by Peter Carlson | Aug 27, 2015 | Listen to Dharma Talks
This talks reviews the lojong mind training aphorism “In order to take unexpected conditions as the path, immediately join whatever you meet with meditation”. The emphasis of this practice is to train the mind to become quickly, mindfully aware of what is emerging in consciousness, and essential competency to cultivate in vipassana practice. Peter described recent research regarding which areas of the brain are associated with mindfulness, and how these neural pathways are enhanced to increase self awareness and the ability to regulate emotional reactivity. After these descriptions, ways that agile and accurate inner awareness can be cultivated, not only by regular meditation practice, but also through finding ways to remind oneself to be mindful during the day.
This talk followed a guided meditation just posted “Agile Mind Guided Meditation”.
Here are the notes prepared for this talk: MAKING THE MIND AGILE AND ACCURATE
by Peter Carlson | Jul 9, 2015 | Listen to Dharma Talks
This talk is a continuation of a series of explorations of the psychological value of healthy relationships, from the perspective of psychotherapy and Buddhist mindfulness and lovingkindness practices. When a parent’s interactions with a young child are lacking sufficient clarity, consistency and kindness, the child’s personality development is adversely affected, leading to what has been called a “shame based personality”–defensive, reactive and emotionally isolated. The principles and practices of the Noble Eightfold Path were reviewed as ways and means for resolving internalized shame, providing forgiveness for oneself and promoting compassion for others.
The notes prepared for this presentation and discussion will be posted immediately after this posting.
Next week will begin discussion of Peter’s revisitation of lojong, the Tibetan Buddhist “Seven Point Mind Training”, with the intention to present the medieval Buddhist teachings in ways that are understandable and useful for modern American Buddhist practices.
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
by Peter Carlson | Jan 29, 2015 | Listen to Dharma Talks
During this dhamma dialogue, the exploration of the Anapanasati Sutta was continued, with a focus on the stanzas: “…He trains himself, ‘I will breathe in sensitive to the entire body.’ He trains himself, ‘I will breathe out sensitive to the entire body.’ He trains himself, ‘I will breathe in calming bodily fabrication.’ He trains himself, ‘I will breathe out calming bodily fabrication.’
Peter described an ongoing debate as to whether “the entire body” simply refers to the totality of the in- and out-breath cycle without interruption, or whether “the entire body” relates the calming effects of enduring breath awareness is coordinated with relaxing “the bodily fabrication”. The accompanying .mp3 recording of the training meditation that immediately preceded this dialogue orients towards the latter interpretation, emphasizing that the out-breath can coincide with briefly sweeping attention through the body to release and relax any tension that is noted. This strategy allows the body to become increasingly relaxed, the emotions to become increasingly calm, while the degree of internal investigation of the breath and body tensions actually increases internal alertness.
This explanation was followed by dialogues regarding how those participating in the training meditation experienced the practice of mindfulness of breathing. It was noted that suggesting that attention is a flow of energy that is simply nourishing either wholesome or unwholesome self-states, and that the breath is a wholesome factor in that process, as it interrupts the escalation of self-talk and fosters calming.
The next scheduled talk will focus on the effects of this mindful calming, the release of energy into awareness as joy and happiness.
by Peter Carlson | Dec 15, 2011 | Listen to Dharma Talks
In this talk, the neurological underpinnings of the Second Noble Truth, tanha (craving) and upadana (clinging) were explored to emphasize the importance of being clearly and immediately aware of the felt sense of urgency and the “enchantment” of internal narrative experience. This clarity is crucial for setting the conditions for the realization of the Third Noble Truth, through the action of the Noble Eightfold Path. In this as well as future discussions, the relevance to current cultural and economic crises is established, with an encouragement to find a “Middle Way” between consumerism and ideological purity and material denial and skeptical withdrawal from society. How can we as a spiritual community support each other in finding this Middle Way?