by Peter Carlson | Apr 17, 2020 | Listen to Dharma Talks
This meditation focuses on the Second Foundation of Mindfulness, Vedanupassana (vey-duh-nah-nu-pah-sah-nah), Mindfulness of Feelings. In Buddhist psychology feelings are not emotions per se, but are the urgency and impulsivity of the body in response to a stimulus; the modern psychological term affect is more appropriate, as it is the immediate response of the body/mind process to the experience. From a Buddhist perspective, feelings are the bridge between what the body senses and the meaning-making that the mind fabricates in response to the feeling. The more mindful and equanimous a person is as the feeling is investigated, the more opportunity there is to modify the meaning-making in more adaptive ways. This ability is essential for a person’s resilience to stressful, even traumatic experiences, such as the current pandemic. The topic for the Dharma talk which will be posted after this one is “Turning Poison Into Medicine” and develops what some contemporary researchers are calling Post Traumatic Growth (Look up the term on Wikipedia!), which is the ability to become more grateful regarding life and relationships and optimistic despite difficult circumstances. During the meditation, Peter made various comments that encourage investigating how the feeling of urgency (craving) is a different quality of experience than the meaning-making narrative that accompanies it (clinging); craving and clinging are core characteristics of dukkha. One can train attention to mindfulness of breathing or the body to interrupt the narrative, cultivating equanimity and increasing stress resilience.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 45:19 — 83.0MB)
by Peter Carlson | Apr 10, 2020 | Listen to Dharma Talks, News
This talk is accompanied by the preceding Lovingkindness meditation training that focuses on the fear and uncertainty which affects the world as a result of the pandemic. Peter reviewed how craving and clinging can be investigated and released through the training provided by regular meditation practice. He emphasized how we can become preoccupied with the long-term impact of the pandemic, which interferes with the ability to effectively cope with the uncertainty of our mortality. He reviewed Atisha’s Nine Contemplations on Mortality, a regular part of Tibetan Buddhist life. He also mentioned that many of the lifestyle choices we are conditioned into by consumerism will “die” as a result of the disruption of commercial and social norms.
Here are the notes prepared for this talk: Mindfully Coping with the Fear of Dying
Due to continuing unfamiliarity with the auditory recording process, the questions and comments of those participating were not recorded, and Peter apologizes for this mistake and this will be corrected for the next meeting, which will focus on what contemporary psychology calls resilience, the ability to effectively cope with conflict. This research also explores how individuals emerge from traumatic events with a heightened appreciation for life and an enhanced ability to find meaning through adversity; this view is very compatible with the goals of regular mindfulness and lovingkindness meditation practice. That meeting will also include a training meditation focused on Mindfulness of Feelings, the Second Foundation of Mindfulness.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:00:00 — 109.9MB)
by Peter Carlson | Apr 10, 2020 | Listen to Dharma Talks
This Lovingkindness meditation is set up to provide support for cultivating kindness and compassion for oneself and all the others affected by the Covid-19 Pandemic. It begins with a focus on one’s own well-being and then expands and includes all others experiencing the distress and confusion that we are confronted with.
This meditation is followed by a Dharma talk entitled “”Coping With Fear Of Dying April 8 2020”, during which Peter discussed how mindfulness and lovingkindness meditation provides support for reorganizing expectations and reducing anxiety regarding the uncertainties of the next period of this year.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 46:19 — 84.8MB)
by Peter Carlson | Apr 3, 2020 | Listen to Dharma Talks
We are living through what is likely the most trying time of our lives with the Covid-19 pandemic. This is not the only trial we are confronted with, as the upheaval caused by global warming is becoming even more evident. Both of these conditions require a degree of equanimity and creative adaptation to successfully live through. During this talk Peter described how meditation practices such as mindfulness of breathing, lovingkindness and the just posted Four Elements Contemplation can provide support for effective coping, using the Four Noble Truths as the conceptual structure for discussing the significant changes we must make in redefining what constitutes a good life, differing in several ways from the consumerism that is the characteristic conditioning in this culture. During the talk Peter described the importance of a book entitled “Voluntary Simplicity: Toward a Way of Life That Is Outwardly Simple, Inwardly Rich” by Duane Elgin in shaping his understanding and growth towards a good life. It can be found on Amazon as a revised edition. It is also useful to go to a site like http://simplicitycollective.com/start-here/what-is-voluntary-simplicity-2 to get more information.
Here are the notes prepared for this talk: MINDFUL COPING AND CULTIVATING AN ADAPTIVE LIFESTYLE
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:10:23 — 128.9MB)
by Peter Carlson | Apr 3, 2020 | Listen to Dharma Talks
In the Four Foundations of Mindfulness Discourse, one suggestion for practice focuses on contemplating the Four Elements: Earth (feelings of hardness, softness, pressure, density, etc.), Air (movement in or of the body), Fire (variations in temperature sensations) and Water (awareness of liquidity or cohesion). When the discourse was being formed, that worldview suggested that all of reality was composed of these elements; current understanding can find the contemplation to be valuable subjectively as focusing on body sensations interrupts the intrusive and urgent demands of internal narrative processes. Successful contemplation of this sort cultivates stability of attention and internal tranquility. The recording below is a training meditation led by Peter inviting meditators to investigate the variety of Elements that can be perceived and felt during the meditation. This posting will be followed by the recording and notes prepared and delivered focused on “Mindful Coping And Cultivating An Adaptive Lifestyle”
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 45:08 — 82.6MB)