Wednesday Wake-Up with Gregory Maloof

What does it really mean to let go? What exactly are we letting go of and what do we get in return? This week we complete our series by exploring how the activities of mindfulness, loving kindness, and a commitment to precepts are actually practices of renunciation. We take a detailed look into how these tools clear out stress, remove discontentment and open the heart and mind to make room for gen...

This week we had a unique meeting due to the United States national election. Instead of a formal Dharma talk, as a group we shared our experiences about using mindfulness during this time. For the sake of privacy this episode only contains the guided meditation.  Gregory Maloof follows the traditional Buddhist practice of not charging for teachings.  If you have been receiving benefit and want to...

On this week’s podcast we explore the cultural and spiritual inheritance of views that often discourage us from fully participating in the practice of renunciation. We discuss the misunderstandings and myths about the nature of freedom in hopes of letting go of the unconscious fears and prejudice that prevent us from receiving the incredible treasures of the spiritual life. Gregory Maloof follows...

In this week’s talk we explore the aspiration to cultivate pleasure that is not dependent on sensual experience and discuss the transformative power of the deeper nourishing pleasures that are the rewards of wisdom, generosity, loving kindness, concentration and letting go.  Gregory Maloof follows the traditional Buddhist practice of not charging for teachings.  If you have been receiving benefit...

This week we talk about the powerful distinction the Buddha makes between feelings that arise from sense door contact that keep us bound in stress, discontent and suffering and feelings that arise directly from our spiritual practice. This topic is important because it speaks to the source of the Buddha’s insight about the nature of his awakening and helps us to conceptualize the experience of enl...

In this talk we explore how the Buddha saw pleasant, unpleasant and neutral  emotion and body sensations as the ground of all thoughts, views and complex mental states. We consider ways that these sensations can be turned against us to cause unconscious harm to ourselves and others and we explore the importance of being able to make direct contact with these sensations with mindfulness in order to...

This recording is from the Wednesday Wake-Up group meeting on Zoom.  It has been edited for clarity and time. Guided Meditation is at the beginning, to skip to talk, start at 37 min 12 sec. In this talk we explore how the Buddha uses the fact of aging and dying as a path to bringing deeper honesty, authenticity and freedom to our day to day lived experience. We also discuss how to frame the contex...

This week's talk provides a highly detailed explanation of how to successfully engage in this famous but often undervalued meditation practice. We explore how to use this practice to explore the wisdom of impermanence, suffering and not-self. The instructions include how to combine both verbal and mental fabrication to create a concentrated balance between visualization and contemplation work to g...

This recording includes the opening guided meditation.  If you would like to skip it and head direct to the Dharma talk, skip to 36 min, 23 sec in.   In this talk, we explore how to use the wisdom of wise view, not-self and Sangha as tools to manage and liberate ourselves from the suffering caused by worry.   Gregory Maloof follows the traditional Buddhist practice of not charging for teachings.  ...

A guided meditation that walks you through the steps of how to use the first parts of 'hair, nails and teeth' as objects of concentration to explore suffering, impermanence and not-self. (See episode 9/2/20 if you are interested in this with the Dharma Talk, this is for those who just want the guided meditation.) Gregory Maloof follows the traditional Buddhist practice of not charging for teaching...

This week's podcast includes a short overview of the 32-body part meditation followed by an in depth guided meditation that walks you through the steps of how to use the first parts of 'hair, nails and teeth' as objects of concentration to explore suffering, impermanence and not-self.  Gregory Maloof follows the traditional Buddhist practice of not charging for teachings.  If you have been receivi...

This week’s talk is a primer on the 32-body part meditation. We talked about various ways to use the traditional 4 elements as meditative objects and engaged in a 20-minute guided elemental meditation.    Gregory Maloof follows the traditional Buddhist practice of not charging for teachings.  If you have been receiving benefit and want to support Gregory Maloof as a teacher directly, please donate...

Without a clear understanding of how meditation works it is very easy to get side tracked or lost in our practice. When this happens meditation can quickly become routine, boring and dare we say, mindless. In this week’s talk we discuss how to keep your practice on track by gaining a deeper understanding of what skills you are developing, how healing and growth takes place in meditation and how he...

Today we conclude our 4-part series exploring how we can access the interconnectedness of the past, present and future to free ourselves from stress and suffering while planting seeds of joy and awakening. In this episode we specifically explore the myth and drawbacks of the stereotypical ‘going with the flow’ framework and discuss ways to harness the power of intention, wakefulness, aspiration an...

This is the third part of a four-part series on the power of presence. In this week's talk we explore how to use the insights of Karma, Not-Self, and Equanimity as tools to heal the hurt from our past and how to increase the speed of this healing by changing our relationship with the past by letting go of grudges and resentment.  Gregory Maloof follows the traditional Buddhist practice of not char...

This is the second part of a four-part series on the power of presence. In this week’s talk we continue the second part of our journey by exploring how comprehending the First Noble Truth of Suffering is a challenging but necessary step on the road to healing from our past. The talk also includes a framework for understanding how to know when the heart and mind are truly in alignment with the Firs...

This is the first part of a four-part series on the power of presence. In this talk we reviewed the various ways that mindfulness can be used to enter the present moment as a dynamic way of changing our relationship with both the past and future. By understanding intimately how the past conditions our present experience and how the present is connected to our future, we are able to heal from deep...

We are living through an unprecedented time of loss. Loss of jobs, loss of health, loss of connection and belonging, loss of confidence and loss of trust just to name a few.  It is an ideal time for deep self-reflection and much needed self-compassion. This week we explored the power of honoring the First Noble Truth and the inevitability of impermanence as opportunities to lessen suffering and li...

Gregory Maloof follows the traditional Buddhist practice of not charging for teachings.  If you have been receiving benefit and want to support Gregory Maloof as a teacher directly, please donate Dana here Gregory is a western Dharma teacher from the Ruth Denison lineage. To learn about retreats, news, and classes first, CLICK HERE to keep in touch and get on the Wednesday Wake-Up mailing list.  ...

Gregory Maloof follows the traditional Buddhist practice of not charging for teachings.  If you have been receiving benefit and want to support Gregory Maloof as a teacher directly, please donate Dana here Gregory is a western Dharma teacher from the Ruth Denison lineage. To learn about retreats, news, and classes first, CLICK HERE to keep in touch and get on the Wednesday Wake-Up mailing list.  ...

Gregory Maloof follows the traditional Buddhist practice of not charging for teachings.  If you have been receiving benefit and want to support Gregory Maloof as a teacher directly, please donate Dana here Gregory is a western Dharma teacher from the Ruth Denison lineage. To learn about retreats, news, and classes first, CLICK HERE to keep in touch and get on the Wednesday Wake-Up mailing list.  ...

Gregory Maloof follows the traditional Buddhist practice of not charging for teachings.  If you have been receiving benefit and want to support Gregory Maloof as a teacher directly, please donate Dana here Gregory is a western Dharma teacher from the Ruth Denison lineage. To learn about retreats, news, and classes first, CLICK HERE to keep in touch and get on the Wednesday Wake-Up mailing list.  ...

Gregory Maloof follows the traditional Buddhist practice of not charging for teachings.  If you have been receiving benefit and want to support Gregory Maloof as a teacher directly, please donate Dana here Gregory is a western Dharma teacher from the Ruth Denison lineage. To learn about retreats, news, and classes first, CLICK HERE to keep in touch and get on the Wednesday Wake-Up mailing list.  ...

Gregory Maloof follows the traditional Buddhist practice of not charging for teachings.  If you have been receiving benefit and want to support Gregory Maloof as a teacher directly, please donate Dana here Gregory is a western Dharma teacher from the Ruth Denison lineage. To learn about retreats, news, and classes first, CLICK HERE to keep in touch and get on the Wednesday Wake-Up mailing list.  ...

Gregory Maloof follows the traditional Buddhist practice of not charging for teachings.  If you have been receiving benefit and want to support Gregory Maloof as a teacher directly, please donate Dana here Gregory is a western Dharma teacher from the Ruth Denison lineage. To learn about retreats, news, and classes first, CLICK HERE to keep in touch and get on the Wednesday Wake-Up mailing list.  ...