Dharma Talks

A collection of input given on retreats and to the public.

Please forgive background noise, as these are recorded live and minimally edited.

The ecology of the heart - How can we fully live from a place deeply rooted in non-violence? We do so by gently turning towards, listening deeply and engaging whole-heartedly with our own diverse inner landscape, including ALL the parts of us wanted and unwanted that show up in the space of practice.

Two eggs in an ovary - an hour long talk for International Women’s Day. Unapologetic reflections on the connections between feminism and Buddhism, how to practice with and meet the challenges of our times, and the middle way between anger and apathy.

Edging into what else is possible - a 3 min exploration of the difference between samatha (absorption) and vipassana (insight) and how we can learn to work creatively with both towards freedom from habitual patterns of thinking.

Radical Inclusivity - an hour long talk exploring our deep need to belong and how important it is to accept and love all the parts of ourselves, in order to accept and love others.

What you counted and carefully saved - a 45 min talk on the Buddha's teachings on loss and gain, two of the eight "worldly winds" that can knock us off our feet if we aren't careful, yet with awareness and kindness might become the means to liberation.

Working with painful experiences in meditation - A 15 minute teaching on how to meet painful aspects of our experience in meditation. Sometimes when we're meditating we become aware of a part of ourself needing some extra attention. How can we turn towards and meet that part with curiosity and love? What insights might be gained from doing this?

What we do matters: reflections on Karma - an hour long talk on how we can work with the law of karma in practice, from appreciating the conditioning we all start out with, to building confidence that we can work creatively with our mental states towards more and more awake ways of being.

What we wake up into: the three doorways to liberation - A 25 min talk on the vimoksas or doorways to liberation that can be known through our direct experience of suffering, impermanence, and insubstantiality.