Dear Friends, As we bring this shared journey to a close, I want to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude to those who have made this offering possible. If you have appreciated this month of offerings, feel free to support these teachers and resources. To each of you who joined me in this month-long exploration of… Read More »
Dear Friends, As we reach the end of this month-long journey of daily meditations on Strength for the Journey: Energizing Mind and Heart, I am deeply inspired by the themes we have explored and the connections we have cultivated. Together, we have delved into practices that support resilience, intention, and the steady nurturing of wholesome qualities. Here are… Read More »
Dear Friends, Today, I offer Mark Nunberg’s meditation “Spiritual Urgency,” in which he invites us to rest deeply in the present moment by cultivating non-distraction and openness. In this meditation, Mark guides us to relax and open, by assuming a posture that balances courageousness with softness, letting go of defensiveness and opening to whatever arises. Then we are… Read More »
Dear Friends, As we continue exploring the fourth wise effort of sustaining wholesome states, Andrea Fella offers a beautiful perspective on how mindfulness and equanimity can help us nurture these states skillfully without clinging, in her talk “Fourth Right Effort and Equanimity.”https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/9603?code=YLNL (1 hour) Andrea reminds us that wholesome states like calm, joy, or equanimity can sometimes be… Read More »
Dear Friends, Building on yesterday’s reflection about sustaining the sweetness of wholesome states, today I invite you to a practice that helps us connect with stability as a foundation for those states. In Guided Meditation: Unwavering, Gil Fronsdal guides us to cultivate stability and steadiness in meditation as foundational qualities for developing wholesome states of mind. Guided Meditation:… Read More »
Dear Friends, As we continue to explore the fourth wise effort of sustaining wholesome states, I found this advice from Gil Fronsdal on preserving moments of peace and joy very helpful: If you feel happy and unusually settled and peaceful, maybe it is not the time to get lost on the Web, or the news, or start doing… Read More »
Dear Friends, As we continue reflecting on the Four Wise Efforts, we arrive at the fourth: sustaining and strengthening wholesome states that have already arisen. Joseph Goldstein refers to this as nurturing the “beautiful mental factors” and reminds us how often we overlook these qualities, and end up focusing instead on our shortcomings. In the book Mindfulness, Joseph… Read More »
Dear Friends, In exploring the third effort of cultivating wholesome states that have not yet arisen, I invite you to listen to a talk by Gil Fronsdal that weaves this teaching together with the brahma vihara of mudita (appreciative joy). In this talk, Gil highlights how the proactive effort to cultivate wholesome states can emerge from a foundation… Read More »
Dear Friends, To support our exploration of the third wise effort—cultivating wholesome states—here is a guided meditation by Jill Shepherd titled “Investigating skillful behaviour skilfully.” (13:24).https://www.dharmaseed.org/talks/39015/ This meditation focuses on investigating and recollecting skillful, wholesome, or virtuous behavior. Jill’s approach, which she calls “post-mortem mindfulness,” invites us to reflect on past actions of body, speech, or mind that… Read More »
Dear Friends, As we continue exploring The Third Wise Effort–cultivating wholesome states–I would like to share an excerpt from John O’Donohue’s poem For Courage. These lines remind us that even a small spark of energy can nourish qualities like mindfulness, kindness, and joy: Close your eyes.Gather all the kindlingAbout your heartTo create one sparkThat is all you needTo… Read More »
Dear Friends, As we continue exploring the wise efforts, we now turn to the third: cultivating wholesome states. Joseph Goldstein describes this as “arousing wholesome states that have not yet arisen.” He points us toward the seven factors of awakening as key examples of these states. In his book Mindfulness, Joseph quotes Bhikkhu Bodhi, who writes: The seven… Read More »
Dear Friends, As we discussed earlier, Joseph Goldstein teaches that effort itself generates energy and that the key to skillful effort lies in balance, learning when to engage with curiosity and when to relax with spaciousness. This nuanced approach transforms our practice into an exploration of energy and ease, guiding us toward greater clarity and insight. Going through… Read More »
Dear Friends, Mary Oliver’s poem The Journey offers a reflection on the courage and persistence needed to step away from old habits and toward freedom. As we explore the cycle of effort and energy in our practice, her words complement Joseph Goldstein’s teachings that we contemplated yesterday. Joseph reminds us that effort itself generates energy. Even when we… Read More »
Dear Friends, In his talk on energy as a factor of awakening, Joseph Goldstein offers some insight into the interplay of effort and energy in our practice.Satipatthana Sutta – part 29 – Factors Of Awakening: Energy (the section from about 33:00 through 40:00)https://www.dharmaseed.org/talks/1967/ Joseph highlights something we may have noticed: effort itself can generate energy. He notes, “Usually… Read More »
Dear Friends, As we explore the second wise effort of abandoning unwholesome states, there is an essential element that can transform how we approach this effort: compassion. Compassion invites us to meet unwholesome states not with aversion, but with kindness and understanding. When we notice the mind caught in negativity, frustration, or distraction, we can ask questions like… Read More »
