Running to Stand Still

Erin: Getting to an “effortlessly mindful” state seems to require a whole lotta work. You have to practice regularly, building concentration and developing awareness until you drop into a clear, present equanimous state. Then you chill there for a while, thinking the work’s all done, until fuzziness and reactivity seep in and it’s back to the drawing board. How do you hold the direction without clinging to the destination? When to try hard in practice and when to stop trying? In this meditation we’ll explore the delicate dance of effort and surrender.

The Magic of Non-Resistance

Laurie: We’re often told to let go of our worries, our stress, our attachments. But how to do that? Paradoxically, the way to let go is to let it in. If you stop resisting and allow yourself to fully experience the moment, it can pass right through. The key is your intention. Welcome what’s here, befriend it, perhaps even love it. This moment is not happening to you, it’s happening for you!

Now

Kevin: Tonight we’ll explore the paradox of ‘Now’! On the one hand, Now is timeless; it has no duration (how long is now?). And yet ‘Now’ is all there ever is; it is eternal. Everything is only ever happening Now! But rather than trying to make sense of this conceptually, we’ll attune to the taste of Now as an experience – the continuous birth and death of the present moment, maybe uncovering a freedom that’s already ever-present.

Listening to the Inner Fire

Alex : To receive empowerment in the Vajrayana tradition doesn’t mean that someone grants you the power to escape from your life, or to override and control things you don’t like; rather, it helps you tap into the power you inherently possess, to surrender utterly to your unique life, which is the only gateway in the entire universe through which you can enter eternity. In this exercise we’ll explore our inner worlds, and the things that stand in the way of and direct us towards empowerment.