In this first class of 2020 Mary revisits the Buddha's teaching on intention and how powerful it is in shaping our lives on a path towards freedom. Additionally she speaks about the book My Grandmother's Hands by Resmaa Menakem, an investigation of racialized trauma and body-centered psychology. Although not Buddhist, it is aligned with the need to connect and be with our deepest experience.
Recorded Jan 4, 2020 in Los Angeles

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Taking time away from our daily activities is an important way to take care of ourselves. When we couple this with meditation practice, it can support the cultivation of wisdom and seeing clearly our relation to the world. Whether we can attend a residential retreat, or simply keep up with a consistent meditation practice, this time we take is extremely important and extremely beneficial.
Recorded in Los Angeles on Dec 21, 2019

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The Satipatthana Sutta is the Buddha's teaching on mindfulness and is called the direct path of realization. In this brief overview, Mary discusses each of the foundations and how they flow so beautifully into each other and yet are each so important on their own.

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Along with wisdom, compassion is considered to be one of the Wings of Awakening. Although offering compassion for ourselves and others can be an extremely difficult undertaking, it is so necessary for living a balanced life. Cultivating compassion is the work of connection to all beings.
Recorded on Nov 30, 2019 in Los Angeles.

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Gratitude can be considered a heart practice and worthy of cultivation. We often let the judging, comparing mind take over and we leave gratitude behind, but it is one of the most powerful ways to stay connected to the present and to our humanity.
Recorded on Nov. 23, 2019 in Los Angeles

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Renunciation is a fancy way to say 'let go'. In this talk Mary uses Phillip Moffitt's teaching on self-restraint to show how it's a different way to practice renunciation and letting go. Stop being the star of your own movie is one of these ways.
Recorded Nov 16, 2019 in Los Angeles

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Taking care of ourselves means paying attention to where we ignore ourselves or gloss over our discomfort and dissatisfaction. Lovingkindness, compassion and being willing to change our perspective on our lives is important and the Buddha's teachings support us all the way. Loving ourselves is a radical act.
Recorded Nov 9, 2019 in Los Angeles.

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It's often said that we experience 10,000 joys and sorrows throughout our lifetime. How do we stay balanced as our lives unfold and not be taken over by the sorrows or miss the joys?
Recorded Oct 26, 2019

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: Based on Stephen Batchelor's writings in After Buddhism, Mary investigates and discusses what emptiness means and how we can relate to the concept in our lives.
Recorded in Los Angeles on Nov 7, 2015

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The Buddha taught not to chase after the past or place expectations on the future but that's often where we end up when we're trapped in an unexamined mind. He says to nourish the present in order to break the trance of tomorrow and yesterday. This talk discusses how we might become trapped and how to break out of the cycle of past and future and stay attuned to the present.
Recorded October 12, 2019

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