In this meditation, Robert takes the meditator on a guided tour of the various mental phenomena that populate the inner world in meditation; and he gently guides the meditator through an appreciation of the reality of those phenomena, and how to be with them in ways that will reduce suffering, increase understanding, and form the building blocks of lasting happiness. This meditation was offered on September 10, 2024.

In this meditation, inspired from a poem by the Indian Hindu sage, Ramana Maharshi, Robert skillfully guides the meditator through the steps of understanding the basic principles of anicca, dukkha and anatta, not as a matter of thought or intellect, but experience. We intuitively come to understand that we need do nothing more than accept what is here now.  He closes the meditation with the Buddhist parable:  The Two Brothers Wake Up.  This guided meditation was from September 16, 2024, with the Portland, Oregon Insight Meditation Community.

From June 18, 2024: This is a meditation emphasizing love. In love there is room for everything. Every breath sings the same song; every experience sings the same song. Everything is in constant change.

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From June 17, 2024: Concentration and mindfulness are known as the "The Wings of Awakening." In concentration one emphasizes returning to the breath, and pays little attention to "the wandering mind," or other "distractions." Concentration does not require a gritting of the teeth, or tensing of muscles. Instead, awareness lands on the training object with the delicacy of a butterfly landing on a flower.  

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Robert reads the poem "Oh Death," by Gina Puorro. He then guides a deep meditation on awareness and the experience of the wandering mind.

In this present moment it is possible to use the power of love and mindfulness to go back in time to your birth, and every moment of your life, to bring love compassion and kindness to yourself. You are not limited to the thoughts, feeling, memories and beliefs of this moment. You can help to re-write your history and create the happy present you are really longing for. 

Guided mediation 12.29.21

Recorded 10/21/21

Recorded 10/24/21

Recorded 10/18/21

Recorded 10/15/21

Love and mindfulness are synonyms. In both of them there is room for everything; nothing is excluded. With awareness of the present moment, it becomes clear that the past is a class of thoughts occurring in the present moment. This makes it possible to lie back in the arms of love, and allow the wounds of the past to be healed.

Recorded 11/11/2020

Recorded 10/16/2020

Robert Describes his experience at the Black Lives Matter protest in downtown Portland.

Excellent community discussion about how to makes sense of the protests and to use them to support love compassion and wisdom.

This guided meditation includes an inner journey back in time to your own birth and childhood.  "Let yourself imagine being present at your birth and being the first one to hold the baby.  What would you say? What are the words you have always longed to hear?"  The meditation traverses your entire life to the present, and onward to your death.  You can bring love and compassion into your most distant and faint memories, allowing love to replace fear, self-hatred, and holding back from life. This meditation was from a retreat on 6/24/24 at Breitenbush, Oregon.

Questions: 

1. Mindfulness with pain and anxiety

2. mindfulness in the middle of tragic loss

Song: We Americans by the Avett Brothers

Reading: Letter to a Young Activist during Troubled Times by Clarissa Pinkola Estés

PIMC's statement regarding Social Justice and support of #BlackLivesMatter 

Recitation of the meta sutra: the Buddha’s teachings on loving-kindness

All cultures have at their core an archetypal and powerful story, or myth. These myths are actually "true" in that they provide maps of the inner life that are relevant thousands of years later. The Buddha was an historical person, who actually walked the earth. His spiritual journey and awakening provide countless points of inspiration to anyone interested meditation and living life fully. Robert Beatty tells this story with inspiration in great depth, with humor and accompanied by varying rhythms on his hand drum, the Middle Eastern Tar. This Dharma talk was given at Breitenbush in Oregon on June 28, 2024.

Topics: 

Ahimsa.

Non-violence.

Readings from the Dhammapada, translated by Gil Fronsdal.

The video from Nike that Robert plays at 7:56: https://youtu.be/drcO2V2m7lw

Discussion:

Racial Justice and compassionate response

Choiceless Awareness - Insight Meditation and the 4 Foundations of Mindfulness:

1. Body 2. Feeling 3. Mental Formations 4. Mental Objects

Topics:

How to compassionately negotiate with loved ones about safety as Covid restrictions lift

Managing anger and hopelessness

Poem: "No Greater Joy" by Jeff Foster

Topics:

Generosity story

How to relate to praise and blame.

Topics:

Compassion and the Limits of Compassion.

Setting Appropriate Boundaries.

The Wholesome Emotional States.

Getting back to external work after experiencing a deepening of internal inquiry.

How to cope when friends or acquaintances have wildly different views than your own.

Poem: "We Should be able to talk": Don Nickerson   www.portlandinsight.org/blog Question: How to work with emotions in their dimensions of feelings and the “story” Topics:

The pain of parents observing their teenagers as they make not skillful choices. The sadness of parents who could never speak about their suffering as they went through old age.

Dharma Talk: Self and the Mystery: Living the Paradox

Readings:

Rumi: "The Embryo" "Love Dogs" "All day I think about it, then at night I say it..."

Quote: Reporter (to Carl Jung): "Why do you only work with people in their 50s and on?" Carl Jung: "I don't like working with adolescents."

Anicca, Dukkha and Anatta are known as the Three Characteristics of Existence.  Everything that occurs and "exists" since the Great Flash which was the beginning of our universe has these characteristics.  Of course this includes ourselves, our loved ones, our possessions, and achievements.  The Buddha suggested that we use the scientific method and carry out the experiment with ourselves as the object of study: Is anything permanent?  Does anything enduringly satisfy?  Can I find an enduring self? This quest sets us free from clinging and leads us to freedom and contentment. This Dharma talk was from a retreat held in June 2024.

In this podcast, Robert Beatty explains in a simple, down-to-earth fashion, the Buddhist Five Precepts, which are the guidelines for a happy and successful life in the world. The guiding precepts are very simple and powerful understandings of how the world works, and how we can each create a more satisfying life for ourselves and others. This Dharma talk was given at the Portland Insight Meditation Center on July 7, 2024.

The Four Noble Truths provide the foundation of the entire Buddhist teaching. By becoming aware of suffering, its cause, its ending, and the way to its ending, we can set ourselves free. This is a very practical undertaking; not a philosophical endeavor.

This talk was given at Breitenbush Hot Springs, Oregon in June 2024.

This guided meditation by Robert from June 25, 2024, opens our awareness to the fact that consciousness is omnipresent.  One can awaken through seeing, hearing, touching and every sense experience.

The meditation concludes with a vast and all-inclusive loving kindness practice.  

Ajahn Sumedho, an elder Theravadan teacher of Robert says, "In love there is room for everything."

Robert  Beatty has been offering morning meditation gatherings since the first week of Covid. This guided meditation from June 24, 2024, invites you to be really awake, and to cherish your life. It begins with two poems: Our Jeopardy, by Thomas Carlile, and, Tomorrow We Are Bones and Ash, by David Budbill  As the meditation progresses Robert invites you to imagine finding a comfortable and inviting hammock in the woods. He guides you to allow your mind to rest as your body would;  an awake and comforting practice time.  

In this captivating episode, we delve into the life of Reverend Calvin Baumgartner, a passionate preacher whose Sunday sermons ignite the hearts of his congregation. Known for his heartfelt connection with God, Calvin is faced with a life-altering decision when representatives from the Evangelical Broadcasters Network offer him a platform to reach millions.

However, an unexpected visitor challenges Calvin's understanding of faith, presenting him with profound truths that transform his perspective on religion. As Calvin grapples with the weight of his newfound enlightenment, he must choose between the comfort of his established life and the radical path of spiritual awakening.

Join us as we explore Reverend Baumgartner's journey of self-discovery, faith, and courage in the face of divine revelation. This episode offers a thought-provoking exploration of the essence of spirituality and the true meaning of following one's calling.

These clear and concise poems bring one to the brink of awakening. 

They point to the present moment and the realization that there is experience but no one experiencing. 

They are poems about freedom and being.