Mirabai Starr joins Amy Buetens, Jackie Dobrinska, and the LSRF virtual Satsang to explore how we can deepen our sacred connection with our ancestors and embrace the divine mystery of mortality.

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This week, Jackie, Mirabai, and Amy explore:

• Taking a moment to share in gratitude after a brief breath meditation
• Expanding the heart in the wake of grief, death, and profound loss 
• Being with the reality of a broken heart while remembering that death is a part of life
• Día de los Muertos and the Latin cultural approach to honoring death
• Honoring the intimate connection we have with our loved ones who have died
• Sensing the connection we have to our ancestors and bringing the qualities/quirks of our deceased loved ones into our lives
• Creating home altars and ancestral shrines as a form of ongoing reverence
• Dedicating projects, practices, and creative pursuits to our ancestors

Each month, women are invited to a monthly virtual Satsang that uses a shared leadership model, featuring rotating facilitators, cooperative programming, active participation, and inclusive decision-making. This Women’s Satsang has been formed to help build allyship and agency among people who identify as women, whether cis, trans, or non-binary women, by providing a space to come together to foster greater connection, involvement, and representation around the teachings of Ram Dass and Neem Karoli Baba. Click HERE to join.

About Mirabai Starr:

Mirabai Starr is an award-winning author of creative non-fiction and contemporary translations of sacred literature. She taught Philosophy and World Religions at the University of New Mexico-Taos for 20 years and now teaches and speaks internationally on contemplative practice and inter-spiritual dialogue. A certified bereavement counselor, Mirabai helps mourners harness the transformational power of loss. Check out her many books and learn more at MirabaiStarr.com.

About Amy Buetens:

Amy Buetens is an artist, illustrator and art educator. She is a certified integrative thanatologist and death educator. Her work includes performing final rites of passage, and she serves as a leader in her Jewish burial society. She has been a dedicated student of Ram Dass for over 20 years, and is a co-leader for the Love Serve Remember Foundation’s International Women’s Satsang and leads her local Ram Dass Fellowship. Check out her co-created book, You are the Universe, HERE

About The Host, Jackie Dobrinska:

Jackie Dobrinska is the Director of Education, Community & Inclusion for Ram Dass’ Love, Serve, Remember Foundation and the current host of Ram Dass’ Here & Now podcast. She is also a teacher, coach, and spiritual director with the privilege of marrying two decades of mystical studies with 15 years of expertise in holistic wellness. As an inter-spiritual minister, Jackie was ordained in Creation Spirituality in 2016 and has also studied extensively in several other lineages – the plant-medicine-based Pachakuti Mesa Tradition, Sri Vidya Tantra, Western European Shamanism, Christian Mysticism, the Wise Woman Tradition, and others. Today, in addition to building courses and community for LSRF, she leads workshops and coaches individuals to discover, nourish and live from their most authentic selves.

“By really forging these intimate bonds with our ancestors, we are also making friends with our own death and becoming more at ease with that vast, beautiful, invitational mystery to merge back into the beloved. The Sufi's call our death our wedding night with the beloved.” – Mirabai Starr

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In this expansive overview of spirit beings and how they operate in our world, Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee explains his personal encounters with Angels, Devas, and more.

Today’s podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.

This week on the BHNN Guest Podcast, Llewellyn illuminates:

• Awakening to our divine nature through spiritual practice and accessing higher dimensions of consciousness
• The sacred worldview of our ancestors vs. the spiritual emptiness of modern culture
• Lessons from Lakota Medicine Man, Black Elk, on restoring awareness of the sacred nature of all things
• How Angels and Devas have effected Llewellyn’s life and brought him messages about humanity
• The disconnection from unseen realms and its impact on human consciousness
• Llewellyn’s detailed description of different types of Angels
• Jinns, spirits made of fire in the islamic tradition which have free will to do good or evil
• Devas, aka, the spiritual intelligence within nature
• How reconnecting with nature’s spirit can help heal ecological destruction
• Encounters with elemental tricksters and darker beings from other dimensions
• How violence and darkness obscure the radiant light of our true consciousness
• The sustaining power of light and love on both the soul and cellular levels of being

About Llewellyn:

Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee, Ph.D. is a Sufi teacher in the Naqshbandiyya-Mujaddidiyya Sufi Order. He is the author of Sufism, the Transformation of the Heart, and the founder of The Golden Sufi Center. Check out his new podcast Working With Oneness.

“I live surrounded by these other worlds, not fully understanding why our culture had to cut off all the inner worlds from our consciousness, why we have to live in such a bleak environment in which even our dreams are censored. And what does it mean to this present liminal time when we no longer have angels to guide us, nature spirits to help bring us back into balance with the natural world and its patterns of biodiversity? ” – Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee

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Are we trying to find inner peace the wrong way? Gil Fronsdal discusses cultivating an all-inclusive awareness that embraces each experience and sensation without resistance or judgment.

Today’s podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.

In this episode, Gil Fronsdal provides insights on:

• Figuring out what our life’s pursuit is, and, if we are chasing the wrong things
• The Buddha as a doctor of freedom, the inner life, the illness of suffering
• How child-like wellbeing and openness lead the Buddha to the path of freedom and the end of suffering 
• Integrating adult stability with childlike openness, curiosity, and joy
• Cultivating openness and inner strength when facing temptation, emotional pain, or adversity
• Using mindfulness to expand awareness and include all aspects of our experience
• Practicing nonjudgmental and non-discriminating awareness—welcoming all emotions, thoughts, and sensations equally
• Shifting focus from what we’re mindful of to how we are being mindful 
• The problem with hyperfixating on the self and identity 

This recording from Spirit Rock Meditation Center was originally published on Dharmaseed

About Gil Fronsdal:

Gil Fronsdal is the co-teacher for the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, California; he has been teaching since 1990. He has practiced Zen and Vipassana in the U.S. and Asia since 1975. He was a Theravada monk in Burma in 1985, and in 1989 began training with Jack Kornfield to be a Vipassana teacher. Gil teaches at Spirit Rock Meditation Center where he is part of its Teachers Council. Gil was ordained as a Soto Zen priest at the San Francisco Zen Center in 1982, and in 1995 received Dharma Transmission from Mel Weitsman, the abbot of the Berkeley Zen Center. He currently serves on the SF Zen Center Elders’ Council. In 2011 he founded IMC’s Insight Retreat Center. Gil has an undergraduate degree in agriculture from U.C. Davis where he was active in promoting the field of sustainable farming. In 1998 he received a PhD in Religious Studies from Stanford University studying the earliest developments of the bodhisattva ideal. He is the author of The Issue at Hand, essays on mindfulness practice; A Monastery Within; a book on the five hindrances called Unhindered; and the translator of The Dhammapada, published by Shambhala Publications. You may listen to Gil’s talks on Audio Dharma.

“What I feel is most sacred in Buddhism is not something outside of you. Not a shrine, not a statue, not a text. But rather, what's most sacred is an awareness, your awareness, when it has nothing outside. There's nothing outside, nothing which is unacceptable for it, nothing which is shut out from it. Everything is allowed to be there in your awareness. When awareness is all-inclusive, with no outside, I think that's sacred.” – Gil Fronsdal

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Contemplating the nexus of suffering and compassion, Thanissara, Raghu, and Jackie offer suggestions for showing up with love for all that arises. 

This is the opening workshop from the Centered in the Storm Virtual Immersion with Ram Dass & Friends. This course features topics like: uncovering our shared connection, transforming relationships, personal healing & global impact, and more!

Check out Ram Dass’ Inner Academy, where you can get the full Centered in the Storm Virtual Immersion along with dozens of other full-length, interactive, virtual courses and retreats. The Inner Academy offers lessons from Ram Dass, Krishna Das, Anne Lamott, Dr. Robert Svoboda, Sharon Salzberg, Roshi Joan Halifax, Dr. Robert Thurman, Nina Rao, Father Greg Boyle, David Nichtern, Thanissara and many more.

Today’s podcast is also brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.

In this episode,Thanissara, Raghu Markus and Jackie Dobrinska discuss:

• Cultivating inner peace and resilience in the face of life’s most difficult moments
• The vital role of trust in awakening intuition and authentic self-awareness
• Coming together in unity rather than being polarized as we navigate life’s storms
• The nexus and relationship between suffering and compassion
• How toxic individualism fosters inequality and disrupts collective well-being
• The deeper the suffering, the more potential there can be for quantum shifts of consciousness
• How fear-based thinking can fuel violence and disconnection in an untrained mind
• Finding a way back to the deathless, back to the heart, back to being
• Embodying courage and unwavering faith in the radiant wisdom of the heart

About Thanissara:

Thanissara is a teacher, poet, climate activist, and co-founder of the Dharmagiri Sacred Mountain Retreat. She spent 12 years as a Buddhist nun and holds an MA in Core Process Mindfulness-Based Psychotherapy Practice. Thanissara was a founding member of Chithurst and Amaravati Buddhist Monasteries in England. She helped initiate/support a number of HIV/Aids response projects in deep rural South Africa. In addition, she has facilitated meditation retreats internationally for 30 years. She teaches across the U.S., in South Africa, and the UK. She is the author of several books, including her most recent, Time To Stand Up, A Buddhist Manifesto for Our Earth.

About Raghu Markus:

Raghu Markus spent two years in India with Neem Karoli Baba and Ram Dass. He has been involved in music and transformational media since the early 1970s. Currently, he is the Executive Director of the Love Serve Remember Foundation and hosts the Mindrolling Podcast on the Be Here Now Network. Along with Duncan Trussell, Raghu also recently co-created The Movie of Me to the Movie of We.

About Jackie Dobrinska:

Jackie Dobrinska is the Director of Education, Community & Inclusion for Ram Dass’ Love, Serve, Remember Foundation and the current host of Ram Dass’ Here & Now podcast. She is also a teacher, coach, and spiritual director with the privilege of marrying two decades of mystical studies with 15 years of expertise in holistic wellness. As an inter-spiritual minister, Jackie was ordained in Creation Spirituality in 2016 and has also studied extensively in several other lineages – the plant-medicine-based Pachakuti Mesa Tradition, Sri Vidya Tantra, Western European Shamanism, Christian Mysticism, the Wise Woman Tradition, and others. Today, in addition to building courses and community for LSRF, she leads workshops and coaches individuals to discover, nourish and live from their most authentic selves.

"This focus of suffering into compassion or the nexus and relationship of suffering and compassion, the entwined way that both of these two sides of the same coin, is really just a very succinct way of summarizing the whole path of awakening." – Thanissara

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Explaining Virya, the effort factor of enlightenment, meditation teacher Trudy Goodman explores the courage it takes to trust in our practice and to mindfully face the five hindrances. 

Today’s podcast is also brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.

This time on the BHNN Guest Podcast, Trudy Goodman explains:

• Virya, the effort, energy, and enthusiasm factor of enlightenment 
• The courage it takes to be fully present with every life experience
• Showing up for our human experience with qualities of heart, courage, and balance 
• An impactful Iraq War story that reveals the power of presence and awareness
• How to work wisely with challenges that block mindful presence
• The five classical hindrances: wanting, ill-will, restlessness, sloth & torpor, and doubt
• A reading from the Flower Ornament Sutra about freeing the heart and mind from hindrances  
• How living defensively against pain limits our full human experience
• The positive impact of naming our struggles and how it prevents us from being swept away
• Moving through all experiences with steady effort—no halting, no straining
• Daily spiritual practice and repetition in order to build trust in life and the dharma
• The four great efforts that the Buddha talked about
• Protecting our hearts by not watering seeds of harm that arise in our thoughts and emotions
• Watering the seeds that are beneficial, feeding their growth, and encouraging goodness
• How to stay open to life's potential by expecting goodness, not fearing missed chances
• Trusting in the dharma, the natural world, and life’s unseen supportive forces

About Trudy Goodman:

Trudy is a Vipassana teacher in the Theravada lineage and the Founding Teacher of InsightLA. For 25 years, in Cambridge, MA, Trudy practiced mindfulness-based psychotherapy with children, teenagers, couples and individuals. Trudy conducts retreats, engages in activism work, and teaches workshops worldwide and online. She is also the voice of Trudy the Love Barbarian in the Netflix series, The Midnight Gospel. You can learn more about Trudy’s flourishing array of wonderful offerings at TrudyGoodman.com

This 2011 recording is from Spirit Rock’s Fall Insight Meditation Retreat and was originally published on Dharmaseed. 

“It takes great effort, great energy, great trust. When we bring that to this practice everyday, the trust is also a kind of confidence that if we just do this, things will unfold naturally without forcing them.” – Trudy Goodman

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Gil Fronsdal explores why we suffer and how we can meet our suffering with a supportive presence for the benefit of ourselves and all beings. 

In this episode, Gil thoughtfully discusses:

• Becoming like a wise & peaceful snake, shedding our skin from time to time
• How mindfulness practice can contain the goal of cessation of greed, hatred, and delusion
• How clinging creates emotional stress, mental pain, and spiritual suffering
• Notice the “aah” of skillful action versus the “ouch” of unskillful action as we develop awareness
• Being present for the depth of suffering in the human heart
• Bringing the qualities of the awakened mind in to meet our suffering and help us release it
• Helping our suffering feel safe and remembering that all suffering can be put to rest
• The ability to stay with our experiences without clinging and with a sense of wellbeing 
• Meeting our suffering for ourselves and to show the way for others
• Practicing mindfulness with sincerity, consistency, and heartfelt dedication

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp & Dharma Seed:

Join Krishna Das, the most well-known voice of Bhakti chanting (Kirtan) in the West, and David Nichtern - a senior Buddhist teacher, founder of Dharma Moon, guitarist in Krishna Das’ band, and producer of several of his albums - for a warm and engaging conversation about these two paths, their shared roots, and how they intersect in contemporary spiritual practice. Learn more about this FREE online gathering - THE HEART & MIND OF PRACTICE: BUDDHISM & BHAKTI

Today’s podcast is also brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.

About Gil Fronsdal:

Gil Fronsdal is the co-teacher for the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, California; he has been teaching since 1990. He has practiced Zen and Vipassana in the U.S. and Asia since 1975. He was a Theravada monk in Burma in 1985, and in 1989 began training with Jack Kornfield to be a Vipassana teacher. Gil teaches at Spirit Rock Meditation Center where he is part of its Teachers Council. Gil was ordained as a Soto Zen priest at the San Francisco Zen Center in 1982, and in 1995 received Dharma Transmission from Mel Weitsman, the abbot of the Berkeley Zen Center. He currently serves on the SF Zen Center Elders’ Council. In 2011 he founded IMC’s Insight Retreat Center. He is the author of The Issue at Hand, essays on mindfulness practice; A Monastery Within; a book on the five hindrances called Unhindered; and the translator of The Dhammapada, published by Shambhala Publications. You may listen to Gil’s talks on Audio Dharma.

This recording was originally published on Dharmaseed.org

No matter what it is, suffering is always an activity that can be put to rest, that can stop. Suffering is not the deepest thing in you. It doesn't have to define you, it's not all of who you are." – Gil Fronsdal

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Recorded live at the 2022 Summer Mountain Retreat, Sharon Salzberg, Robert Thurman, and Raghu Markus explore the true essence of love through the lenses of service, social action, and selflessness.

Today’s podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.

Come join us this year at the 2025 Summer Mountain Retreat in Boone, North Carolina

In this episode, Sharon, Robert, and Raghu hold a discussion on:

• Reframing love as an ability we can develop, rather than a fleeting emotion
•  Taking responsibility for love—actively cultivating it instead of waiting for it to arrive
• Recognizing authentic love as a deep sense of connection
• Understanding the etymology of metta, the Buddhist concept of loving-kindness and the sincere wish for another’s happiness
• Considering if we can genuinely wish happiness for others if we are not happy ourselves
• Identifying the pitfalls of ego-driven self-love and how it disrupts true bliss and spiritual connection
• Moving beyond spiritual ego—being real and grounded instead of feeling superior for simply meditating
• Reflecting on how Ram Dass radiated full, compassionate attention to everyone around him
• Embracing love as the most powerful unseen force in the universe 
• Learning to forget ourselves and awaken true happiness through compassion and loving-awareness
• Facing the challenge of practicing loving-awareness with those closest to us—often the hardest test of all

This episode is sponsored by Dharma Seed:

Join Krishna Das, the most well-known voice of Bhakti chanting (Kirtan) in the West, and David Nichtern - a senior Buddhist teacher, founder of Dharma Moon, guitarist in Krishna Das’ band, and producer of several of his albums - for a warm and engaging conversation about these two paths, their shared roots, and how they intersect in contemporary spiritual practice. Learn more about this FREE online gathering - THE HEART & MIND OF PRACTICE: BUDDHISM & BHAKTI

About Sharon Salzberg:

Sharon Salzberg is a meditation pioneer, world-renowned teacher, and New York Times bestselling author. She is one of the first to bring mindfulness and lovingkindness meditation to mainstream American culture over 45 years ago, inspiring generations of meditation teachers and wellness influencers. Sharon is co-founder of The Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA, and the author of twelve books, including the New York Times bestseller, Real Happiness, now in its second edition, and her seminal work, Lovingkindness. Her podcast, The Metta Hour, has amassed five million downloads and features interviews with thought leaders from the mindfulness movement and beyond. Learn more about Sharon and her books at www.sharonsalzberg.com

About Robert Thurman:

Robert Thurman is the Jey Tsong Khapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies in the Department of Religion at Columbia University and President of the Tibet House U.S., and is the President of the American Institute of Buddhist Studies. His new book, Wisdom Is Bliss: Four Friendly Fun Facts That Can Change Your Life, is now available.

About Raghu Markus:

Raghu Markus spent two years in India with Neem Karoli Baba and Ram Dass. He has been involved in music and transformational media since the early 1970s. Currently, he is the Executive Director of the Love Serve Remember Foundation and hosts the Mindrolling Podcast on the Be Here Now Network. Along with Duncan Trussell, Raghu also recently co-created The Movie of Me to the Movie of We.

“When I thought of love as a feeling, it was also a commodity. It was in someone else’s hands and they could bestow it upon me, or, they could take it away from me…when I think of it as an ability, it’s a capacity within me that other people might awaken or inspire or threaten, but ultimately it’s mine. It’s mine to tender, it’s my responsibility.”– Sharon Salzberg

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Mystical feminist Mirabai Starr shares the fruits of many years of investigating, excavating, and uplifting women’s voices within global spiritual traditions.

This talk was recorded on Sept 22, 2020 as a part of the Virtual Ram Dass Fellowship.

This week on the BHNN Guest Podcast, Mirabai Starr discusses:

• An invitation to unknowing and allowing our preconceived notions to fall away
• The patriarchal roots of spiritual traditions and religious institutions 
• Highlighting women’s spiritual wisdom in the Ram Dass community
• Women's circles that are free of a masculine influence 
• Honoring feelings as they arise and having the capacity to hold them 
• Speaking spiritual truth to power while staying heart-centered
• The great mystery and ambiguity of the feminine heart space 
• Connecting with our higher selves and true purpose 
• Practicing contemplative meditation through creativity
• The necessity of community for transformation to take place 
• Trusting the journey to spiritual awakening and surrendering to the process
• Balancing active and contemplative energies as sacred feminine archetypes
• Remembering that we all have both feminine and masculine energies within us

This episode is sponsored by Dharma Seed:

Join Krishna Das, the most well-known voice of Bhakti chanting (Kirtan) in the West, and David Nichtern - a senior Buddhist teacher, founder of Dharma Moon, guitarist in Krishna Das’ band, and producer of several of his albums - for a warm and engaging conversation about these two paths, their shared roots, and how they intersect in contemporary spiritual practice. Learn more about this FREE online gathering - THE HEART & MIND OF PRACTICE: BUDDHISM & BHAKTI

About Mirabai Starr:

Mirabai Starr is an award-winning author of creative non-fiction and contemporary translations of sacred literature. She taught Philosophy and World Religions at the University of New Mexico-Taos for 20 years and now teaches and speaks internationally on contemplative practice and inter-spiritual dialogue. A certified bereavement counselor, Mirabai helps mourners harness the transformational power of loss. Check out her many books and learn more at MirabaiStarr.com.

About The Host, Jackie Dobrinska:

Jackie Dobrinska is the Director of Education, Community & Inclusion for Ram Dass’ Love, Serve, Remember Foundation and the current host of Ram Dass’ Here & Now podcast. She is also a teacher, coach, and spiritual director with the privilege of marrying two decades of mystical studies with 15 years of expertise in holistic wellness. As an inter-spiritual minister, Jackie was ordained in Creation Spirituality in 2016 and has also studied extensively in several other lineages – the plant-medicine-based Pachakuti Mesa Tradition, Sri Vidya Tantra, Western European Shamanism, Christian Mysticism, the Wise Woman Tradition, and others. Today, in addition to building courses and community for LSRF, she leads workshops and coaches individuals to discover, nourish and live from their most authentic selves.

"It's scary to dwell in the heart because it's a place of mystery, at least the feminine heart is. It is a place where there is a great degree of tolerance for ambiguity—that the masculine paradigm conditions us to believe is a problem to be solved. The feminine heart space sees ambiguity as a higher truth, paradox as a vast space of truth. This heart has the capacity, because it is so vast, to hold seemingly contradictory propositions." – Mirabai Starr

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Gil Fronsdal explores the heart of Buddhist tradition by blending mindfulness with the transformative power of compassion and loving kindness.

This episode is sponsored by Betterhelp & Dharma Seed:

Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.

Join Buddhist Teacher David Nichtern and Duncan Trussell for a conversation about finding our own voice, our own expression, and our own way of connecting with people. Learn more about this FREE online gathering - AUTHENTIC PRESENCE: FINDING YOUR OWN VOICE

On this episode of the BHNN Guest Podcast, Gil gives a dharma talk on:

• Discovering how love is foundational in Buddhist tradition and spiritual practice
• Exploring the two wings of Buddhism: balancing compassion and wisdom
• Understanding why compassion is essential in both practice and realization
• Learning how mindfulness can become fixated on the goal of enlightenment
• Shifting focus from attaining enlightenment to embodying compassion
• Gil’s journey of softening the heart and embracing inner suffering
• Insights from the Buddha on cultivating loving kindness in daily life
• Healing inner conflict by embracing the parts of ourselves we often reject
• Practicing meeting every experience with radical compassion and presence
• Letting compassion bloom as a natural expression of inner peace
• Recognizing shared suffering and connecting with others as equals
• Discovering how the dharma reveals itself through all aspects of life.
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Today's recording was originally published on Dharmaseed.org

About Gil Fronsdal:

Gil Fronsdal is the co-teacher for the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, California; he has been teaching since 1990. He has practiced Zen and Vipassana in the U.S. and Asia since 1975. He was a Theravada monk in Burma in 1985, and in 1989 began training with Jack Kornfield to be a Vipassana teacher. Gil teaches at Spirit Rock Meditation Center where he is part of its Teachers Council. Gil was ordained as a Soto Zen priest at the San Francisco Zen Center in 1982, and in 1995 received Dharma Transmission from Mel Weitsman, the abbot of the Berkeley Zen Center. He currently serves on the SF Zen Center Elders’ Council. In 2011 he founded IMC’s Insight Retreat Center. He is the author of The Issue at Hand, essays on mindfulness practice; A Monastery Within; a book on the five hindrances called Unhindered; and the translator of The Dhammapada, published by Shambhala Publications. You may listen to Gil’s talks on Audio Dharma.

“People will say, 'Oh she realized a really deep enlightenment'. But how often do you hear someone say 'oh I got compassioned' or 'that person, he reached the fourth stage of compassion, he was fully compassioned'? I think we all need more compassion than enlightenment—if we want to separate the two. If we don't separate the two, then compassion has to be an integral part of it." – Gil Fronsdal 

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Returning to the refuge of breath that is present from birth to death, JoAnna Hardy guides listeners through a grounding and connective breath-based practice.  

Today’s podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.

In this practice-infused episode, JoAnna guides listeners through:

• The first foundation of mindfulness, according to the Buddha
• Whole-body awareness and inviting our body fully into the practice
• The individuality of each breath and becoming familiar with our breath
• Remembering that the breath is always with us, from birth to death
• Finding calm, peace, energy, rapture, and joy within the breath 
• Becoming completely interested in each one of our inhales and exhales 
• Our exhale as the connection between us and nature, us and all beings 
• Landing in the rhythm of the breath and allowing it to rock you
• Letting the breath be our home base and refuge when our mind wanders during practice
• Becoming aware of sensations on and in our body via the throughline of the breath
• Feeling the body rather than thinking about your body 
• Exploring practice one breath at a time, one bodily sensation at a time, with curiosity

This recording was originally published on Dharmaseed.org

Join Buddhist Teacher David Nichtern and Duncan Trussell for a conversation about finding our own voice, our own expression, and our own way of connecting with people. Learn more about this FREE online gathering - AUTHENTIC PRESENCE: FINDING YOUR OWN VOICE

About JoAnna Hardy: 

JoAnna Hardy is an insight meditation (Vipassanā) practitioner and teacher; she is on faculty at the University of Southern California, a meditation trainer at Apple Fitness+, a founding member of the Meditation Coalition, a teacher’s council member at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, a visiting retreat teacher at Insight Meditation Society, and a collaborator on many online meditation Apps and programs. Her greatest passion is to teach meditation in communities that are dedicated to seeing the truth of how racism, gender inequality and oppression go hand in hand with the compassionate action teachings in Buddhism and related perspectives to social and racial justice. 

“That exhale is going far beyond this body. It's what connects us to this earth, to nature, to all beings.” – JoAnna Hardy 

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