practice of Buddhist meditation, Secular Mindfulness, and the Dharma. Micheal studied at Kopan Monastery in Nepal, Mount Baldy Zen Center, and studied the Theravadan suttas under the guidance of the Venerable Dhammananda Bikkhu of Maithree Vihara, and considers Shinzen Young as his primary teacher.

Michael was empowered to teach meditation and Buddha Dharma by Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Society in 2015; and his passion is to transmit the dharma in a way that is relevant to healing and self-actualizing in today’s world. He currently leads the 7:30 PM Wednesday Night drop in class at InsightLA’s East Hollywood Center, and with Eileen Ybarra, teaches a seven month dharma study class, “The Path of Freedom: Emptiness & Liberation, ” which meets once a month at the Benedict Canyon Retreat House.

In Michael’s “civilian identity,” he works as a therapist in the field of addiction and trauma resolution in residential treatment centers. He incorporates Buddhist psychology into his work by teaching the dharma, concentration (samatha), insight (vipassana) & heart practices (brahma vihara) to individuals and groups as tools for self-regulation, meta-awareness and increased affect tolerance.

InsightLA Snr. Teacher Michael Zittel: Dharma Talks

08/14/19 Mike Zittel, Emotional Intelligence 01: 25 min talk, 30 min meditation, 15 Q&A

12/02/19 Lulu_Toselli:  “Noting & Letting Go,” a 30-minute guided meditation.

Beginning with settling into the body, InsightLA facilitator Lulu Biazus Toselli provides guidance in noting, letting go of thoughts, returning to the object of practice, alternative anchors, and closes with a practice of loving awareness.

00:00:00 Trudy’s introduction.
00:24:00 Notes on Posture.
00:01:17 First Bell, Guided Meditation Begins.
00:31:30 Three Bells: Guided Meditation Ends. 
00:31:44 Trudy’s close. 
00:32:07 Programs End.

After a decade of long, stressful hours working as a creative director and designer, Lulu found transformation through mindfulness and self-compassion practices, which inspired her to deepen her practice and share it with others.    A graduate of the InsightLA’s Mindfulness Facilitator Training program, Lulu Biazus Toselli leads the Monday evening sitting group at InsightLA’s East Hollywood Center.  She also has led sits, classes, and workshops at USCMindful, the LA Design Festival, Poketo, Mercado Sagrado, Spotify, Art Basel Miami, Noh Wave, The Fullest, Workspace Oasis, and Show & Tell.

As a founding member of the musical ensemble Forestkind, Lulu also offers monthly sound baths at InsightLA’s East Hollywood Center.  In 2018, she started FarOut Meditation exploring ways to merge mindfulness with her love of sound and visuals.  Her mission is to share love, peace and inclusivity globally through unique experiences that enhance connections within ourselves and outwardly with others.

Guided Meditations: InsightLA Facilitators

12/02/19 Lulu Biazus Toselli, "Noting & Letting Go," a 30-minute guided meditation.

The reality of suffering, the causes the suffering, the possibility of release and the path leading to the end of suffering: how to train our minds to achieve happiness.  This talk was given during the second part of the 2019 Three Month Retreat at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts.

2019-10/22  IMSRC Three-Month Retreat - Part 2 http://www.dharma.org

11/10/2019-Retreat Talk: Beth Sternlieb, The Four Noble Truths & the Eightfold Path (47:11)

Michael Lobsang Tenpa is a Buddhist translator, meditation instructor, Cultivating Emotional Balance (CEB) trainer and EcoDharma student

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.

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