This guided meditation, grounded in the practice of Metta, invites us to awaken the heart by softening the body and quieting the mind. We begin with the simple image of a smile—opening to warmth, ease, and presence. With a tender attention, we rest with breath,...
Part 3: Joy – blossoms in the moments our hearts open boundlessly to reality, to the 10,000 joys and sorrows. This series reflects on four primary expressions of an awake, wise heart: lovingkindness, compassion, joy and equanimity. In each talk we explore the...
The Buddha said, “I would not be teaching this (a path of awakening) if genuine happiness and freedom were not possible.” While this is our potential, we each have deep conditioning to get stuck in feelings of fear, deficiency and separation from others. These talks...
The Buddha said, “I would not be teaching this (a path of awakening) if genuine happiness and freedom were not possible.” While this is our potential, we each have deep conditioning to get stuck in feelings of fear, deficiency and separation from others. These talks...
A wonderful translation of the Pali word Metta is friendliness. This talk looks at friendliness through an evolutionary lens, and explores ways we can cultivate a more open...
Part 3: Joy – blossoms in the moments our hearts open boundlessly to reality, to the 10,000 joys and sorrows. This series reflects on four primary expressions of an awake, wise heart: lovingkindness, compassion, joy and equanimity. In each talk we explore the...
While RAIN is regularly used for untangling suffering, it is also a powerful tool for deepening our access to positive states like happiness, gratitude, wonder and love. This meditation guides us in nourishing the goodness that is an intrinsic part of living and...
What You Practice Grows Stronger:Choosing Joy to De-Condition Our Negativity Bias Some years back, I was talking with a woman in our community. She was a breast cancer survivor and she told me about a conversation that she had with a friend who also was a survivor....
If we’re in the trance of unworthiness, we can’t embrace each other and our world in an open-hearted way. In this short video, I share a story (a personal favorite!) of what’s possible when we shine a light on the habits of self-aversion that block our...
When we notice that we’re in the trance of “if-only” mind, we can choose to re-open and surrender to what is right here. When we make that U-Turn and stay with our experience with kindness, we find a sense of goodness in that presence. This is the beginning of joy....
It is radical and transformative to pause and sense the goodness that is right here in this moment. When we experience gladness for simple things, we know we really can be happy for no reason. I hope you enjoy this short reflection on how savoring our moments can help...
Meditation: Relax Into Happiness ~ Lama Gendun Rinpoche writes, “Happiness cannot be found through great effort and willpower, but it is already there, in relaxation and letting go.” This meditation turns us toward this naturally arising happiness by awakening...
Taste what it’s like, in the body and in the heart, to feel a sense of your own being when you’re helping. “Every time I take a step in the direction of generosity, I know that I am moving from fear to love.” – Henri Nouwen. Listen to the full talk: Happiness Is...
There is an inner freedom that expresses as happiness and peace, and it is accessible when we arrive in openhearted presence. As the Buddha said, “If it were not possible to find liberation, I would not teach about it.” In this two part talk, we will look at the...
There is an inner freedom that expresses as happiness and peace, and it is accessible when we arrive in openhearted presence. As the Buddha said, “If it were not possible to find liberation, I would not teach about it.” In this two part talk, we will look at the...
