Tea with Mara

"Relaxed Living Through Perfect Imperfection" is a Dharma Talk offered at Two Hands Sangha (and the title is a play on the Audi slogan which is explained in the talk) on the topic of the Four Brahma Viharas. Let's explore these four practices, and how they are both the path and the fruit of practice. I hope you enjoy this one!

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"Not To But Through" is a Dharma talk and brief guided meditation inspired by a community member on how we aren't actually pushed and pulled by the past or present, but that it is we who are doing the pushing and pulling. This is what the Buddha was teaching when he spoke about craving. I hope you find something useful in this one! Enjoy!

https://bio.reverendgeorgebeecher.com

"Big Wheel Keep On Turning" is a dharma talk that picks up where we left off last Sunday in Two Hands Sangha, after the Buddha's awakening, when he meets his five ascetic friends and delivers the first sermon Setting In Motion The Wheel of The Dhamma. I open with some references to CCR's song, because of course I did. I'm not sorry. I hope the fun we had helps to deliver the importance of this critical teaching. Enjoy!

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“Hand Me Down Habits” is a Dharma talk and guided meditation (32:00) exploring our generational habit energy; the conditioning and trauma we sometimes inherit—and unwittingly carry forward. The good news is, we can also learn to change these patterns and break the cycle. This heartfelt session offers insights and tools to recognize and transform inherited habit energies, opening the door to greater freedom and compassion. I hope it provides something meaningful and relevant for everyone. Enjoy!

https://bio.reverendgeorgebeecher.com

"In The Beninging" is a dharma talk offered at Two Hands Sangha which was an impromptu paraphrasing of the Buddha's origin story taking from sources such as Thich Nhat Hanh's "Old Path White Clouds", various sutras, and some creative license. I wanted to give a quick and dirty backstory of the Buddha for some new Sangha mates who might not be familiar. I hope you'll find something useful and nothing (too) offensive in this one. Enjoy!

https://bio.reverendgeorgebeecher.com

"The Risks and Rewards of Trust" is a dharma talk and guided meditation (31:21) addressing whether the risks of connection are worth the pain of broken trust. Trusting others can feel like a gamble. Some say keeping people at a distance is the safest way to avoid pain. Others believe trust is essential for connection. So where’s the middle path? In this talk, we explore detachment vs. non-attachment, the fear of trust, and the Buddha’s teachings on wise friendship (kalyāṇa-mitta). Trust doesn’t have to be blind, and isolation isn’t freedom. Let's discuss. Enjoy!

https://bio.reverendgeorgebeecher.com

"Letting Go of Foreboding Joy" is a dharma talk offered at Two Hands Sangha that asks "How often do we find ourselves bracing for impact just when life is at its best?" That creeping sense that joy can’t last—that if we let ourselves fully feel happiness, something bad must be waiting around the corner. Join us as we unpack the practice of holding joy lightly, trusting the ebb and flow of life, and reclaiming our right to experience happiness fully.

https://bio.reverendgeorgebeecher.com

“Five Kinds of Joy” is a Dharma talk and brief guided meditation (37:29) about something that doesn’t get nearly enough attention in Buddhist spaces—joy. It’s easy to think Buddhism is all about suffering, but the truth is, the Buddha wasn’t interested in suffering for suffering’s sake. He was interested in freedom—in uncovering happiness and learning how to sustain it. This talk explores how joy naturally arises from practice, why we often overlook it, and how we can actively cultivate more of it in daily life. Enjoy!

https://bio.reverendgeorgebeecher.com

"Inviting My Younger Self To Tea" is a Dharma talk inspired by the viral TikTok trend #metmyyoungerselfforcoffee (which itself was inspired by a beautiful poem by Jennie Cecelia) and the Buddha’s teachings on impermanence. It’s about looking back with kindness, seeing how we’ve grown, and realizing that we are never as stuck as we think. Through self-reflection, a little nostalgia, and mindfulness, we explore what it means to meet ourselves with compassion—past, present, and future. Enjoy!

https://bio.reverendgeorgebeecher.com

“Don’t Borrow Tomorrow’s Trouble” is a Dharma talk offered at Two Hands Sangha inspired by some quotes from Rebecca Yarros' wildly popular book Fourth Wing about staying present. It's about how our minds race ahead, worrying about what hasn’t happened or clinging to what has. Through Fourth Wing, the Buddha’s teachings, and a little BookTok fun, we unpack how we get "taken in" by fear and regret —and how mindfulness helps us stand firm. Enjoy!

https://bio.reverendgeorgebeecher.com