Such Sweet Thunder Meditation Podcast.

Here is a guided meditation designed to allow us to feel into our sense of struggle and the to Recognize the feeling and emotions which are present. Allow the emotions in as a natural part of the human experience, Investigate what the emotions feel like, Nurture and Non-Identify our experience. This is a very helpful method which may allow one to a radical embrace of the present moment.  Medi...

Every move we make is a move toward comfort. When we really slow this movement down we can notice what it feels like to care for ourself in this way. That each movement toward comfort is an act of lovingkindness for ourself, and it is the most basic human tendency. If feeling what this natural move of self care feels like in the body, mind, and heart, we can harvest that feeling and use it to nour...

Here I outline and guide a meditation designed to allow one to dive deep into the experience of gratitude. This is considered a resourcing practice and can  be very helpful when moving through times of transition, stress, and turbulence. 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...

Traditionally called "the hindrances," these are five mind-states which cloud our ability to clearly know the present moment experience, and thus block our ability to lead a peaceful, flourishing life. By resting with these five veiling factors and getting to know how they feel when they are present, we can begin to work with them as guideposts on the path, rather than enemies. This practice is de...

Here I offer a guided meditation focusing on mindfulness of body, feelings, and mind. A practice such as this one may bring us into intimate connection with our present moment experience, allowing us to step out of our habitual reactive patterns, and inhabiting a type of freedom. Based on the work of Ven Bhikkhu Analayo.  Meditation can be challenging at times. Occasionally we may experience...

Here I offer a guided meditation focusing on mindfulness of body, feelings, and mind. A practice such as this one may bring us into intimate connection with our present moment experience, allowing us to step out of our habitual reactive patterns, and inhabiting a type of freedom. Based on the work of Ven Bhikkhu Analayo. Meditation can be challenging at times. Occasionally we may experience things...

“And this is the path: the path with eight limbs: appropriate view, thinking, talking, acting, working, trying, recollecting, concentrating” The Buddha. Join meditation teacher Chris Luard in this journey into a secular reading of the eightfold path. In this talk Chris will give an overview of the path and how we can apply the wisdom within. Chris has received formal training in Zen, Mahamudra and...

When we begin to extend Metta (Lovingkindness) to people we don’t know and perhaps even to people we don’t like very much, we begin to get a glimpse of a new world. An opening into a new and more loving worldview.  Join meditation teacher Chris Luard for “Ever Expanding Lovingkindness. A Dharma Talk.” Lovingkindness has a medicinal quality. It carries with it an energy and a power which can m...

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...

What is the only word for “them” was the word “we” What if the only way to express “other” was with the word “us” With this guided meditation practice we may begin to experience the entire world population free from preference and prejudice.  Meditation can be challenging at times. Occasionally we may experience things which surprise as a result. If you have any questions or concerns in regar...

Here I offer a guided meditation into the feeling tones inherent in the human experience. By coming to rest in the experience of pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral we may find ourself inhabiting a field of equanimity.  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 medi...

Here is a guided meditation designed to allow us to see how equanimity might manifest in people we like and people we do not like. In this seeing, we may begin to soften our fixed views and enter into a space of equanimity ourself.  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...

According to the Buddha, our suffering is to be “fully known” or embraced, in order to find release from our suffering. In this Dharma talk we will take a look at what it means to embrace our suffering and the freedom which might be experienced as a result.  Join Chris Luard for this special talk entitled “Life Wide Awake”  Chris has received formal training in Zen, Mahamudra and Dzogche...

Here is a guided meditation designed to allow us to see how equanimity might manifest in people we like and people we do not like. In this seeing, we may begin to soften our fixed views and enter into a space of equanimity ourself.  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...

There is suffering. There is a cause and a release from suffering. There is a way to live where we may experience this release.  This is a loose, secular reading of “The Four Noble Truths” from the Buddhist tradition. Join meditation teacher Chris Luard for a Dharma talk on this profound teaching, where we will look at the original discourse and how to cultivate and practice these teachings.&...

Lovingkindness has a medicinal quality. It carries with it an energy and a power which can mend the age-old wounds between self and other.  Join meditation teacher Chris Luard for a wisdom talk on the topic of Lovingkindness (Metta)  Chris has received formal training in Zen, Mahamudra and Dzogchen, from the Mahayana (Japanese, Korean, and Tibetan) traditions, Vipassana and early buddhis...

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...

In this meditation we are invited to imagine a loved one experiencing their life with the balance and poise of equanimity. When we do this, we often see how we may be holding ourself back from living life in this way ourselves, and we can begin to know a different way.  Meditation can be challenging at times. Occasionally we may experience things which surprise as a result. If you have any qu...

In this guided meditation I invite us to open awareness like the night sky. Vast and spacious enough to contain all of the stars, planets, galaxies, and all of our sensations, feelings, and sounds. In that resting, open, spacious awareness we invite desire into the mix, and in that move, we can experience the desire as being no more or less than all the other sensations and sounds. By not collapsi...

Here I offer a guided meditation practice designed to cultivate compassion for the world. Tonglen is a Tibetan word which means "exchange." In this practice we are encouraged to breathe in the suffering of others and to breathe out our own joy and comfort to the world, sending it out as an act of compassion and generosity.  Meditation can be challenging at times. Occasionally we may experienc...

In this guided meditation we are invited to explore the unspoken middle ground between the seemingly opposing qualities of experience. As we enter into the present moment, we are invited to explore the spectrum of experience between like and dislike and then praise and blame. By cultivating a practice such as this one we may have a glimpse into a more restful, peaceful, and balanced way of living....

In this guided meditation we are invited to explore the unspoken middle ground between the seemingly opposing qualities of experience. As we enter into the present moment, we are invited to explore the spectrum of experience between like and dislike and then gain and loss. By cultivating a practice such as this one we may have a glimpse into a more restful, peaceful, and balanced way of living.&nb...

Here I offer a guided meditation through the human experiences of pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral. By holding these experiences in open, equanimous awareness, we have the opportunity to become intimate with our habitual reactive patterns. In that seeing we can unhook from those patterns and find a new, fresh, and creative way of experiencing life. Meditation can be challenging at times. Occasion...

Here I offer a talk on the immeasurable quality of Boundless Joy, or Mudita. In this talk I offer guidance on how to cultivate boundless joy, including a guided meditation, navigating the challenges of cultivating joy in the midst of difficulty, and the benefits of this subtle, beautiful practice.  May All Benefit.

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...