Such Sweet Thunder Meditation Podcast.

In this meditation I gently guide us through a RAIN practice designed to cultivate Self-Compassion. This practice was designed by Michelle McDonald and modified by Tara Brach.  RAIN= R=Recognize A=Allow I=Investigate N=Nurture.  Chris has been practicing meditation for 36 years and has been successfully teaching meditation worldwide since 2009, giving talks, facilitating retreats, and ha...

Here I offer an exploration into the ever changing field of sounds, body, and breath. This may give one deep emotional insight into how all of life, including ourselves, is simply a river of ever-changing experience.  Chris has been practicing meditation for 36 years and has been successfully teaching meditation worldwide since 2009, giving talks, facilitating retreats, and have authored two...

In this guided meditation we are invited to explore a type of joy that might arise as a result of cultivating a deep state of tranquility. The combination of tranquility, rest, and joy may give awareness a strong base for resting with the mind without falling into distraction. Chris has been practicing meditation for 36 years and has been successfully teaching meditation worldwide since 2009, givi...

Here I guide a traditional meditation used to discover our innate self-compassion.  Meditation can be challenging. Sometimes we may experience things which surprise as a result. If you have any questions or concerns in regards to this, or other meditation practices, please feel free to message me through my website: www.suchsweetthunder.org Chris has been practicing meditation for 36 years an...

Here I offer an exploration into the ever changing field of sounds, body, and breath. This may give one deep emotional insight into how all of life, including ourselves, is simply a river of ever-changing experience.  Chris has been practicing meditation for 36 years and has been successfully teaching meditation worldwide since 2009, giving talks, facilitating retreats, and have authored two...

Everything Changes. Nothing Stays The Same. When we truly connect with this indisputable fact in a visceral way, our relationship with this experience we call life can shift dramatically. No longer clinging to desires, no longer running from aversions. We find freedom in the midst of the flux of life itself.  Join meditation teacher Chris Luard for a wisdom talk on this very important and tim...

Here I offer a guided meditation designed to allow one to cultivate and strengthen the level of energy within single pointed focus and concentration. When the energy and level of concentration raises to a sufficient level, insight and wisdom arises into the (in buddhist language) three marks of existence: Unsatisfactoriness, Impermanence, and Selflessness.  Meditation can be challenging at ti...

Each and every life is replete with 10,000 joys and 10,000 sorrows. Can we be present to the sometimes faint hue of joy which may be available but is often overlooked? In this guided meditation we practice finding safety and ease in the midst of the messiness of life, and from that vantage point, moving into experiences of joy. Meditation can be challenging at times. Occasionally we may experience...

Here I offer a guided meditation designed to allow one to cultivate and strengthen the level of energy within single pointed focus and concentration. When the energy and level of concentration raises to a sufficient level, insight and wisdom arises into the (in buddhist language) three marks of existence: Unsatisfactoriness, Impermanence, and Selflessness.  Meditation can be challenging at ti...

Sounds are always present moment experiences. As such, they make great pointers back to our experience of the here and now. Enjoy this guided meditation, where we bring mindful awareness to sounds, breath, and body. Meditation can be challenging at times. Occasionally we may experience things which surprise as a result. If you have any questions or concerns in regards to this, or other meditation...

Empires rise and rule and crumble. Religions are born, live, and die. Planets, stars, and galaxies arise and pass. Seasons change, night turns into day, and with every breath we humans change.  Join meditation teacher Chris Luard for a wisdom talk on this very important and timely topic: Embracing Change and Impermanence.  Facebook and Instagram Live! Chris has been practicing meditation...

Here I offer a guided meditation designed to allow one to cultivate and strengthen the level of energy within single pointed focus and concentration. When the energy and level of concentration raises to a sufficient level, insight and wisdom arises into the (in buddhist language) three marks of existence: Unsatisfactoriness, Impermanence, and Selflessness.  Meditation can be challenging at ti...

Compassion is the heart which trembles in the face of suffering. When we allow ourselves to honestly acknowledge and feel our own pain, we find a type of freedom within the struggle. This is when healing often occurs. Join meditation teacher Chris Luard for a wisdom talk on this very important and timely topic of compassion.  Chris has been practicing meditation for 36 years and has been succ...

Here I offer a guided meditation journey through the body, feeling tones, mind, the hindrances which shroud our awareness, and the factors which empower us to rest in awareness, free from hindrance. A complete tour through the four establishments of mindfulness. Based on the work of Ven Bhikkhu Analayo. Meditation can be challenging at times. Occasionally we may experience things which surprise as...

Here I offer a guided meditation where we extend the gift of boundless joy to ourselves in the form of phrases. Far from being an exercise in self-indulgence, this practice can give us a much needed sense of groundedness and resilience to face the challenges of life head on.  Meditation can be challenging at times. Occasionally we may experience things which surprise as a result. If you have...

In this practice I guide us into feeling the core needs which all human beings share. By identifying our core needs we can begin to take responsibly over our feelings and discover ways in which we can fulfill our core needs without falling into habitual reactive emotions. This practice is based on teachings from Oren Jay Sofer, Marshall Rosenburg, and Rick Hanson Phd.  Meditation can be chall...

Here is a guided meditation in which we offer phrases of lovingkindness to the world while acknowledging the struggles of the world. We can hold the struggle in compassionate awareness and at the same time, offer the healing power of kindness to all.  Meditation can be challenging at times. Occasionally we may experience things which surprise as a result. If you have any questions or concerns...

Here I guide a traditional Lovingkindness meditation designed to allow one to see the resistances which we may be holding on to in the face of Lovingkindness, and the systemic resistances to lovingkindness in the world.   Meditation can be challenging at times. Occasionally we may experience things which surprise as a result. If you have any questions or concerns in regards to this, or other...

Here is a guided meditation designed to allow one to use the different manifestations of mind as an object of mindfulness. In a practice such as this one we cultivate the ability to recognize thoughts and feelings as passing and transitory, and therefore not an integral part of our identity. We might stop taking these minor aspects of experience quite so seriously.  Meditation can be challeng...

Here I offer a guided meditation through what is known in the buddhist tradition as the seven factors (or facets) of awakening: Mindfulness, Curiosity, Energy, Joy, Tranquility, Concentration, and Equanimity. As the practice unfolds we are invited to touch in with these qualities, which are always available, and we offer the light of awareness as nourishment to the seeds of awakening latent in our...

Here I offer a guided meditation into lovingkindness for people whom challenge us. People we may not like very much, if at all. We explore this by connecting with the challenging person's humanity, recognizing that they, just like us, want to be free from suffering and want to be happy. After this we move into  offering the gift of lovingkindness in the form of phrases. Lovingkindness has a t...

We will continue to be reactive towards people who challenge us until we come to terms with our own discomfort. In learning to welcome in and embrace our anger, fear, rage, sadness, we find a space in which our reactivity can arise and pass. In this spaciousness we may then connect with, and offer kindness to, difficult people. Free from our habitual reactive patterns which typically give rise to...

Here I offer a guided meditation designed to allow us to connect deeply with people we don't know, and/or feel very little or no sense of attraction or aversion toward. By slowly offering phrases of lovingkindness to those we do not know, we begin to have insight into the ways we may be holding ourself back from experiencing the kindness within our world.  Meditation can be challenging at tim...

Here I offer a guided meditation through what is known in the buddhist tradition as the seven factors (or facets) of awakening: Mindfulness, Curiosity, Energy, Joy, Tranquility, Concentration, and Equanimity. As the practice unfolds we are invited to touch in with these qualities, which are always available, and we offer the light of awareness as nourishment to the seeds of awakening latent in our...

Here I guide a meditation designed to allow us to resource our positive experiences. As the saying goes: "the neurons which wire together, fire together" By embarking on this type of practice, based on the pioneering work of Dr. Rick Hanson, we can train ourself to balance out the human tendency to focus on the negative experiences of life (negativity bias) and allow us to cultivate a stable, stro...