Category: Updated Resources

In Western culture we typically associate joy with external, conditional events. However, there is a form of joy that is unconditional and available in any circumstances. Scott Tusa describes this practice of innate or unconditional joyfulness as a radical act. You can find his article here: Joy is a Radical Act Oren Jay Sofer describes… Continue reading Updated Resources for Meditation and Support

Tonglen, which means taking and sending, is a meditation practice for opening to our innate compassion that is most associated with the Tibetan tradition of Buddhism. Pema Chodron provides a brief introduction to the practice that you can find here: How to Practice Tonglen Dekila Chungyalpa was born in the Himalayan land of Sikkim and… Continue reading Updated Resources for Meditation and Support

Kristin Neff and Chris Germer are two of the primary advocates of the practice of self-compassion and the related practice of Mindful Self-Compassion and have developed some helpful approaches for bringing it into our lives. You can find more information at the following websites : Self-Compassion.org & Center for Mindful Self-Compassion Tara Brach has taught… Continue reading Updated Resources for Meditation and Support

Vanessa Zuisei Goddard discusses several different ways of looking at metta (kindness and goodwill) that suggest ways that we can bring it into our lives and our meditation practice. These include our relationship to fear, and also to humility and gratitude. You can find her article here: Four Ways of Looking at Lovingkindness Jack Kornfield… Continue reading Updated Resources for Meditation and Support

If you’re interested in metta, or lovingkindness meditation, Sharon Salzberg has done a lot to make that approach accessible to people. The following link includes an article by her with a description of metta meditation and the use of phrases to express our intention to be kind and benevolent: Why Loving-Kindness Takes Time: Sharon Salzberg Another… Continue reading Updated Resources for Meditation and Support

We all have the potential to abide in the Brahmaviharas: loving-kindness, compassion, appreciative joy, and equanimity. When we know how to do this, these capacities become an inner wealth, more valuable than any outer riches. To tap into this wealth, Buddhism teaches practices for developing each of the four capacities of the heart. Love doesn’t… Continue reading Updated Resources for Meditation and Support

The talk for June 15 will briefly summarize the ideas from two research papers by Cortland Dahl and Richie Davidson, two researchers who focus on the impact of meditation and other spiritual practices on well-being. The talk will be self-contained, so no need to read them, but if you’re interested, the two papers are available here:… Continue reading Updated Resources for Meditation and Support

A good introduction to natural awareness can be found in this post from Diana Winston:  What is Natural Awareness? A more extensive introduction to natural awareness, including suggestions for meditation practice, can be found in this article by Diana Winston:  Three Ways to Uncover Your Natural Awareness.

Ajahn Viradhammo provides a brief description of choiceless awareness that you can find here: Choiceless Awareness A slightly longer introduction to open awareness can be found at Healthy Minds Innovations, which developed a good app for learning meditation. You can find their blog post about open awareness here: How to Practice Open Awareness

Kaira Jewel Lingo establishes the connection between equanimity and love, and shows that equanimity is anything but indifferent. You can find her article here: How Equanimity Powers Love Narayan Liebenson discusses the practice of equanimity in the midst of the eight worldly winds that all of us experience: praise and blame, gain and loss, pleasure and pain,… Continue reading Updated Resources for Meditation and Support