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 ourselvesContinue reading “Non-residential weekend retreat, Auckland, New Zealand”
Category Archives: Insight meditation – vipassana
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 RakhaContinue reading “Winter in Australia and New Zealand – study and practice opportunities”
Parami – a new book by Ajahn Sucitto
I was recently given a copy of Ajahn Sucitto’s latest free book, “Parami: Ways to Cross Life’s Floods,” and have found it to be one of those rare books that I don’t want to put down, and can’t wait to come back to. The ten parami (sometimes translated as “ten perfections”) are qualities of heart/mindContinue reading “Parami – a new book by Ajahn Sucitto”
Doing and being
Mangawhai Beach One of the delights of teaching insight meditation retreats is experiencing first-hand how even though the form and content of each retreat is similar, the mix of people attending each event is unique, and out of this uniqueness, different practice themes naturally emerge. Recently I taught a couple of day-long silent retreats inContinue reading “Doing and being”
Effort and Enjoyment
Chicago lake shore Last week I gave a talk to the Lakeside Vipassana meditation group in Chicago. It was an incredibly cold evening outside (by my standards) but there was a good turn-out and a warm response to my exploration of Effort and Enjoyment in meditation practice. I’ve been meeting with meditation groups in aContinue reading “Effort and Enjoyment”
Jill Shepherd: insight meditation 