04 | 07 | 21

Season 1, Episode Three: “Rollercoaster Explosion.”

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 on any given meditation retreat. 

Our super special guest: 

Roxanne Dault, of True North Insight.

In our conversation, Roxanne exudes all the qualities that make her Jessica Morey’s retreat hero; moreover, Roxanne will illuminate the importance of balancing the secular sensibility of mindfulness with the spiritual depth of dhamma practice.

Topics touched upon for your consideration:

Edible Book Day. | The Physiology of Taste: Or, Meditations on Transcendental Gastronomy. | Aging one’s meditation practice in the bottle. | Jessica Morey is high-level pop. | Post-retreat emotional rawness. | Metta jhana. | Jessica Morey sets the bar low. | Every mind has the capacity to be free, and contains all the qualities of the Buddha. | How does one know the time has come to sit a meditation retreat? | Bryan Adams has released his grip on Jessica Morey…for now. | Another Brian: Lesage. | Temporarily incapacitated spiders. | What do we mean when we say “secular”? | Roxanne Dault is a joyful being. | The black hole of terror and despair. | Difficult mind states are a part of the deal. | The Buddha as somatic therapist. | The two Roxannes. | Bamboo Acrobat Sutta. | A sarlacc’s beak. | Dread and apprehension: superfluous residue or supportive bacteria? | Every single experience is fuel for awakening, and a pathway to insight. | Riding the perfect wave. | How do you know when enough’s enough? | The loneliness of adult tooth-brushing. | Aspiration vs. craving. | There’s more than one way to skin a retreat. | Using the body as a resource. | Non-cognitive recognition of painful experiences. | The First Free Women.

Plus—Jess leads a meditation on digesting and transforming challenging emotions—either while on retreat, or in everyday life.