The Buddha taught that fixed views and self-view were some of the biggest obstacles to liberation. We are stuck in beliefs about others and ourselves that may or may not be true, but which have tremendous impact on how we relate and react to the world. In this talk, Mary discusses the different types of views, how they develop, and what we can do to extricate ourselves from their rigidity and move towards freedom.
Recorded August 10, 2024 in the virtual world

Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you would like a response - it's not included automatically. Thanks.

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

The Eightfold Path is the Buddha's teaching on how to live in a way that ends suffering and moves us towards liberation. It is a guide for living in this world and our experiences of the human condition. Mary offers a broad overview of the path and how we can put them to use in our own lives.
Recorded August 4, 2024 for Insight Community of the Desert in the Virtual World

Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you would like a response - it's not included automatically. Thanks.

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

When we can slow it down, it may be easier to navigate the complexities of life. In this reflection, Mary talks about being fully present for the uncomfortable and comfortable moments that we have throughout each day and how it may be that present time awareness is like slow-motion. It's also important that we do this with a kind and gentle gaze.
Recorded July 27, 2024 in the virtual world

Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you would like a response - it's not included automatically. Thanks.

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

This is a moment where the reality of groundlessness - impermanence - is front and center in our lives. What we should realize is that the world is constantly shifting and our inability or unwillingness to be with uncertainty can cause so much stress and pain. Mary discusses how to be radically open to our lives and the world and how recognizing that the foundation is always moving is a foundation in and of itself and one we can stand with.
Recorded July 20, 2024 in the virtual world

Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you would like a response - it's not included automatically. Thanks.

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

The invitation to relax, observe and allow is a wonderful meditation instruction, but it's also a way we can bring mindfulness to our everyday lives. It's a practice of equanimity, awareness and liberation - simple yet profound.
Recorded July 11, 2024 in the virtual world

Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you would like a response - it's not included automatically. Thanks.

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

 Continuing last week's theme of experiencing liberation in this moment, Mary looks at Stephen Batchelor's teachings on embracing our existence and opening to the everyday sublime which is available to each of us at any moment.
Recorded July 6, 2024 in the virtual world 

Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you would like a response - it's not included automatically. Thanks.

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

In this podcast, Mary reflects on the teachings of Buddhadasa Bhikkhu and his concept of "everyday nirvana". If we can follow the Buddha's direction to not cling to anything as I or mine, we will have the freedom and liberation offered by this path. That letting go can happen at anytime - our meditation practice creates the conditions for it - and it's important that we begin to notice our experience of everyday nirvana as we purify the mind and let go.
Recorded June 29, 2024 in the virtual world

Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you would like a response - it's not included automatically. Thanks.

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

The Paramis are 10 qualities of the heart that it is said we need to develop for awakening. Sylvia Boorstein says they are the natural inclination of the heart and are gifts that we give to each other - they are a path of kindness. These qualities, which include generosity, willingness, and patience, are something we can work with in our daily lives. In this talk Mary gives an overview of these qualities of the heart that allow us to be free.
Recorded June 22, 2024 in the virtual world

Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you would like a response - it's not included automatically. Thanks.

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

One of the heart practices - or brahma viharas - is Mudita, or appreciative joy. This challenging practice invites us to be happy for the wholesome good fortune of others, even those people we may not like. This is a challenging practice because we live in a competitive society that teaches us either we are a winner or a loser and if someone else is winning then we're in trouble. Mudita breaks down this false idea and reminds us of our shared humanity and our shared joy.
Recorded June 15, 2024 in the virtual world

Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you would like a response - it's not included automatically. Thanks.

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

Samsara is the cycle of birth and death that we experience before enlightenment and it is also considered the suffering in this world. In this brief talk, Mary reflects on the reality of our lives and how fighting against difficulties only intensifies them. Recognizing that things are messy and finding a way to make peace with that is the beginning of our path to liberation.
Recorded June 8, 2024 in the virtual world

Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you would like a response - it's not included automatically. Thanks.

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