Charlotte Center For Mindfulness // Podcasts

Let go a little, get a little peace.  Let go a lot, get a lot of peace.  Let go completely, get complete peace.  A. Chah Sounds good, but how do we really let go?

We explore how intentional small acts of kindness begin to add up to change the quality of our day and tenor of our life.

This week concludes our study of the foundational teaching of Buddhist psychology in the Four Noble Truths, as we study Wise Action– meaning learning to take a step, whether large or small, whether directed towards care for others or self-care, that is aligned with our deepest values and with what gives our lives a keen sense of meaning and purpose.

“Wise livelihood” has no easy answers, but that in no way means we give up.   There is a moral complexity that is important that we wrestle with.   We do this with a clear intention to do the best we can while knowing we won’t ever find perfect answers.

In this meditation we explore what is it like to when tension is present in the body/mind/heart and open in skillful ways right with what is here. Note:  there are more than usual background sounds in this recording.  I edited out as much as I could and apologize for the bits that remain…  Thanks!

Meditation can be a respite, a place we can lay down our loads for a bit and offer a healing hospitality to our own beings.

One framing of mindfulness that I have always appreciated is mindfulness as a spiritual re-parenting of our own selves.  Drawing from a talk on parenting by Chris McKenna at Google, we explore how a foundational base for parenting is as important as a foundational base in our relationship with our own being.

In this Body Scan meditation, we explore how waking up to the present moment sensations in the body is a a compassionate act of care.

In this sharing, we explore traditional teachings from the Buddha 2,600 years ago on wise speech.

In this meditation, we practice opening to the felt energy in the body, below the storylines of what’s happening, to anchor, open to compassion and anchor back in the refuge of the breath.

In Buddhist psychology, ethical conduct is clearly understood as the path out of suffering, a gift for both for ourselves and others.  In this sharing, I explore Wise Speech and its relationship to this gift of freedom.

Wise Speech is a practice that supports all of our relationships.  We strengthen the foundation for this practice in our meditation by paying attention to our internal speech patterns going on all the time and noticing the possibility of bringing a compassionate wise response and care to this internal talk– instead of just buying into everything the inner voice says.  One note– I had a...

Today we explore the understanding of “not-self” that opens a natural doorway to compassion.  We end with the poem from Thich Nhat Hanh, Please Call Me by my True Names.

In this practice, we explore a samadhi, or concentration practice, using the breath as the object of focus.

Samadhi practice, sometimes translated as concentration practice, has been described as a gathering or unifying of the mind.  When cultivated, this kind of practice can bring a deep settling to the mind that is useful in all aspects of life.

Sowing the seed, my hand is one with the earth. Wanting the seed to grow, my mid is one with the light. Hoeing the crop, my hands are one with the rain. Hungry and trusting, my mind is one with the earth. Eating the fruit, my body is one with the earth. -Wendall Berry A wandering holy man is asked what his work in life is.   He replies, “I’m a farmer… This body of mine is my field.   I sow good th...

In this practice, we start with a short body scan and then move into the breath as an anchor that can “teach us how to be interested in the present moment and how to develop persistence in staying connected to the present moment.” (Mark Nunberg)

Today we explore how simple bare attention of mindfulness to breath helps us gain wisdom into the nature of reality– in particular, wisdom of impermanence.

In this meditation we explore opening with a bare, non-judgmental attention to the present moment just as it is, whether in settling into an anchor or bringing a compassionate wise acknowledgment to distraction

In this sharing, we focus on the simple non-judgmental bare attention of mindfulness within the context of the whole of the 8 Fold Path.

In this meditation, we explore our hands as a primary anchor, including exploring the elements of Earth, water, sun, air making up the substance of our hands.

In this meditation, we again explore what allows a balanced effortless effort and compassionate mindfulness.

In this continuation of the 8 Fold Path, we look further into the ways a wise and balanced effort and mindfulness support us not just in meditation practice, but also in life.

In this sharing, a continuation of the 4th Noble Truth, we begin to explore the meditation factors of the 8 Fold Path, particular how these factors weave together in a very practical usefulness in our lives.  Drawing from a panic attack on a high ropes course, it becomes clear that if we practice enough with these factors, they begin to show up spontaneously in skillful ways that are in service of...

In this meditation, we explore the interweaving of wise effort (not too tight, not too loose), mindfulness and qualities of the heart.  These together are a way of coming into a skillful attunement to the present moment in a way that allows a natural opening.