Easing Awake with Doug Kraft

Resting in the Waves,  Introduction:  This book begins with an allegorical poem about a duck in the ocean waves.  The Introduction then breaks down the title and subtitle of the book in a word-for-word study of what it means to rest in the waves and to welcome the mind's fluidity.

Resting in the Waves: Welcoming the Mind's Fluidity was written by Doug Kraft, published by Easing Awake Books, copyright 2020.   This portion is read by Amanda Kimball.  

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Hindrances can be viewed as distortions, obstacles, or demons.  They distort consciousness but show us where there's imbalance that hides wisdom.  Tension, aversion, and yearning distort our perception, but we don't need to look at these hindrances as a problem.  We can see them as crossed intentions, spiritual trainers, and split between self and other.   Recognizing, allowing, and returning to uplifted qualities then help clear perception and the mind-heart. 

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Doug Kraft discusses a wide range of topics with Gary Haskins of The Conscious Perspective Podcast (#29).   Their topics include confronting suffering, suffering is to be understood, different ways to express universal truths, turning toward the wholesome, when sending and receiving kindness feel the same, behind it all I'm not separate, the identification process, and ennobling truths.
This episode with Doug Kraft was recorded by Gary Haskins of The Conscious Perspective Podcast (#29).  Listen online at www.garyhaskins.com. 

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Meditation is remembering to see the movements of the mind's attention.  We don't need to change ourselves; we release and get out of the way.  The Buddha left instructions on how to do this.  The paradox is that we don't turn away from anything.  Instead, we turn toward the mind-heart and relax into it.  This is the process of learning how to rest in the waves of life.  We see how mind operates, turn toward that realization, and release.  Seeing clearly enough will free us.  
This episode with Doug Kraft was recorded as introduction to a meditation retreat. 

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Stages of meditative understanding, jhanas, are based on direct experience that unfolds into nibbana.  In meditation, jhanas provide arbitrary markers for gradual transitions to nibbana.  With uplifted qualities and softening in meditation, we can be clear about the quality of awareness that we cultivate.   What liberates is seeing with clear, open, and sensitive awareness.
This episode with Doug Kraft is a dhamma talk recorded with the Sacramento Buddhist Meditation Group in Sacramento, California. 

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Clear awareness is possible when the attitude of mind is clear and light.  If our minds are full of grasping and aversion, what we see is distorted.   We tend not to notice distortion because we look through our attitudes instead of at them.   By observing tightness in body and thought, we can discover the mind's distortion.  

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This workshop is based on going deeply into the question “What are you?” and responding from a place that is deeper than concept and story lines.
This episode with Doug Kraft was recorded in November 2016, at a retreat given in Hawaii. 

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The so-called Four Noble Truths are the core of the Buddha’s teaching. They are not capital “T” truths, but simple meditation instructions. The first three could be translated as turning toward, relaxing into, and savoring. And they are powerful.
This episode with Doug Kraft was recorded in November 2016, at a retreat given in Hawaii. 

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Reconstructing the historical Buddha — who he was, the culture and traditions that shaped him, and how he would have been perceived by his contemporaries — helps give insights into how he thought and what he taught.
This episode with Doug Kraft was recorded in November 2016, at a retreat given in Hawaii. 

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The essence of what the Buddha taught is universal; it shows up in other places, including contemporary poetry and lyrics.  He discovered wisdom deep in human experience. Buddhist practice starts with the notion that nothing needs to be fixed. When we get ourselves out of the way, we turn toward difficulties and then relax into them.  There's love, wisdom, clarity, and flow with us already.  

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