by Peter Carlson | Apr 23, 2020 | Listen to Dharma Talks
This meditation focuses attention on the Third Foundation of Mindfulness, Cittanupassana (chee-tah-noo-pah-suh-nah), Mindfulness of the Mind. The guided meditation builds attention through mindfulness of the body/breathing and mindfulness of feelings, the first two of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness. Peter then invited meditators to engage the contemplations mentioned in the Satipatthana Sutta for the Third Foundation, that is, whether or not the mind is afflicted with desire, aversion or delusion, whether the scope of mindful awareness is expanded or contracted, alert or dull.
Following this guided meditation is a posted Dharma talk recording entitled “Cultivating A Wise Mind” that relates the Third Foundation of Mindfulness to what the teacher/author Culadasa calls “Introspective Metacognitive Awareness”, the ability to maintain a primary focus of attention on the sensation of breathing with a more expansive peripheral awareness of the transient and impersonal elements of the mind’s function. This meditation supports the practice of vipassana and has applications for coping with the stresses of the pandemic.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 45:10 — 82.7MB)
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
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:10:23 — 128.9MB)