Today’s topic: NATURE! As machete-voiced beatnik philosopher Tom Waits is wont to remind us, “We’re chained to the world, and we’ve all got to pull.” Some of us our able to make the best of our embedment in the natural world, but others will never stop being freaked out by it. Jess helps Jon see… Continue reading Episode Five: “A Very Advanced Practice.”
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:07:50 — 62.1MB)
Jess offers a meditation intended to help one gain comfort with discomfort—whether they be in nature, or anywhere else.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 11:05 — 10.2MB)
Today’s topic: PARENTING! You know what they say: raising a child is a little bit like tap-dancing, backwards, while wearing high heels, and covered in fire ants. Meanwhile, trying to achieve even a shred of enlightenment is challenging enough without, at the same time, attempting to keep an entire extra human alive. Jess tries to… Continue reading Episode Four: “Our Children’s Children’s Clones.”
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Jess offers a meditation in which loving-kindness is interwoven with equanimity, to create a veritable brahmavihara spice mix, with which any of us might generously season our experiences.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 10:48 — 9.9MB)
Today’s topic: RETREATS! Sitting a silent meditation retreat is a virtual rite of passage for mindfulness people. But let’s be frank—sitting in silence for a number of days with only your mind for company is not necessarily a bucket full of gumdrops. Jess and I will talk about all the snakes and ladders one encounters… Continue reading Episode Three: “Rollercoaster Explosion.”
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:08:13 — 62.5MB)
Jess leads a meditation on digesting and transforming challenging emotions—either while on retreat, or in everyday life.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 10:07 — 9.3MB)
Today’s topic: COMMUNITY! Asian communities have been practicing Buddhism in the United States since the 1800s, with the idea of “sangha” always front and center. Yet, when the thing we think of today as mindfulness practice was brought over by white Buddhist teachers in the 20th century—from such Buddhist-leaning countries as Thailand, India, and what was… Continue reading Episode Two: “Buddhas Don’t Play Tambourines.”
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:19:02 — 72.4MB)
Jess leads a reflective meditation from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, affirming the commitment to attend to the well-being of all those with whom we share our communities…and the world.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 13:23 — 12.3MB)
Jess leads a meditation towards the skillful contemplation of regret.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 6:06 — 5.6MB)
Today’s topic: REGRET! “They flutter behind you your possible pasts—some bright-eyed and crazy, some frightened and lost.” Today Jess and I will be talking about the lives we’ve led—the lives we’ve failed to lead—and how to deal with regret when it makes its presence known. Is regret something that mindfulness can help us avoid? Should… Continue reading Episode One: “A Small, Meditating Woman.”
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:23:51 — 76.8MB)
