James Baraz's most recent Dharma talks (Insight Meditation Society - Forest Refuge)

(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) A guided meditation refining awareness of breath to deepen concentration.

(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) The Five 'Spiritual Faculties describe the unfolding of our practice. From Faith through Wise Effort, cultivating Mindfulness, deepening Concentration, flowering as Wisdom.

(Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley) Telling of the story of the quarrel at Kosambi as well as discussions around the importance of community and how to make community stronger

(Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley) As we start the New Year we explore Wise Intention, the basis of all karma and the second link of the 8-Fold Path. Clarifying your Intention is different from making a New Year's Resolution or going for a goal. It's what gives energy and power to our vision for practice.

(Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley) At the end of the year, we reflect on endings and new beginnings. James offers some reflections on Ram Dass, beloved teacher and mentor, who passed away on Sunday, December 22. Then the community shares an end of year ceremony for increasing wholesome states and weakening unwholesome states.

(Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley) Sometimes our shyness or concern about what others think keeps us from expressing our gifts and making as meaningful a contribution as we can. In seeing through the constructed sense of self—the understanding of Anatta—those thoughts lose their power and don’t get in the way of expressing our true nature.

(Spirit Rock Meditation Center)

(Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley) I [recently] spoke about how sharing our pain by connecting with another helps us hold and process our grief. This week I want to look at the importance of "Connection through Community" and how we can create more community in our lives.

(Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley) Whether the climate crisis, some other social issue or personal loss, sharing our pain by connecting with another helps us hold and process our grief. By opening the heart we can transform our feeling of isolation into one of shared humanity. This talk ends with a guided experiential dyad exercise adapting Joanna Macy’s "Learning to See Each Other" meditation from Coming Back to Life.

(Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley) Greta Thunberg’s fearless willingness to speak the truth has inspired millions of youth to follow her lead resulting in the hugely successful September 20th Worldwide Climate Strike. Thunberg calls being on the autism spectrum her “superpower” because she doesn’t care what others think of her and only cares about telling the truth. Can we be like her, let go of our self-consciousness, not hold back and speak and act with honesty and courage?