Guided Audio

Simplicity Is Deep Life

January 16, 2023

Jeff: Let’s do … nothing. But stay aware. Let’s watch self and world happen: sounds lead to thoughts, memories lead to emotions, the process of just trying to exist leads to a million tiny urges to check out, lash out, upgrade, freak out, divert, isolate, give up etc etc. Castles of neurotic complexity that build over time – and then we live in them! In the middle of an earthquake called 2023! And it’s fine. It’s life, it’s interesting. And … we can also practice deep life – that is, staying simple in the middle of everything. Now when complexity and intensity happen, there’s less to push against. We’re more centred and available for more kinds of situations. The simpler we are in our positioning, the more of life – and it’s complexities and intensities – we’re able to appreciate. And that’s interesting too.

Soon We’ll Get There!

November 28, 2022

Jeff: My partner Sarah and I have a running joke. I mean literally, we’re running when we make the joke. Running upstairs to attend to Sasha the incredible screaming sick baby, running downstairs to prevent toddler Eden from lighting his hair on fire, running to get groceries, running to the shower, to daycare, to cancel daycare, to the liquor store (piss off meditation), to the doctor’s office, etc. The joke is: soon we’ll get there. We’ll get to normal, to fixed, to calm, to The Balanced Life, to whatever fantasy of stability we imagine is waiting for us if only we can get the last of these fucking emails written. Just out of reach, but not out of sight. Except, of course, it’s both out of reach and out of sight. That’s what the mind does. Carrot on a stick, carrot on a stick, come on buddy you can do it. We all know how deluded this is, and yet we all fall into it anyway.

This Monday, not only will we practice acceptance – yes, this here right now is your actual life – we will also explore the possibility that your mind is completely bonkers and out of sync with reality. We will explore this in a fun way, that is, making good-natured fun of the mind. The spiritual teacher Jean Klein used to say the mind is like a fool who, after a great ballet performance, staggers on stage, pushes the dancers to one side, and bows dramatically. Reality is dancing, the mind takes credit afterwards. Hilarious!

The Warrior and the Caregiver

June 6, 2022

Jeff: This Monday, we share self-regulation strategies and tap into the creativity of the community. What do you do to keep yourself functioning and fulfilled? And what’s missing when you fall apart? This discussion will happen after the sit. For the meditation, we explore two sides of being human: the caregiver, who manages conditions based on what you need in the moment, and the warrior, who trains to be OK regardless of conditions in the moment. Let’s explore!

Ground

February 21, 2022

Jeff: Five minutes ago, in my experience, I watched ADD zoom by. Last week, as a result of not getting enough sleep, I watched hypomania come up in me. Then I watched it zoom by. A slow zoom; took a few hours. But it never took me over. I’m at the point in my meditation practice where this happens quite a bit. The frequency makes it no less wonder-inducing. It’s like: did that just happen? Is this really possible? Yes. The energies of my old conditions continue to appear, except now I can choose whether I want to step inside them or not. Sometimes I let them go by, I say “hey previous identity, I guess you’re not me after all.” Just a mind state. Other times I play with the energies, take them for a ride without losing my centre. This is especially fun with the hypomania, although you have to be careful, it’s easy to get seduced. When I feel I’m losing my centre, I step back to ground. Presence is ground, awareness is ground. Ground of my Being, and very likely the  ground of yours too. It’s Waking Up month at the CEC. For me, today, waking up is our human capacity to live in, and from, ground. Let’s explore.