Awakening in the Midst
OnlineWe will explore charnel ground practice and what it means to awaken in the midst of great difficulties for the benefit others.
We will explore charnel ground practice and what it means to awaken in the midst of great difficulties for the benefit others.
We will explore the value, practice of service and challenges of service in our activism, professional and relational lives. The session will include he skillful means to address the inevitably roadblocks we will encounter and ways to renew and deepen our commitment to make a difference.
This program explores several levels of divides – being at war with ourselves, creating separation in our personal relationships and the societal divides. These two friends and teachers will reflect on how we can evolve consciousness from the instinctual habit of Fight, Flight, Freeze to the wholeness and belonging that arises with “Tend and Befriend.
Gratefulness is not simply a response to life’s blessings. It is a cultivated attitude of heart and mind, a natural expression of generosity, a way that we share love and joy. Gratefulness fosters a spirit of belonging and nourishes positive social and cultural change. In this special program, Frank and Roshi explore the power and gift of gratefulness through teachings, meditation, and exploration with our community.
(Photo by Cira Cowell)
The four flavors of love are Lovingkindness, Compassion, Appreciative Joy, and Equanimity. We will explore how these four flavors of love can be skillfully used in caring for those with serious illness, coping with significant loss, or navigating life transitions. The highly experiential course will offer a fresh look and provide opportunities to interact personally with Frank. We hope to build a sense of community among like-minded participants.
To awaken is to be fully alive. We integrate mind, heart, body and reality. Everything we encounter, even suffering, can support the development of a wise and compassionate heart, so we can become a whole human being. We will explore how we can use challenging conditions, whether personal or social, to cultivate awakening and aliveness, and express that realization through loving action.
This online, donation-based program explores the powerful equation of love and death. This whole life is a place where we make real our dedication to awakening, in living and dying, in caring and being cared for, in loving and receiving love. Being completely and vividly present for the rich details of our lives and the lives of others is the means that we use to discover truth and come home to who we really are. Love and death then are experiences of discovery. This program, led by two pioneers in the end-of-life care field and long time Buddhist practitioners, is an exploration of how we bring depth and dedication into our whole life and the life of the world. Through teachings, exchanges, and unique practices and processes, we explore the profound relationship between love and death, engaged practice and the role of love and compassion in how we serve others, different forms of love, how art reveals the connection between love and death, and practices that related to the power of impermanence and surrender. This program is open to all and is a special opportunity to work closely with Frank and Roshi Joan Halifax.
Grief is our natural response to loss. We have individual and cultural habits around managing grief. We are generally afraid and impatient. Our own unexplored fear of grief can lead us to hurrying others along the path of healing.The practice of turning toward our losses and meeting our suffering with kindness and awareness can support us in letting go of our well-constructed defenses and open to greater love. Frank and Tara will introduce ways to invite the pain into our heart where it can finally be held in loving awareness and integrated into our life as a source of wisdom and a well of great compassion.
with Frank Ostaseski and Tara Brach
"Melancholy," by Albert Gyorgy
To welcome everything and push away nothing is an invitation to discover a deeper dimension of our humanity, to tap into something beyond our habitual selves. We can gain access to some part of us that includes, but is not driven by, our reactivity. In this program, we want to explore how we can move toward the light of absolute truth and still accept and honor our very human nature. This program is open to all and is a special opportunity to work closely with Frank and Roshi Joan Halifax.
Gratefulness is not simply a response to life’s blessings. It is a cultivated attitude of heart and mind, a natural expression of generosity, a way that we share love and joy. Gratefulness fosters a spirit of belonging and nourishes positive social and cultural change. In this special program, Frank and Roshi explore the power and gift of gratefulness through teachings, meditation, and exploration with our community.
(Photo by Cira Cowell)