by Peter Carlson | Nov 29, 2024 | Listen to Dharma Talks
During this talk, which occurred on Thanksgiving Eve, Peter revises the holiday term Thanksgiving to emphasize the relationship between gratitude (thanks) and generosity (giving). During a guided contemplation entitled “Contemplating Thanks-Giving”, recorded prior to this talk and posted on the website, the characteristic physical and emotional elements of these two wholesome states of mind are described. Participants at the meeting are invited to share their personal experiences of both generosity and gratitude.
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by Peter Carlson | Feb 6, 2025 | Listen to Dharma Talks
This talk focuses on the importance of intentions, which are present in every moment of consciousness, either wholesome or unwholesome. The ability to quickly and accurately note the formative function of intentions just as a moment of self-organization occurs is a key skill to cultivate on the path to Awakening. The concept of karma basically describes the latent capacity of memory, which is activated through the function of intentions. Preceding this talk, the “Guided Intention and Karma Contemplation” recording, which is posted in the Guided Meditation archive on this website, is intended to complement this presentation.
Here are the notes prepared for this talk: Working With Intentions and Karma
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by Peter Carlson | Jul 25, 2025 | Listen to Dharma Talks, News
This guided meditation provides suggestions for recognizing the subjective characteristics of empathy with support from mindfulness of breathing for a non-reactive perspective of the experience. It is intended to provide practice support for the Dharma talk that followed: “Empathy And Compassion”, posted on this website.
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by Peter Carlson | Aug 8, 2019 | Listen to Dharma Talks
This talk is focused on the second of the two causes of dukkha which is clinging, upadana in Pali; last week’s posting of July 31 was focused on the other cause of dukkha, craving, tanha in Pali. Peter described ego as a dynamic process of the brain during which sorting through and prioritizing various sensory stimuli in the creation creates a “self”, emphasizing that this process is affected by “confirmation bias”, a psychological process which overrides new considerations, emphasizing already organized memories in self-state identifications. This is clinging, and it inevitably creates a more or less confusing conflict between what the mind creates from memory and what actually happens. He used the example of a personality organized around prior conditioning towards perfectionism that is adversely affected when a failure occurs, generalizing a mistake into “I am a stupid failure!”.
A Buddhist concept called sunnata (soon-yah-tah) was described, traditionally translated as emptiness, which misrepresents the term as similar to the space between stars. It is better understood as, for example, the absence of any determining description regarding sound before being interpreted by the mind’s confirmation bias. Referring to a concept that Daniel Siegel terms the “plane of possibility”, the progression of self-forming process was related to as being clearly investigated and understood through the cultivation of mindfulness of breathing, which allows insight into more creative and flexibly adaptive self-state organizing processes to alleviate the conflicted personality confusion of dukkha.
Here are the notes prepared for this talk: Dukkha As Mental Confusion
Next week’s talk will focus on clinical anxiety as a pschological example of dukkha, suggesting ways that mindfulness practices can bring relief to this mental disorder. Peter, who has a 35 year background in psychotherapy, will focus on how mindfulness has been clinically effective in resolving this condition, which is reaching epidemic proportions in current American culture.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:00:58 — 111.6MB)
by Peter Carlson | Jun 8, 2018 | Listen to Dharma Talks
The talk explored the Fourth Foundation of Mindfulness, with specific emphasis on being mindful of what triggers sense desire, how it operates in the brain and what can be done to overcome this hindrance to mental clarity and tranquility.
Here are the notes prepared for this talk: Overcoming Sense Desire
Next week’s talk will be given by Robert Lockridge from the Orlando Zen Center. Upon returning, Peter will continue exploring overcoming the hindrances, focusing on aversion and ill-will.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:03:18 — 115.9MB)
