Buddhist Wisdom, Modern Life – Details, episodes & analysis

If you've finished your day of work -- or just want to take a relaxing break -- this guided meditation is here for you!

This meditation was recorded live as part of the Mind Body Spirit Institute’s Power of Community meditation series. To learn more and register (for free!), click here: https://geni.us/mbsipoc

May you and all beings be well.

This week internationally renowned spiritual teacher and author Andrew Holececk about his new book, Reverse Meditation, in which he shares a powerful form of spiritual practice that can transform our relationship to unwanted experiences. In the process, we open more and more fully to the luminous, spacious true nature of the mind. Toward the end of the episode, he offers a guided contemplation you can use next time you feel the urge to complain. 

Andrew’s website: andrewholecek.com

Check out his new book, Reverse Meditation, that offers instruction in both foundational practices like calm abiding meditations and open awareness practice, as well as the reverse practices you’ll hear about in this conversation.

On Sound True: https://geni.us/revmedst

On Amazon: https://geni.us/revmedam

If you enjoy our conversation, please share this episode and subscribe!

To learn more about Buddhism through my free courses, click here: https://geni.us/freecourses

 Or get my book for beginners, The Buddhist Path to Joy, here: https://geni.us/buddhistpathtojoy

May you and all beings be well.

The biggest challenge most meditators face is finding enough time to practice -- and the Pomodoro Timer method is my favorite way to get around this. In this episode, I’ll dive into the Pomodoro Timer method and show you how it can help you get more time to meditate. So if you’re a meditator who always wishes you had more time for practice, listen now and download my free time tracking spreadsheet!

Get the free spreadsheet and future video trainings: https://geni.us/pom4meditators

Watch the video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/DHxnTE11ADU

My favorite Chrome extension timer: https://geni.us/K1p1

The Pomodoro Timer method is a great way to get more time for meditation because it helps you break down your day into manageable chunks. Essentially, the Pomodoro Timer method works like this: you work for 25 minutes and then take a five minute break. After four “pomodoros” (i.e. working for 25 minutes and then taking a five minute break), you take a longer break of 15 minutes. If you use even a few of these breaks to meditate, you'll easy get 20, 30 or more minutes back from your day to nourish your spirit.

Using the Pomodoro Timer method also helps you refresh your mind and finish the workday less mentally fatigued. And you can reconnect with a positive motivation for your daily work tasks.

May you and all beings be well.

Karma is one of the most important teachings of Buddhism, but it's often misunderstood! Let's talk about what karma is (actions and their results), how mindfulness practice can help us create good karma, how hard times can help us burn off bad karma, and more.

This video was recorded from a live Insight Timer teaching. To find me there and join future teachings live -- for free -- see: http://insig.ht/clairevillarreal

Free email course on the Four Noble Truths (for beginners): https://bit.ly/4NTsBuddh

In Buddhism, the Three Jewels are the Buddha (the one who shows us the way to awakening), the Dharma (the teachings that wake us up), and the Sangha (our guides and friends on the path to awakening). Traditionally, Buddhists have taken refuge in these daily because they orient us toward the highest truth and help us remember there's more to life than the daily grind.

Whether you're Buddhist or not, you can make the Three Jewels a part of your life to keep yourself oriented toward what's ultimately meaningful.

I gave this talk live on Insight Timer. To join future live teachings there (for free), see:http://insig.ht/clairevillarreal

Meditation retreats are a wonderful way to deepen your practice -- so in this video I'll share what retreat is, how you can do retreat, and the benefits this kind of practice brings.  Whether you're curious about Buddhist retreats, interested in a 10-day vipassana retreat course, or just looking to unplug sometimes in daily life, the practice and attitude of retreat can help!  

Learn more about Elaine Aron’s research on highly sensitive people (HSPs) at her site: https://hsperson.com/ 

And find info about S.N. Goenka’s vipassana courses (retreats) or apply to join a course at his organization’s website: https://www.dhamma.org/en-US/index 

00:00 What is retreat? 

01:00 Boundaries 

03:45 Benefits of retreat 

06:15 How to do retreat 

09:15 Retreat mindset in daily life

In Tibetan Buddhism, mantras are sacred syllables that evoke the energy of a buddha. We say them to wake that divine energy up in ourselves.  Mantras are intended to protect the mind from falling asleep to our true nature by reminding us that we have buddha nature. When we say them, we're calling on the energy of the buddha whose mantra we're saying (like Green Tara with OM TARE TUTTARE TURE SOHA, or Avalokiteshvara with OM MANI PADME HUM).  

In this audio from a talk I did on Insight Timer, I'll explain what mantras are and how to use them in your meditation practice, even if you're a beginner.  

You can find me on Insight Timer to participate in future live talks: http://insig.ht/clairevillarreal

Emptiness and buddha nature might sound like two different topics, but actually they're deeply interconnected, and both are vital to Mahayana Buddhism.  "Emptiness" means that everything we experience in the world -- including our selves -- is empty of existing from its own side. Our bodies, for instance, are made of DNA from our parents and molecules from food, air, etc.  

But there's more to us than our bodies and even our conventional minds. We have buddha nature, and the way we can experience it is by searching for a true self in the conventional world, not finding it, and finally landing in the spaciousness and awakeness of buddha nature.  

Questions? Post them in the comments! Want a video on a topic you've always wondered about? I'd love to hear your suggestions! Please post them in the comments.  

This talk was originally offered on Insight Timer; to follow me there and get invitations to my live talks, click here: http://insig.ht/clairevillarreal  

Want to join my Buddhist basics newsletter for thoughts, downloadable resources, and invitations to live events? Click here: https://bit.ly/3nvo3Hi

Dukkha is an important word in Buddhism. It can mean anything from subtle unease -- thinking life could somehow be better -- to outright suffering. In this guided meditation, we'll notice what brings us dukkha and what doesn't. You might be surprised at what you discover!

Buddhism’s Fourth Noble Truth contains the entire Buddhist path to awakening (enlightenment). It states that there’s a path from unawakened existence, in which we’re always subject to dissatisfaction, to full awakening, a state beyond the understanding of our ordinary mind.

We’ll talk about the eight steps along this path: skillful understanding, skillful thought, skillful speech, skillful action, skillful livelihood, skillful effort, skillful mindfulness, and skillful concentration.

Get the free mini-course for beginners on the Four Noble Truths: https://bit.ly/Bddhist4NTs

For a link to Ven. Henepola Gunaratana’s book on the Noble Eightfold Path and others on the Four Noble Truths, see https://bit.ly/3uYYuBB.