by Peter Carlson | Aug 29, 2019 | Listen to Dharma Talks
This discussion combines Peter’s 33 year history as a mental health professional, certified as an addictions counselor, combined with 37 years practicing mindfulness meditation. Addiction is described as a behavioral disorder that may or may not include substance dependency, laying out five criteria for a behavior to qualify as addictive, referring to the work of Anne Wilson Schaef that suggests American culture experiences addiction at an epidemic level. Peter also described addiction as a full rendition of Buddhist craving and clinging and as a maladaptive attempt to avoid or dull aversion, with desire as the enticement. The Four Noble Truths concept of Buddhism was reviewed to suggest effective intervention into the addictive process. The practice of mindfulness of breathing meditation is suggested as allowing a person to be aware of and tolerant regarding the urgency of craving and investigating the distorted beliefs that are always associated with an addictive process and then using detachment and renunciation to avoid acting out the addictive routine and instead understanding and modifying the distorted selfing story to address the root causes of the addictive process. Meditation is not the sole resolution of the problems of addiction; the practice is a foundational companion for practices such as the 12 step systems of various recovery groups (Meditation and prayer are step 11 of the 12 steps). The explanation of addiction was followed by discussion among those attending regarding the issues of addiction in the U.S.
Here are the notes prepared for this talk: Dukkha And Addiction Notes
The next talk will focus on sampajjana, the four clear comprehensions of Buddhist commentary as a valuable tool for understanding and adapting effectively to the complexity of current American culture. Please note that a major hurricane is predicted to pass over the Florida peninsula over the Labor Day weekend and this may postpone the usual meeting and posting for a week or so.
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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
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by Peter Carlson | Jul 10, 2025 | Listen to Dharma Talks
During this first of several Dharma talks about important female teachers, April reviews the life and teachings of Upasika Lee Nanayon, a lay teacher in Thailand. First she describes the determination of a person whose teaching comes from a simple lifestyle and deep meditation practice dedicated to providing women with unbiased access to the Dharma. The presentation includes several quotes from Nanayon’s teaching. Here description is followed by comments from a very large attendance, in person and online.
Here are the notes prepared for this talk, including the URL that accesses a free .pdf translation download of Nanayon’s teaching: Final Upāsikā Kee Nanayon notes
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by Peter Carlson | Mar 18, 2021 | Listen to Dharma Talks
The intersection between classic Buddhism and neuroscientific research is remarkable in how much the content of Buddhist concepts and the practice of meditation overlap with the development of highly sophisticated computer-driven technology. This talk reviews the development of this research, much based on the interested support of the Dalai Lama and Western scientists such as Richard Davidson, whose use of contemporary technology provides the leading edge of understanding how to reshape the function of the brain and thereby alleviate the distress and confusion in the mind during these trying times. The talk describes various areas of the brain that are benefited by regular meditation practice and an example is provided that describes how the process of mindfulness and neurological regulation operate. The description is followed by questions from those attending.
Here are the notes prepared for this talk: How Mindfulness Benefits The Brain
The topic for next week’s talk will be how Buddhist mindfulness and lovingkindness practices are applied to promote better mental health. The presenter Peter has combined the principles and practices of Buddhism with contemporary psychotherapy throughout his career as a mental health professional since 1986.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:05:52 — 120.6MB)
by Peter Carlson | Mar 28, 2015 | Listen to Dharma Talks
During this talk, Peter described the Five Hindrances, the primary afflictions that distort our perceptions about reality. They are sense desire, aversion and ill-will, sloth and torpor, restlessness and worry, and skeptical doubt. Peter described how, in the Satipatthana Sutta, the Four Foundations of Mindfulness discourse, there are instructions to notice the presence, absence, causes and solutions for the hindrances. He mentioned the Seven Awakening Factors as antidotes for the hindrances. He emphasized that experience is a process, and energy flow that can be free and adaptive, while the hindrances operate as “energy dumps”.
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