#TibetanNewYear ( #Losar ) is a time for reflection and for setting new intentions. A great way to start the New Year is by purifying any negativities from the old year, and you can do this by writing out all of the negativities from the old year on a piece of paper, then burning the paper in a ritual fire. This ritual can help to clear out any negative energy, and it can also help to set the tone for a fresh start in the New Year. If you’re interested in performing this ritual, here are the ...
Mar 02, 2022•6 min
Probably the question I get asked the most is: “How did you end up Buddhist?” And I get it! Coming from a Christian family in small-town Texas, Tibetan Buddhism isn’t where you might think I’d end up finding my spiritual home. But here we are! And Kyohei (whose channel is great! link below) grew up Japanese but wasn’t seriously drawn to practice until he was in college, too. We were both drawn in by teachings on emptiness and dependent origination – and maybe we both had previous li...
Mar 01, 2022•22 min
Washing away the old is a great way to get ready for the Tibetan New Year (Losar). Whether you're purifying yourself spiritually, mentally, or emotionally, water can help you wash away the old and make way for the new. You can take a bath, go for a swim, or even wash your car. Whatever helps you feel refreshed and ready to start anew is the right way for you. Join me for a live Losar meditation on YouTube Wed., 3/2, at 3 p.m. EST. And join my mailing list to get invited to a live Zoom c...
Mar 01, 2022•11 min
As we approach Losar this year (March 3), there's so much gunk from the old year to clear out! Between political division and now the invasion of Ukraine, the world needs cleansing now more than ever. In this short episode, I talk about the magic of clearing out what's no longer serving us well, then holding space for our innate positive qualities to emerge instead. What do you want to clear from your life? Tag me on Instagram (@namastehyall) and let's talk! Grab a free course to start this new ...
Feb 28, 2022•7 min
Kyohei and I continued our conversation about Buddhism, pop culture, and philosophy. In this episode, he asks me about my earlier video on the 1999 Keanu Reeves film The Matrix, and I get nerdy about Tibetan epistemology (the study of how we know what we know). Check out Kyohei’s channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/Wagenai5 Start learning about Buddhism with my free mini-course on the Four Noble Truths: https://bit.ly/4NTsBuddh May you and all beings be well....
Feb 25, 2022•12 min
Everyone knows meditation is good for you, but how do you make time to meditate in daily life? In this video, I’ll share how to meditate with the pomodoro timer to get regular 5-minute breaks you can use for meditation, mindful breathing and stretching, prayer, or any other contemplative exercise. Listen to the full talk on organizing your meditation practice: https://bit.ly/3LH23VL Check out the pomodoro technique: https://francescocirillo.com/pages/pomodoro-technique Get my free c...
Feb 18, 2022•2 min
Mindfulness, compassion, insight: there are so many kinds of meditation and often it feels like there’s not enough time in our busy lives to fit them all in! Too often, people feel like they have to meditate for hours every day in order to start reaping the benefits of mindfulness. But that's not the case! In this video, we explore how to structure your meditation practice -- both daily and long-term -- so that you can get the most out of it, no matter how busy you are....
Feb 18, 2022•39 min
In Tibetan Buddhism, the space element is understood as emptiness or the nature of mind, and it is this emptiness that allows for everything to manifest in its own unique way. Space is an essential part of our existence, the field in which all things exist. Because space is empty, anything can manifest in it. In meditation, practitioners may focus on the space around them as a way of becoming aware of their own mind and the vast potential for transformation that exists within it. When we experie...
Feb 16, 2022•34 min
Maybe you've heard that Buddhism teaches that attachment is the root of suffering. In that case, how can you love someone or be in a relationship? Don't worry, you can still love the important people in your life, and with this short Buddhist meditation on loving-kindness (metta) you can cultivate true love and caring for yourself and others. Buddhist Practice on Western Ground by Harvey Aronson: https://amzn.to/3gIOQgL Kristin Neff's work on self-compassion: https://self-compassion.org/ Ge...
Feb 14, 2022•9 min
Intellect, curiosity, change, and transformation: these are all important qualities on the spiritual path, and in Tibetan Buddhism they’re related to the air element. The air element can help us to move with greater flexibility and grace through life, making changes in our lives when we need to and releasing that which is no longer serving us. Too much air energy can lead to constantly swirling thoughts and anxiety as we meet life’s challenges. Too little air and we have trouble making changes a...
Feb 09, 2022•37 min
My new friend and PhD student in the University of Chicago's Divinity School Kyohei Mikawa explains the ideas of the immanent and transcendent in the philosophy of religion and how they apply to Buddhism. Then we use those terms to talk about our two fields of interest and expertise… and how they relate to The Matrix! Along the way, Kyohei will also explain the Lotus Sutra (which is very famous and important for Mahayana Buddhism) and how his practices based on it help him live a happier life. E...
Feb 05, 2022•37 min
Tibetan Buddhism describes five elements and their qualities as a way of understanding ourselves and the world around us. Fire drives our creativity and enthusiasm, and when it's balanced we naturally find an energized, blissful joy. We'll talk about cultivating balanced fire in our lives. In meditation, if the fire element is too strong we'll have thoughts and ideas popping up constantly. There are different techniques for dialing back the fire element, but one effective way is to do practices ...
Feb 02, 2022•34 min
We all want to flow more easily through life, with grace and ease. Did you know that flow in Tibetan Buddhism is associated with the water element? In this talk, I'll explain the basic qualities of the water element in Tibetan Buddhism (ease, flow, and emotional connection), what happens when this element is imbalanced, and how we can balance our water in daily life and meditation practice. Just like the other elements (earth, fire, air, and space), water has a wisdom that can support our medita...
Jan 27, 2022•31 min
The "heaviest" of the elements, earth symbolizes stability, equanimity, and rootedness. Love and acceptance are fundamental elements of earth energy. By connecting with this energy, you can access a deep sense of stillness and peace. You can connect with the earth element in daily life by immersing yourself in a natural environment, such as a forest, field, desert, or mountain. Try walking barefoot, sitting on the ground, or lying on the earth. When we meditate on earth, we strengthen our abilit...
Jan 20, 2022•51 min
If you've ever tried to overcome anxiety through mindfulness alone, you might know it's not so easy. But according to Tibetan Buddhism, all emotions are expressions of the elements -- earth, water, fire, wind, and space -- and each has its own wisdom. We can learn a lot about ourselves when we allow ourselves to feel our difficult emotions. Anxiety, for instance, can alert us to negative messages we may have internalized when we were young, but we can now use awareness to overcome those l...
Jan 12, 2022•23 min
What do you need to do to set yourself up for success for your first time doing a DIY meditation retreat? Here are a few DIY retreat ideas you can use, even if you've never tried this before! And you can sign up to get notified of other resources for DIY meditation retreats and be the first invited if I offer a group retreat experience: https://bit.ly/DIYretreat22 1) Integrate retreat into your practice Before you leave for retreat, start reading about and practicing the topic you're going to pr...
Jan 06, 2022•7 min
If you’ve made a New Year’s resolution to start meditating… for years now… then this course is for you! We’ll do short practices together as a group, all of them oriented toward helping you experience moments of waking up out of a distracted, rushed state of mind into the present moment. Then you’ll experiment with one practice each week as you go through your days and share at our next meeting what’s happened. We’ll focus on the breath, movements of the body, and even words that can help us get...
Jan 05, 2022•1 min
The Matrix is full of Buddhist themes! In the movies, we're dreaming, not interacting with the real world because the machines (read: AI) are using humans as batteries and actively keeping us asleep. In Buddhism, it's because we have countless lifetimes' worth of mistaken assumptions about the world. We see everything through the tinted lenses of our past. But you can wake up! In The Matrix, you have to know the right person and get lucky to wake up, and when you do, the real world is g...
Dec 24, 2021•6 min
In traditional Tibetan Buddhist teachings on the bardo states, the bardo of this life is the first one mentioned. It’s the one we’re in now, and it’s the best time to train our minds. But in the process of transitions, it’s the part of the process that seems to get the least attention, maybe because we never seem to realize we were in a stable period of life until that ends. So we’ve left it until last on this podcast because often we appreciate this lifetime – or a stable period in it – most fu...
Dec 23, 2021•30 min
Today’s episode is all about the most famous part of the death and rebirth cycle in Tibetan Buddhism: the bardo between death and rebirth, also called the bardo of becoming. We start with a summary of the traditional description of this bardo state, in which we’re said to have a mental body. We start off still connected with the identity of the life that just finished and end up connecting with the life we’re about to begin. This bardo is said to be a dreamlike state in which we’re blown around ...
Dec 23, 2021•24 min
The bardo of clear light is the one moment in our life-death-and-rebirth cycle when we naturally have a direct experience of our true nature. It’s a moment we can prepare for during this lifetime by getting in the habit of noticing and appreciating the glimpses we get of our deeper nature. (Meditation helps with that. ;) Recommended reading for this episode is from Mind Beyond Death by Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche. And here’s the link to register for my free email course on Tibetan rebirth tea...
Dec 23, 2021•17 min
Tibetan teachings on the death process are profoundly inspiring. Yes, it’s a sad and possibly scary time of letting go of our ordinary sense of self – but what really dies is everything except our true self, which gets to shine through clearly into our experience. Today’s teaching episode centers on Tibetan teachings about the death process, but we’ll also discuss why it’s difficult to let go into transitions and how we can prepare daily. And here’s the link to register for my free ema...
Dec 23, 2021•33 min
Transitions often take us through loss and darkness, but we come out the other side transformed and more in touch with our light. In this episode, I briefly outline the four bardo (in-between) states that the Tibetan Buddhist tradition uses to talk about death and rebirth, the biggest transition we face. And I introduce the structure of transitions, a way of applying these teachings to the “deaths and rebirths” we all experience within this lifetime. And here’s the link to register f...
Dec 23, 2021•17 min
If you've ever tried to overcome anxiety through mindfulness alone, you might know it's not so easy. But according to Tibetan Buddhism, all emotions are expressions of the elements -- earth, water, fire, wind, and space -- and each has its own wisdom. We can learn a lot about ourselves when we allow ourselves to feel our difficult emotions. Anxiety, for instance, can alert us to negative messages we may have internalized when we were young, but we can now use awareness to overcome those limitati...
Dec 22, 2021•32 min
In this introduction to the origins and basic beliefs of Buddhism, Karim Ali interviews monk Ajahn Punnadhammo and me (Claire Villarreal). Listen for his take on the Buddha’s life story, the Four Noble Truths – and some questions I’ve never thought to address, like is there a Buddhist “creation story”? Check out Karim’s podcast, History Encoded, to learn more about the world’s religions. And you can find more of Ajahn Punnadhammo here: https://www.dharma.org/teacher/ajahn-punnadhammo/ Get my fre...
Dec 22, 2021•19 min
If you've ever tried -- and failed -- to "let go" of anxiety, anger, or sadness, you might know it's not so easy. Buddhism offers a different way to deal with these emotions. First we need to recognize the wisdom within them, and then we can learn to express that energy in a healthy way. Rather than trying to push them away, we can investigate the wisdom they offer. In this guided meditation, we'll invoke protective blessings before exploring sadness in our own experience. Beneath the surface me...
Dec 21, 2021•17 min
Many people try to avoid sadness and even judge ourselves when we feel sad. But it's an important emotion, and when we feel it with full attention, it may offer us unexpected wisdom. In Tibetan Buddhism, the water element is a symbol of connection and feelings; in the Western imagination, it's related to emotions and the unconscious. Drawing on these related understandings of water, we can look for its wisdom in our moments of loneliness and sadness. Join my email list and get invi...
Dec 17, 2021•22 min
Recorded live from an Insight Timer meditation, this session is all about meditating with anger. According to Tibetan Buddhist teachings, emotions contain wisdom, and rather than trying to suppress the ones we don't like, this approach emphasizes feeling emotions and working skillfully with them instead.
Dec 16, 2021•17 min
How does Zen Buddhism connect emptiness and buddha nature? What is Pure Land Buddhism, and how do its followers practice? Zen and Pure Land Buddhism (like all other branches of Mahayana Buddhism) teach that emptiness and buddha nature are the basic qualities of reality. "Emptiness" means that we're empty of inherent existence -- in other words, the small selves we identify with aren't our true nature. Instead, all beings have buddha nature, a luminous aspect of our being that is what we t...
Dec 14, 2021•7 min
If you've ever tried -- and failed -- to "let go" of anxiety, anger, or sadness, you might know it's not so easy. Buddhism offers a different way to deal with these emotions. First we need to recognize the wisdom within them, and then we can learn to express that energy in a healthy way. In this guided meditation, I’ll guide you through settling the mind and energy, then intentionally bringing up a difficult emotion so you can feel it, understand its wisdom, and then let it go. This meditation i...
Dec 07, 2021•21 min
