For those in the northern hemisphere, this is the time of year when the sunlight fades and the nights grow longer and longer. Metaphorically, darkness calls up all kinds of challenging human experiences: discomfort, anxiety, fear, even panic. Listen to Thomas in this episode as he applies mindfulness basics to working with challenging experiences. When we relax and really receive experience, even challenging experience, a new kind of wisdom and creativity is born.

Eating is tied to some of our most primitive impulses–survival, pleasure-seeking, even power. In this episode, bring a snack and enjoy as Thomas guides you in a mindful eating experience that we're sure you'll find delectable.

Mariners throughout history have used the "upper lights"–stars, moon and sun–to guide them across the open oceans. But it is the final stretch of the journey into harbor that is often the most perilous. Thomas shares in this episode the meaning of "lower lights", how we can be lights to one another on the path, as well as the crucial role of sangha in mindfulness practice.

Do you want to take the blue pill, or the red pill? In this episode Thomas draws an analogy from the sci-fi thriller, The Matrix, and shows how we can feel profound freedom, extracting ourselves from the real life matrix through a mindfulness practice. You won't want to miss this mind-bending episode on Mindfulness+!

Mindfulness practice can be difficult to commit to, especially when we notice that our experience while meditating is not always blissful. Listen to this episode as Thomas sheds new light on how to work with challenging experiences. Rather than a problem to be solved (or avoided), you'll learn to turn towards and open up to challenge, catalyzing a powerful process of healing in the body and the mind.