by Peter Carlson | Jul 2, 2015 | Listen to Dharma Talks
During this talk, Peter combined insights from contemporary research on the importance of relationship quality during early childhood for cultivating an integrated sense of personality, and how this relates to the Buddhist concept of no-self, that is, the absence of an autonomous ego. Cultivating secure relationship bonds is an essential part of spiritual practice; this is why the Buddha said “Sangha (spiritual relationship) is the whole of the holy life”.
Next week’s discussion will explore how unwholesome shame, guilt and misperceptions leading to isolation are both obstacles to spiritual growth and opportunities to realize awakening.
The notes prepared for this talk will be posted right after this posting.
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by Peter Carlson | Jun 25, 2015 | Listen to Dharma Talks
During this talk, Peter described the characteristics of addiction, emphasizing the similarities between the functions of addictive behavior beyond substance abuse and the Buddhist realization of the power of craving and clinging to produce suffering. A graphic illustration was provided to describe the onset of stress and the effects of stress, compared to the onset of an addictive behavior and the distracting or emotional effects of the behavior. This linking represents craving and clinging, and the application of the Four Noble Truths were described as a way to reduce and eventually eliminate the need for addictive behavior. The key factor in this process is to focus on the feeling of stress, disregarding the narrative that comes with it, prior to the activation of the addictive behavior.
The next posting will include the notes prepared for this talk, including the draft showing the link between the experience of stress and the experience of mood altering behaviors.
Next week’s talk will focus on how Buddhist practices can enhance the quality of relationships across the range of casual, momentary encounters to life-long relationships.
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by Peter Carlson | Jun 18, 2015 | Listen to Dharma Talks
Continuing to explore how Buddhist mindfulness and lovingkindness practices can help address mental health issues that are epidemic in our culture, this week’s topic is about the nature of depression from both a modern and Buddhist perspective. Peter described the general symptoms of depression, and the Buddhist concept of the cause of distress being craving and clinging. It was suggested that a major element of depression is a preoccupation with distorted views of self and of life that are negative in their impact. This preoccupation is driven by the misperception that a sad or despairing feeling is a true and permanent rendering of someone’s personality. Mindfulness meditation enables a person to view their troubling emotions and distorted perceptions objectively and channel attention to accepting the emotion without negative self-talk, and substituting more beneficial thoughts and behaviors. The Buddhist concepts of impermanence and non-self emphasize that self organization is dynamically changing, and that clinging to a particular view is disabling.
Peter and other shared their depressive experiences in the past and how mindfulness and lovingkindness practices benefited their recoveries and resilience to current stressful events. Peter described various contemporary psychotherapies that combine mindfulness with standard clinical techniques.
The recording is longer than usual, due to the enthusiastic participation of those attending the meeting. Immediately after this post, the notes prepared for this talk will be posted, including several self-help books involving using mindfulness approaches for alleviating depression.
Next week’s topic will focus on Buddhist understanding of addictive processes, which go beyond the normal descriptions of addictions as being drug related, and how mindfulness practices can be of benefit for preventing addictive relapse
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by Peter Carlson | Jun 11, 2015 | Listen to Dharma Talks
During this talk, Peter provided an overview of the diagnostic categories related to anxiety, describing the common characteristics and symptoms of modern psychological understanding regarding anxiety disorders, which are at an epidemic level in this culture. This was followed by descriptions of how the cultivation of mindfulness and lovingkindness provide ways to alleviate or at least reduce anxiety. After the descriptions, those attending asked questions or made comments about the topic.
Next week’s discussion will focus on depression and how Buddhist practices can provide a buffer against depressive episodes.
Following this post is a document containing the notes Peter prepared for this talk. Part of the document provides a more in-depth description of significant anxiety disorders from a contemporary psychological perspective.
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by Peter Carlson | Jun 4, 2015 | Listen to Dharma Talks
This recording introduces a new topic for ongoing discussion and application. The typical translation of dukkha has been “suffering”; many modern students of Buddhism prefer the term “stress” as being more appropriate for our culture. During the talk, Peter described the psychological and biological aspects of stress, the cultural values that produce stress and the prevalence of current stress and stress-related physical, interpersonal and psychological problems recently discovered by researchers.
Following this post the notes prepared for the presentation will be posted.
Over the next several meetings the various manifestations of stress will be explored from psychological and Buddhist perspectives. Next week’s discussion will describe anxiety in the culture, reviewing the characteristics of anxiety, what happens to a person suffering from anxiety, and what Buddhism has to offer as a factor for alleviating anxiety.
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by Peter Carlson | May 28, 2015 | Listen to Dharma Talks
During this talk, Peter reviewed his self-retreat from May 9-22. The experience was related to the previous discussions about the Anapanasati Sutta (the discourse on mindfulness of breathing), and to the sorts of experiences that might arise during an intensive retreat. He specifically associated the cultivation of the the seven awakening factors–mindfulness, investigation of mental phenomena, energy/effort, joy/interest, tranquility, concentration and equanimity–to the experiences during the retreat. This was followed by discussion among those present to clarify some of what was described.
Next week, the topical theme will change significantly. Since Peter has been a psychotherapist nearly as long as he’s practiced and taught mindfulness, there will be discussions about stress in this culture, producing anxiety, depression, addictive behaviors, relationship discord from a Buddhist perspective, with suggestions about how Buddhism may be useful in providing relief from the stress.
