If all goes to plan, I’m about to start my usual month of self-retreat in September so I’ll be out of contact for quite a while, but I wanted to let you know about a couple of new events that I’ll be teaching for Auckland Insight.The first is a one-day meditation workshop exploring the foundationsContinueContinue reading “Two new events in Aotearoa / New Zealand”
Tag Archives: meditation
NEW: online weekend retreat
Balancing Effort and Enjoyment This weekend retreat will focus on the balance between effort and enjoyment in insight meditation, to help refresh, renew, and re-inspire your practice. For many people, enjoyment is less well developed than effort—as it was for the Buddha himself at the start of his own journey to freedom—so there will beContinueContinue reading “NEW: online weekend retreat”
NEW five-week online study and practice course
Cultivating resilience in challenging times: Learning from the “heavenly messengers” This five-week online course offers an opportunity to develop and strengthen our inner resources of kindness, compassion, calm and clarity, through an exploration of what are traditionally known as “the four heavenly messengers.” In Buddhist teaching, these are four archetypes that symbolise the existential challengesContinueContinue reading “NEW five-week online study and practice course”
NEW: planned six-week retreat in Aotearoa / New Zealand
Dates: 3 April – 22 May 2027Teachers: Jill Shepherd and Willa Thāniyā Reid, with Elizabeth Day Kalyāna: Cultivating the Beautiful in the Spiritual Life The Buddha has pointed out the way:beautiful in the beginning, beautiful in the middle,and beautiful in the end. Supported by spiritual friendship and seclusion, this six-week retreat offers the ideal conditionsContinueContinue reading “NEW: planned six-week retreat in Aotearoa / New Zealand”
January 2018 full moon – re-set
Sydney Insight Meditators 2018 New Year’s retreat Making positive changes The New Year is traditionally a time to try to make positive changes for the year ahead. And yet most of us have had the experience of starting out with a rush of good intentions, only to find ourselves collapsing back into old habits veryContinueContinue reading “January 2018 full moon – re-set”
New neuroscience research on the lasting benefits of meditation
Dan Goleman and Richie Davidson are both well-known names in the fields of psychology, science journalism and neuroscience, and they have recently co-authored a book laying out their most recent research on the benefits of meditation. Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain, and Body Daniel Goleman and Richard J. Davidson, publishedContinueContinue reading “New neuroscience research on the lasting benefits of meditation”
December 2016 full moon – Wise Action, Wise Non-Action
The Noble Eightfold Path The Noble Eightfold Path is the Buddha’s prescription for completely curing ourselves of unhappiness. And like any good medicine, it doesn’t only work in one way. It’s a very holistic treatment that works on several different aspects of our lives at once – in fact, every aspect of our lives isContinueContinue reading “December 2016 full moon – Wise Action, Wise Non-Action”
August 2016 full moon – Seven Factors of Awakening and Equanimity (again)
Seven Factors of Awakening I’ve recently enjoyed leading a couple of longer residential retreats in New Zealand and Australia, exploring the teachings from the Satipatthana Sutta on the Seven Factors of Awakening: mindfulness, investigation, energy, joy or rapture, tranquillity, concentration or stability of mind, and equanimity. When cultivated together and brought into balance with eachContinueContinue reading “August 2016 full moon – Seven Factors of Awakening and Equanimity (again)”
July 2016 full moon – Hatred STILL never ceases by hatred …
Rainstorm near Te Moata Retreat Centre, Coromandel, New Zealand Exactly two years ago in July 2014, I wrote a post based on some well-known lines from the Dhammapada: Hatred never ceases by hatred, but by love alone is healed. This is an ancient and eternal law. 1 Lately, that same post has been getting someContinueContinue reading “July 2016 full moon – Hatred STILL never ceases by hatred …”
March 2016 full moon – Retreat and pre-retreat practice
Planning to go on retreat? I’ve had a few conversations recently with people who are planning to go on retreat soon, and at some stage in the discussion, there’s often an embarrassed acknowledgement of feeling some anxiety about it. Even for people who have been on retreat before and have some familiarity with the set-up,ContinueContinue reading “March 2016 full moon – Retreat and pre-retreat practice”
February 2016 full moon – Motivation, Respect, Resolve
The rewards and challenges of technology Earlier this evening, I gave my first dharma talk via video-link, from the YHA in Sydney to Auckland Insight in New Zealand. Nothing too remarkable about that these days; but still, it was a delight to be able to connect with the group in this way, and I feltContinueContinue reading “February 2016 full moon – Motivation, Respect, Resolve”
February 2016 new moon – sea anemone heart
Sea anemone by Virginia Draper http://www.virginiadraper.com/p822038089 Opening, closing, opening, closing … Everything has its natural rhythm, including the human heart. I’m not sure why it took me so long to understand this, but a childhood memory – of exploring rock-pools with my father while on holiday in Scotland – helped. On family visits to chillyContinueContinue reading “February 2016 new moon – sea anemone heart”
December 2015 full moon – In praise of trees
This year, the full moon coincided with Christmas Day for the first time in 38 years. I’m in New Zealand visiting family for the holidays and even though it’s the middle of summer, there are evergreen Christmas trees decorated with icicles and snowflakes everywhere. The symbols of Christmas have always been messed up – theContinueContinue reading “December 2015 full moon – In praise of trees”
November 2015 full moon – gratitude
A few slightly random reflections on Gratitude “These two people are hard to find in the world. Which two? The one who is first to do a kindness, and the one who is grateful and thankful for a kindness done.” AN 2.118 As the three-month retreat at IMS comes to a close, there’s a definiteContinueContinue reading “November 2015 full moon – gratitude”
September 2015 full moon – Maintaining Motivation (or finding antidotes to “sloth and torpor”)
The five hindrances I’ve been back in New Zealand for the month of September, and with the Auckland Insight group, we’ve been exploring the Five Hindrances, five particularly unhelpful states of mind that get in the way of clear seeing, of insight. They appear in the Satipatthana Sutta under the Fourth Foundation of Mindfulness, asContinueContinue reading “September 2015 full moon – Maintaining Motivation (or finding antidotes to “sloth and torpor”)”
December 2014 full moon – wisdom and compassion
This December full moon I happen to be assisting James Baraz with a seven-day retreat in the Yarra Valley, outside of Melbourne, Australia. Those of you who are familiar with James’ teaching know that he infuses the traditional mindfulness practices that lead to insight, with the “heart practices” known as the four brahma vihara: kindness/metta,ContinueContinue reading “December 2014 full moon – wisdom and compassion”
November 2014 full moon – Right Effort and the Middle Way
Last month, I wrote about the quality of viriya, sometimes translated as “heroic energy,” and how at times, just signing up for a retreat can seem to kick-start an inner process where qualities such as determination, dedication, commitment, effort, and trust begin to deepen – even before we actually arrive at the retreat itself. AlsoContinueContinue reading “November 2014 full moon – Right Effort and the Middle Way”
October 2014 full moon – viriya / heroic energy
Viriya: persistence; energy; vigour; courageous effort; heroic exertion I recently had the good fortune to sit a two-week retreat offered by Gil Fronsdal at the Insight Retreat Center near Santa Cruz, California. As Gil led us deeper and deeper into one of the core texts on mindfulness of breathing, the Anapanasati Sutta, I again foundContinueContinue reading “October 2014 full moon – viriya / heroic energy”
September 2014 full moon – equanimity part 2
Equanimity: Evenness of mind Last month I wrote a bit about equanimity, and how the possibility of not holding on to changing experiences can offer a sense of ease, even in the middle of difficult circumstances. So this quality of equanimity can be a kind of refuge, but – at least in my own experienceContinueContinue reading “September 2014 full moon – equanimity part 2”
August 2014 full moon – Equanimity
Gain/loss, status/disgrace, censure/praise, pleasure/pain: these conditions among human beings are inconstant, impermanent, subject to change. Knowing this, the wise person, mindful, ponders these changing conditions. Desirable things don’t charm the mind, undesirable ones bring no resistance. His [or her] welcoming and rebelling are scattered, gone to their end, do not exist. Knowing the dustless, sorrowlessContinueContinue reading “August 2014 full moon – Equanimity”