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

(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) A look at how Equanimity can be applied to oneself, help in our relationships and support active engagement in a troubled world.

(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) An overview of the importance of cultivating Mudita or happiness at the happiness of others with instructions for practicing with various categories.

(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) In this Equanimity retreat, instructions are given to include the breath and body with a special focus on seeing the impermanent nature of experience as a support for cultivating Equanimity.

(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) An overview of Equanimity: why it holds a special place in all the qualities of mind, its relationship to the other 3 Brahma Viharas and how it is cultivated.

(Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley) The capacity to be touched by and love goodness is, in some sense, the heart of spiritual practice. Something in us loves the truth and is drawn to goodness around us. It makes us yearn to activate the good inside. It requires commitment to choosing wholesome qualities as our default instead of being drawn to the forces of attachment, aversion and ignorance within us.

(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) The Buddha said the one reflection to always keep in mind is Impermanence, Anicca in Pali. When we have a deep understanding of impermanence we are more able to let go. However, there is an upside to impermanence too. No matter how difficult things are they will change. Often overlooked, this aspect of impermanence can give us courage and resolve in the face of hardship. Opening to the truth of impermanence deepens our capacity to be balanced in the face of change. This talk will explore this topic and how we can apply it in our lives.

(Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley) We all have teachers who've inspired us to see life in a new way. Who have been your inspirations?

What have you learned from them? I thought I'd share some ways that instructions from two of my

teachers--Ram Dass and HWL Poonja (Papaji)-- have shaped how I see the world and how I practice.

The talk includes a recording of a significant dialogue from 1990 with Poonjaji that reconnected me

with my joy.

Here is a link to the dialogue of the Poonjaji satsang where James asked the question

https://docs.google.com/document/d/16TnL2Zev-6r_mZPrgdSxSTaYLoyzdLOg3CnJ2U3D6C8/edit?tab=t.0

Here is a link to the video on Youtube that is over an hour long

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrjspK5fHiQ. James is at 23:38

(Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley) Suffering is the Buddha's 1st Noble Truth. Sometimes it can feel like it's all too much, especially in these days of extreme unpredictability. Legitimate reactions of anger, confusion and discouragement can lead to feeling of hopelessness or resigned acceptance. How can we use the practice to not only skillfully hold those feelings, but to transform them into wholesome uplifting responses such as courage, trust and compassionate action?

(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) This talk explores the place of Devotion in practice and what it means to look at reality through the lens of Sacred Perception.

(Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley) Seeing sacredness, not only around us, but focusing inside the one who is perceiving. This mind/body (YOU) that is interacting with the world around it. I use Ram Dass's practice of seeing beyond this mind/body by abiding in the perspective "I Am Loving Awareness". This is where the devotional and non-dual meet.

To aid in this exploration James shares some powerful cuts from the album Ram Dass, a collaboration of Ram Dass's voice and teachings with background music by East Forest, who will be offering a hybrid concert "Echoes of Ram Dass" at Spirit Rock October 19, 2025.