Talks: Reflections on the Path

“The intimacy that arises in listening and speaking truth is only possible if we can open to the vulnerability of our own hearts. Breathing in, contacting the life that is right here, is our first step. Once we have held ourselves with kindness, we can touch others in a vital and healing way.”

Letting Go of Controlling: The Path of Freedom – Part 1

Letting Go of Controlling: The Path of Freedom – Part 1

While it’s natural to try to control our life experience, our chronic controlling cuts us off from presence and obscures the loving awareness that is our essence.  This series of talks explores how we can let go in four key domains of controlling: clinging to thoughts,...

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How Hope Can Heal and Free Us – Part 2

How Hope Can Heal and Free Us – Part 2

The mature expression of hope includes three elements: the aspiration for manifesting our full potential, a trust that this is possible, and an energy that engages to serve this unfolding. In this talk, we explore the importance of hope on the spiritual path, its shadow side,...

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How Hope Can Heal and Free Us – Part 1

How Hope Can Heal and Free Us – Part 1

The mature expression of hope includes three elements: the aspiration for manifesting our full potential, a trust that this is possible, and an energy that engages to serve this unfolding. In this talk, we explore the importance of hope on the spiritual path, its shadow side,...

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Coming Home to True Refuge

Coming Home to True Refuge

While we habitually try to control our life, our true refuge—the source of peace, safety and freedom—is in the direct realization of reality itself. This talk explores three archetypal portals to true refuge—awareness (buddha), truth (dharma) and love (sangha.) With each we...

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Intimacy with Life (Part 2)

Intimacy with Life (Part 2)

Zen master Dōgen teaches that enlightenment is intimacy with all things. These two talks explore teachings and practices that cultivate intimacy - a liberating experience of relatedness and oneness with our living world. “Awakening presence in our relating, listening to...

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Intimacy with Life (Part 1)

Intimacy with Life (Part 1)

Zen master Dōgen teaches that enlightenment is intimacy with all things. These two talks explore teachings and practices that cultivate intimacy - a liberating experience of relatedness and oneness with our living world. Listen and watch: Intimacy with Life - Part 2...

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Being with Love, Death and Grief: Tara Brach and Frank Ostaseski

Being with Love, Death and Grief: Tara Brach and Frank Ostaseski

Grief is our natural way of expressing loss for what we love, and learning to open to grief serves the deepening and widening of our loving. This event, given at the Upaya Zen Center on June 25, 2023, includes short meditations and talks by Frank and Tara, and powerful sessions...

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Three Core Reminders for Spiritual Practice

Three Core Reminders for Spiritual Practice

This talk explores three powerful ways you can direct your attention when you find yourself emotionally stuck: Wake up from thoughts; feel your feelings and remember love. We explore both the habits blocking these basic movements toward freedom, and what nourishes them....

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Facing Fear (Part 2) – Awakening Your Fearless Heart

Facing Fear (Part 2) – Awakening Your Fearless Heart

Fear is a natural and universal part of our incarnation, and, when it goes on overdrive, we get imprisoned in the suffering of separation. These two talks explore how the RAIN meditation can help us face fear, and discover the boundless loving awareness that includes but is not...

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Facing Fear (Part 1) – Awakening Your Fearless Heart

Facing Fear (Part 1) – Awakening Your Fearless Heart

Fear is a natural and universal part of our incarnation, and, when it goes on overdrive, we get imprisoned in the suffering of separation. These two talks explore how the RAIN meditation can help us face fear, and discover the boundless loving awareness that includes but is not...

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Releasing the Habits That Imprison Your Spirit – Part 2

Releasing the Habits That Imprison Your Spirit – Part 2

Addictions of all levels of intensity arise from disconnection and are spiking globally. Humans are experiencing epidemic levels of loneliness, and this combined with engineered products and substances that are highly addictive leads to great suffering. In these two talks, we...

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Releasing the Habits That Imprison Your Spirit – Part 1

Releasing the Habits That Imprison Your Spirit – Part 1

Addictions of all levels of intensity arise from disconnection and are spiking globally. Humans are experiencing epidemic levels of loneliness, and this combined with engineered products and substances that are highly addictive leads to great suffering. In these two talks, we...

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Radical Acceptance – Gateway to Love, Wisdom and Peace

Radical Acceptance – Gateway to Love, Wisdom and Peace

Acceptance is radical because it undoes our resistance to reality. This talk explores how our meditation practice can cultivate a liberating acceptance, a heartspace that includes all of life and enables us to respond to our world with deep intelligence and compassion....

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Cultivating Loving Kindness – Seeing the Goodness

Cultivating Loving Kindness – Seeing the Goodness

The ground of loving kindness is seeing the basic goodness in ourselves, each other and our world. This is what gives rise to pure appreciation, friendliness, love and the felt-sense of belonging. In this talk we explore what obscures and contracts our perceptual field, and the...

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