Charlotte Center For Mindfulness // Podcasts

This talk again explores the Buddhist practice of taking refuge in the Dharma. Dharma refers to an inherent knowable wholeness in all things— a concept that is palpable and useful in everyday life when we look for it. Note: there is a background static sound in the first 2 minutes of the talk and again for around a minute starting at 10:30. This is not present for the majority of the talk.

What It Is (English translation of Was es ist) Written by: Erich Fried. Translated by: Anna Kallio It is nonsense says reason It is what it is says love It is calamity says calculation It is nothing but pain says fear It is hopeless says insight It is what it is says love It is ludicrous says pride It is foolish says caution It is impossible says experience It is what it is says love.

In this sharing, we look at the Buddhist concept of “Taking Refuge.” This can be understood in many ways, one of which is through a deep examination of feedback pointing to wholeness in the natural world as well as within our own bodies. No need to be Buddhist to appreciate the beauty and usefulness of this understanding of the way of things. For the video How Wolves Change Rivers, see here.

A meditation to help remind us that home is always already here and available in each moment now. Tasting Mindfulness, Jon Kabat-Zinn Have you ever had the experience of stopping so completely, of being in your body so completely, of being in your life so completely, that what you knew and what you didn’t know that what had been and what was yet to come, and the way things are right now no longer held even the slightest hint of anxiety or discord? It would be a moment of complete presence, beyond striving, beyond mere acceptance, beyond the desire to escape or fix anything or plunge ahead, a moment of pure being, no longer in time, a moment of pure seeing, pure feeling, a moment in which life simply is, and that “is-ness” grabs you by all your senses, all your memories, by your very genes, by your loves, and welcomes you home.

This sharing looks at specific practices for integrating our practice into daily life– even when daily life is 5 failed attempts to get your car towed… Click here for the handout. If you want to learn more about polyvagal exercises, Polyvagal Exercises for Safety and Connection, written by Deb Dana is a good place to start. There are also numerous YouTube videos available demonstrating these exercises. If you are unfamiliar with the “Flipped Lid” concept, this comes from a brilliant “Brain/Hand Model” from Daniel Siegal, MD. Here he describes it to parents, but the concept is useful for all of us: Daniel Siegal Hand/Brain Model.    

The word yoga has a definition of “to yoke“. In this sitting meditation, we are practicing a kind of yoga, or yoking, of body, mind and heart.

There is a tradition beautiful Buddhist practice of taking refuge. In this practice I expand on that practice with a broadened understanding of taking refuge.

Join me for a sharing of an old Zen story about a head cook and his unexpected soup and how this story is so useful for being skillful with our mistakes, including those involving racial bias awareness.

There are many different flavors to “efforting” — some useful and some not so useful. What is it like to intention explore a balanced soft effort that allows you to stay engaged with your practice, without over-efforting and contracting.

A dream about engaging the right kind of effort inspired this exploration of different kinds of “efforting” — everything from not enough effort, to punishing grunt work effort, to a soft, open, trusting effortless effort.

So often we burden our meditation practice with loaded expectations of what it should look like and what should happen if I am a good meditator. But in reality every meditation is an open invitation to lay down those expectations and meet what is here. Just as it is. Without needed it to be any different. Without needing to change or fix anything. Maybe even with a sense of wonder and awe that we can even perceive what is here…

I share how our beloved cat, Ana, who has been in “hospice” care for a while, died sometime during the night, and how a serendipitous find of Licity Collins and her beautiful music and writing spoke to the tenor of my day and the mystery of letting go into the current of the universe. Here is the link to read her story and listen to her 22 min musical meditation called “Currents.” Note her generosity in freely offering this beautiful sharing and her link to donate in support of her work if you wish.

In this meditation we explore a formal practice for strengthening a resource of “taking in the good.”

As our continuation of resourcing for challenging times, we examine “Taking in the Good” primarily through the teaching of Rick Hanson, PhD.

In this meditation we explore using an anchor of self-kindness for opening to what is here and now.

Watching my cats this week was a lesson in the practical grace of taking in the good. We explore this and end with the ABC Gratitude practice of Br. David Steindl-Rast.

We are often taught that we should follow an ethical code in order to “be good.” But there is a completely different way of approaching ethics, not as a “should,” but rather as a resource, a foundational strength for living in challenging times.

We start with a short body scan and then move into an exploration of life’s unfolding energy moment by moment

Today we continue an exploration of strengths and resources for meeting challenging times with a look at developing a compassionate way of understanding all behaviors, our own and others, in this world. Note: I’m working to improve the audio with our new set up. Thanks!

In this podcast, we look at when to let go through the lens of the 8 Worldy Winds, and how to let go through a radical re-framing of welcoming.

This meditation explores the interplay between goodwill, compassion, letting go and welcoming the moment just as it is.

Let go a little, get a little peace. Let go a lot, get a lot of peace. Let go completely, get complete peace. A. Chah Sounds good, but how do we really let go?

We explore how intentional small acts of kindness begin to add up to change the quality of our day and tenor of our life.

This week concludes our study of the foundational teaching of Buddhist psychology in the Four Noble Truths, as we study Wise Action– meaning learning to take a step, whether large or small, whether directed towards care for others or self-care, that is aligned with our deepest values and with what gives our lives a keen sense of meaning and purpose.

“Wise livelihood” has no easy answers, but that in no way means we give up. There is a moral complexity that is important that we wrestle with. We do this with a clear intention to do the best we can while knowing we won’t ever find perfect answers.

In this meditation we explore what is it like to when tension is present in the body/mind/heart and open in skillful ways right with what is here. Note: there are more than usual background sounds in this recording. I edited out as much as I could and apologize for the bits that remain… Thanks!

Meditation can be a respite, a place we can lay down our loads for a bit and offer a healing hospitality to our own beings.

One framing of mindfulness that I have always appreciated is mindfulness as a spiritual re-parenting of our own selves. Drawing from a talk on parenting by Chris McKenna at Google, we explore how a foundational base for parenting is as important as a foundational base in our relationship with our own being.

In this Body Scan meditation, we explore how waking up to the present moment sensations in the body is a a compassionate act of care.

In this sharing, we explore traditional teachings from the Buddha 2,600 years ago on wise speech.

In this meditation, we practice opening to the felt energy in the body, below the storylines of what’s happening, to anchor, open to compassion and anchor back in the refuge of the breath.

In Buddhist psychology, ethical conduct is clearly understood as the path out of suffering, a gift for both for ourselves and others. In this sharing, I explore Wise Speech and its relationship to this gift of freedom.

Wise Speech is a practice that supports all of our relationships. We strengthen the foundation for this practice in our meditation by paying attention to our internal speech patterns going on all the time and noticing the possibility of bringing a compassionate wise response and care to this internal talk– instead of just buying into everything the inner voice says. One note– I had an active cat in part of the meditation. Please forgive the background sounds I wasn’t able to edit out… Thank you.

Today we explore the understanding of “not-self” that opens a natural doorway to compassion. We end with the poem from Thich Nhat Hanh, Please Call Me by my True Names.

In this practice, we explore a samadhi, or concentration practice, using the breath as the object of focus.

Samadhi practice, sometimes translated as concentration practice, has been described as a gathering or unifying of the mind. When cultivated, this kind of practice can bring a deep settling to the mind that is useful in all aspects of life.

Sowing the seed, my hand is one with the earth. Wanting the seed to grow, my mid is one with the light. Hoeing the crop, my hands are one with the rain. Hungry and trusting, my mind is one with the earth. Eating the fruit, my body is one with the earth. -Wendall Berry A wandering holy man is asked what his work in life is. He replies, “I’m a farmer… This body of mine is my field. I sow good thoughts and actions, and in my body I reap the results.”  

In this practice, we start with a short body scan and then move into the breath as an anchor that can “teach us how to be interested in the present moment and how to develop persistence in staying connected to the present moment.” (Mark Nunberg)

Today we explore how simple bare attention of mindfulness to breath helps us gain wisdom into the nature of reality– in particular, wisdom of impermanence.

In this meditation we explore opening with a bare, non-judgmental attention to the present moment just as it is, whether in settling into an anchor or bringing a compassionate wise acknowledgment to distraction

In this sharing, we focus on the simple non-judgmental bare attention of mindfulness within the context of the whole of the 8 Fold Path.

In this meditation, we explore our hands as a primary anchor, including exploring the elements of Earth, water, sun, air making up the substance of our hands.

In this meditation, we again explore what allows a balanced effortless effort and compassionate mindfulness.

In this continuation of the 8 Fold Path, we look further into the ways a wise and balanced effort and mindfulness support us not just in meditation practice, but also in life.

In this sharing, a continuation of the 4th Noble Truth, we begin to explore the meditation factors of the 8 Fold Path, particular how these factors weave together in a very practical usefulness in our lives. Drawing from a panic attack on a high ropes course, it becomes clear that if we practice enough with these factors, they begin to show up spontaneously in skillful ways that are in service of our life.

In this meditation, we explore the interweaving of wise effort (not too tight, not too loose), mindfulness and qualities of the heart. These together are a way of coming into a skillful attunement to the present moment in a way that allows a natural opening.

From Sharon Salzberg’s, “The Kindness Handbook, A Practical Companion”: Spirituality is the movement from our prison of self blame and self preoccupation to an inclusive and open engagement with all of life. In many ways a spiritual path is essentially about connection — a deep connection to our own inherent capacity for wisdom and love no matter what, a connection to a bigger picture of life no matter what. We can easily go from morning until night disconnected, not only from genuine connect contact with others, but also from more fundamental and loving aspects of our own hearts. Spiritual practices of meditation, generosity, service, and lovingkindness not only turn this tendency around towards genuine connection, they also become the manifestation of a free mind.

In this sharing, a continuation of the 4th Noble Truth, we explore the 3 basic aspects of Wise Intention of goodwill, compassion and renunciation or letting go. In particular, we look at how these 3 aspects are interrelated and support each other in offering an energy to work with the immediacy of any moment in our life.

In this meditation, we begin with grounding in the body through the physical elements and then explore the skillful or wise intentions of goodwill, compassion and letting go.

Today we start with the “wisdom” factors of the 8 Fold Path (Fourth Noble Truth), wise view and wise intention. We focus on wise view this week with the understanding that kindness and compassion are an intrinsic part of the wise factors. I draw from a beautiful talk by Jill Shepard which is on Dharmaseed if you want to hear more: Jill Shepard Dharmaseed