by Peter Carlson | Mar 19, 2016 | Listen to Dharma Talks
During this talk, Peter reviewed the extensive research literature that supports contemporary understanding of self-organizing functions. Prior to this era, Buddhist concepts were derived from culturally determined mythology, which is hard for contemporary Westerners to believe and make best use of for spiritual development.
Next week’s discussion will focus on how the practice of mindfulness of breathing and lovingkindness meditation practices effectively change the structures of the brain described in this talk, enhancing self-awareness, self-regulation and social harmony.
by Peter Carlson | Aug 1, 2013 | Listen to Dharma Talks
During this dialogue about the practice of Right Action, Peter again emphasizes the importance of combining a deepening understanding of our internal processes through mindfulness practice with a revisiting of the classic concepts and jargon of the Buddha. Peter offered some information from modern neuroscientific research that suggests how karma is formed through memory consolidation, citing various areas of the brain and their functions. This was combined with how the cultivation of samadhi (concentration/tranquility) and sati (mindfulness/insight) produce a “buffer zone” of non-reactive awareness that allows the application of benevolent intention to emerging behaviors. This was followed by a lively discussion of the implications that are presented through this new understanding of ancient wisdom.
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by Peter Carlson | Nov 20, 2014 | Listen to Dharma Talks
During this talk, Peter answered questions from the sangha members attending the meeting, with an emphasis on practical applications of mindfulness meditation to daily life routines, particularly the benefits of slow walking meditation.
Next week’s talk is on Thanksgiving Eve, so the dialogue will focus on gratitude, from the perspective of both receiving and giving.
by Peter Carlson | Mar 5, 2020 | Listen to Dharma Talks
This talk is part of the review of part of the First Foundation of Mindfulness, Mindfulness of the Body, specifically sati sampajanna, mindful clear comprehension. Peter read quotes from the Satipatthana Sutta regarding how a meditator is to apply mindfulness in all postures and activities and then reviewed the Four Clear Comprehensions from the commentaries: (1) Worthy goal (2) Suitable means (3) Minding the domain (4) Inclining towards Awakening. This was presented as a useful protocol for mundane decision making as well as spiritual development (for more information on mundane decisions search “decision-making” on Wikipedia). This topic seems timely as we are confronted with several challenges currently such as the covid-19 (coronavirus) disease, the political choices of this year, as well as choices regarding lifestyle as current weather anomalies such as unusual heat, rain, or severe storms challenge our customary lifestyle routines. How can this decision making process be coordinated with mindfulness of breathing training to benefit how we live our daily life routines? This explanation was followed by discussion among those attending regarding how this might affect their lives.
Here are the notes prepared for this talk: Mindful Clear Comprehension
Next week Peter and a number of the members of our group will be on retreat, so there will be no dharma talk on Wednesday evening; folks are welcome to come to the site and meditate between 7-9 PM that day (please be sure to turn off the lights and close the fence gate upon leaving–we don’t want our puppy to roam about the neighborhood!). The dharma talks from the retreat will be recorded and posted through the Audio page on the website after the retreat. The topic for the next talk on March 18 will be a review of the retreat experience by those attending the retreat, a custom of our community.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 53:42 — 98.3MB)
by Peter Carlson | Mar 31, 2016 | Listen to Dharma Talks
This talk concludes a series of explorations of the neuroscientific discoveries about how mindfulness of breathing meditation restructures important neural pathways during the process of awakening. The topic for this discussion reviews some of the progressive steps in mindful breath awareness as they are manifested in important neural pathways to promote samadhi/passadhi (stable attention/emotional balance), and how that supports vipassana (insight) during the process of awakening.
Next week’s discussion will begin a series of explorations of how various difficult mental processes such as depression, anxiety, addiction and substance abuse are beneficially addressed by mindfulness and lovingkindness meditation practices.
Here are the notes prepared for this talk: NEUROPHYSIOLOGY AND MINDFULNESS OF BREATHING
