by Peter Carlson | Apr 17, 2025 | Listen to Dharma Talks
One time per month, Peter provides the opportunity for those participating in the meeting to ask questions about Buddhist concepts and meditation practice. He also provides a brief review of the relationship between each of the Four Noble Truths, emphasizing that different subjective experiences require different focusing on each of the Truths. During the meeting, Peter also provides comments about his understanding of emptiness, the absence of an enduring/autonomous self. He describes his experiences of awareness that is disinterested in defining bodily boundaries and is inclusive of the totality of sensory and cognitive “flow” without interest in differentiating objects within the flow experience. During the description, he recalls hearing Joseph Goldstein talk about the importance of “effortless effort”, and the benefits of just letting go of any resistance or attachment during the out-breath, when the mind is stable and tranquil. He also suggests that these qualities of awareness are not “created” by a meditator, that liberating states of mind are ever-present, and that cultivating the Seven Awakening Factors frees the mind from hindrances that obstruct direct awareness of emptiness.
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by Peter Carlson | Apr 10, 2025 | News
During this talk, Lezlie Laws uses references to several books on contemplative stillness to develop greater conceptual understanding of the characteristic of the mind when unburdened by craving and clinging. She also shares the insights regarding stillness she realized while attending to the recent passing of her beloved dog Dash. This talk was preceded by a guided meditation entitled “Guided Stillness Contemplation”, which is posted within the Guided Meditation folder in the archives.
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by Peter Carlson | Apr 10, 2025 | News
Lezlie Laws provides useful suggestions for cultivating insights regarding stillness, a stable and non-reactive characteristic of the mind during meditation practice. This recording is intended to provide support for discussion of stillness during the Dharma talk that followed this meditation titled “The Contemplation of Stillness”.
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by Peter Carlson | Apr 3, 2025 | Listen to Dharma Talks
During this talk, Peter, a retired psychotherapist, describes the intersection between core Buddhist concepts and a well-researched contemporary psychotherapy approach called Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy. He reviews the schema concept that categorizes various cognitive distortions and describes how Mindfulness of Feelings and Mindfulness of Mental Phenomena can be effectively applied to counter these distortions through the cultivation of Mindfulness, Investigation of Mental Phenomena and Right Effort. He suggests that the “selfing story” represents various aspects of the Five Hindrances, and that countering the dysfunctional schemas creates a process that clarifies the mind for further spiritual development, towards Awakening.
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by Peter Carlson | Mar 27, 2025 | 2025 Deerhaven
It has been the policy of the Orlando Insight Meditation Group to dedicate a meeting following a significant retreat experience to allow those who attended a retreat to “think out loud” about their experience in front of a supportive audience. This provides an opportunity for those talking to “connect the dots” about the experience, as well as informing and inspiring others to consider attending a retreat. This talk is exceptional, as several participants reviewed the Deerhaven retreat, while another person, Ashley, who attended a retreat organized through the Goenka tradition of body scanning practices, shared her experience.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 58:46 — 53.8MB)