Author Archives: Jill Shepherd

Joseph Goldstein’s new book Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening

Joseph Goldstein has just published a new book which looks in detail at the Satipatthana Sutta, the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, which is the key text for the practice of insight meditation.  It should be a very helpful resource for anyone who wants to refine their understanding of mindfulness and its role in the developmentContinueContinue reading “Joseph Goldstein’s new book Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening”

Rick Hanson interviews Joseph Goldstein on mindfulness

This is a recent interview by neuroscientist Rick Hanson with his teacher, Joseph Goldstein, who is one of the founding teachers of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts. Joseph gives a very clear explanation of the full range of what mindfulness is, and also what it isn’t, based on his forty years experience ofContinueContinue reading “Rick Hanson interviews Joseph Goldstein on mindfulness”

Generosity part 4: Giving and Receiving

Greg Scharf and volunteer cook Donald Elniff enjoying cake dana at the Blue Mountains Insight Meditation Centre Right now, I’m assisting my friend Greg Scharf teach a two week retreat at the Blue Mountains Insight Meditation Centre in New South Wales, Australia.  And right about now, the annual three-month retreat at the Insight Meditation SocietyContinueContinue reading “Generosity part 4: Giving and Receiving”

Generosity part 3: The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer

This TED talk by a musician, Amanda Palmer, on “The Art of Asking” really resonated with some of my own recent experiences of giving and receiving.  It’s not a classical Buddhist “dana talk” – it even features some brief nudity – but her courage in being willing to connect with a diverse cross-section of people,ContinueContinue reading “Generosity part 3: The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer”

Non-residential weekend retreat, Auckland, New Zealand

Update 24 July – ONLY 2 PLACES LEFT Freeing the Heart-Mind A non-residential weekend retreat exploring Buddhist meditation practices for developing wisdom and compassion During this non-residential weekend retreat we will explore two main forms of Buddhist meditation, insight (vipassana) and loving-kindness (metta). Together, these two practices help us to cultivate more awareness of ourselvesContinueContinue reading “Non-residential weekend retreat, Auckland, New Zealand”

Metta weekend, Auckland, New Zealand

Gratitude to all the participants in the recent Metta weekend retreat held at Bella Rakha in Auckland, New Zealand. The dedicated team! Shrine prepared by Sue, with everyone’s aspirations in the bowl below

Insight Meditation in Silicon Valley

This article from Wired magazine gives a snapshot of how insight meditation is being used – and/or misused – in big tech companies such as Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, PayPal, etc. It’s not meditation any more, it’s “neural self-hacking!” http://www.wired.com/business/2013/06/meditation-mindfulness-silicon-valley/

Winter in Australia and New Zealand – study and practice opportunities

This year is flying by, and in less than two weeks I plan to be in retreat at the Forest Refuge for the whole month of May.  So I wanted to take the opportunity now to remind NZ friends that there are still some places available for the 14-16 June weekend retreat at Bella RakhaContinueContinue reading “Winter in Australia and New Zealand – study and practice opportunities”

Responding and reacting

CPR masks What?  Yet another act of mass violence? This one very close to home … I arrived in Boston yesterday morning, just a few hours before Logan airport was closed down due to the marathon bombings.  A friend picked me up and took me straight to a local hospital so we could spend timeContinueContinue reading “Responding and reacting”