In several suttas the Buddha mentions the 37 qualities needed to move toward freedom and enlightenment. In this talk Mary discusses these qualities and important ethical living and mindfulness are to finding liberation.
Recorded March 11, 2021 in the virtual world

Send me a text with any questions or comments!

Visit Mary's website for more info on classes and teachings.

Blame and shame are two items we're all pretty familiar with these days - they seem to be everywhere. What did the Buddha have to say about them, if anything, and how do we let go? Mary discusses the Buddha's teachings on blame and shame and answers a question on where resentment falls into this conversation.
Recorded Feb 27, 2021 in the virtual world

Send me a text with any questions or comments!

Visit Mary's website for more info on classes and teachings.

When your eyes and ears are open, the lessons of the dharma can be found everywhere. In this talk, Mary offers several examples, ranging  from Bob Marley to Aristotle to James Baldwin, of how our practice can be supported simply by paying attention. 
Recorded Feb 20 2021 in the virtual world

Send me a text with any questions or comments!

Visit Mary's website for more info on classes and teachings.

The Buddha talks about the fetters which are what bind us to Samsara and a cycle of suffering and discontent. There are three fetters, self-illusion, doubt, and attachment to rites and rituals that are the first three we should examine to move towards liberation.  Mary discusses these fetters and how they can show up in our lives and how to let go and move towards 'stream-entry'.
Recorded Feb 11, 2021 in the virtual world.

Send me a text with any questions or comments!

Visit Mary's website for more info on classes and teachings.

We're living through a time of continuing change and challenge. It's easy to become overwhelmed by it all which makes it doubly important to pause and be present for the joy that exists in all of our lives. Mary talks about taking to time to find that joy that occurs when we allow the mind to quiet. She also discusses the steps we can take to cultivate joy in our lives.
Recorded Feb 6, 2021 in the virtual world.

Send me a text with any questions or comments!

Visit Mary's website for more info on classes and teachings.

The wonderful story of Milarepa and his cave full of demons is emblematic of how we can move through the world and of our spiritual path. It's also a story of cultivating wisdom and learning how to be at peace with even the most difficult and scary experiences. In this talk Mary offers an invitation to discover and make peace with your demons.
Recorded January 30, 2021 in the virtual world.

Send me a text with any questions or comments!

Visit Mary's website for more info on classes and teachings.

In the Rajan Sutta (Ud 5.1), the Buddha invites us to acknowledge that just as we find no one dearer than ourselves, we should recognize that others feel the same and so we should not hurt others if we love ourselves. It's a wonderful sentiment, but often difficult find a way to hold ourselves with love and esteem. Mary discusses how we can we can get bogged down with ideas that we're not worthy, and how to find a way to self love and love of others.
Recorded Jan 21, 2021 in the virtual world

Send me a text with any questions or comments!

Visit Mary's website for more info on classes and teachings.

For our entire lives we have been told who to be, how to behave and what to believe. This conditioning sets us up for suffering and being disconnected from our hearts and the sacred. Reconnection begins with mindfulness and the willingness to turn toward our experience and this is the path to liberation.
This was a dharma talk offered at the 6th Annual Womxn's Retreat.
Recorded Jan. 15, 2021 in the virtual world.

Send me a text with any questions or comments!

Visit Mary's website for more info on classes and teachings.

We spend a lot of time attaching importance to particular dates or moments believing that our lives or circumstances will change when something finally happens. This leads to a sense of striving both in our practice and how we move through the world. In this talk, Mary discusses how let go and arrive in the present. It's easy to get distracted and caught up in the habits of the mind, but we can begin again with each breath and in each moment. There is nowhere else, but right here.
Recorded Jan. 9, 2021 in the virtual world

Send me a text with any questions or comments!

Visit Mary's website for more info on classes and teachings.

In order to be fully present and open we have to learn to be receptive rather than reactive. Because of our conditioning we're not aware of how reactive and stuck in habits we can be. Mary talks about how shifting to a more receptive and open way of being with our experience fosters our ability to stay present which allows us to see more clearly and let go of those things that keep us stuck in samsara. 
Recorded on Dec. 26, 2020 in the virtual world.  

Send me a text with any questions or comments!

Visit Mary's website for more info on classes and teachings.