Delusion, not seeing clearly, is something we find everywhere, both in our personal lives and at the collective and national level. Sometimes it is recognizable, but often it's subtle and we don't even notice how pervasive it is. Along with greed and aversion, delusion can cause so much harm and suffering that we must investigate what we see, hear and believe with mindfulness and the intention to be present with the way things actually are. The road to freedom lies this way. Recorded May 20, 202...
May 24, 2021•25 min
The ease with which humans create identities around self and other makes it challenging to recognize our shared humanity and live in harmony. Listening to the news on any day will prove this point. The Buddha, however, gave us teachings and practices which enable us to be in wise and kind relationship with each other if we make the effort. Mary talks about the ethical practices of wise speech and wise action which have impact both for ourselves and for the world. This is truly the path to libera...
May 17, 2021•41 min
The Buddha was very clear in talking about how we allow small misperceptions to blossom into full blown delusions which cause harm to ourselves and others and continue the cycle of suffering. In this talk Mary discusses the extremely relevant Vipallasa Sutta which talks about how ignorance grows and how it is eliminated, both for ourselves and for the world. Recorded May 8, 2021 in the virtual world Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you would like a re...
May 11, 2021•36 min
Sometimes our humanity just smacks us right in the face and there is no getting around the fact that life can be messy and there are no secret ways out of feeling. The world continues to rage and dance around us as we make our way the best we can, finding joy where it lays. Making friends with mortality is a good way to find peace in this moment. Recorded May 1, 2021 in the virtual world Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you would like a response - it'...
May 03, 2021•24 min
Energy or effort is an important part of the path to awakening. Our practice is not simply sitting back and waiting for something to happen; instead we bring a wise energy and effort to guide the heart-mind to wise and compassionate action. In this talk Mary discusses energy (viriya) as a paramita, part of the Eightfold Path and one of the Awakening Factors. This talk was offered at the Insight Community of the Desert . Recorded April 25, 2021 Send me a text with any questions or comments! Inclu...
Apr 27, 2021•35 min
The Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta is called the direct path to realization, or in other words, the path to awakening. These important instructions are all about developing our mindfulness practice and cultivating wisdom and insight. In this talk, Mary discusses the teachings from a Satipaṭṭhāna retreat she did with Bhikkhu Anālayo, one of the foremost experts on the text and the practice. This is a practical way to establish mindfulness and move towards freedom. Recorded April 17, 2021 in the virtual world...
Apr 20, 2021•31 min
Mindfulness is not about striving or getting things done. Instead, the practice is about a relaxed receptivity which allows a more spacious and embodied awareness. In this talk Mary discusses how to open into awareness and clear knowing. Props to Bhikkhu Anālayo and his book, Satipatthāna Meditation: A Practice Guide , for some wisdom on this practice. Recorded April 1, 2021 in the virtual world. Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you would like a respo...
Apr 08, 2021•30 min
The idea of a Bodhisattva runs throughout Buddhist scriptures and tradition. It means "destined for Buddhahood" and also means one who is dedicated to the spiritual path. It is especially powerful when it denotes someone who works to end suffering for all beings. The invitation to be a Bodhisattva is open to everyone and is especially important in our world today where there is so much harm. In this talk Mary discusses the idea of a Bodhisattva and invites each of us to examine how we can bring ...
Mar 30, 2021•27 min
To pause is such a little thing, a breath, a count to ten, yet it can mean a world of difference. We're so wound up in our habits, reactions and even being productive, that pausing is a challenging practice. Mindfulness offers us a way to pause and to find a path to freedom. A path away from reaction and towards wisdom. Recorded March 20, 2021 in the virtual world Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you would like a response - it's not included automatic...
Mar 22, 2021•29 min
In several suttas the Buddha mentions the 37 qualities needed to move toward freedom and enlightenment. In this talk Mary discusses these qualities and important ethical living and mindfulness are to finding liberation. Recorded March 11, 2021 in the virtual world Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you would like a response - it's not included automatically. Thanks. Visit Mary's website for more info on classes and teachings....
Mar 15, 2021•30 min
Blame and shame are two items we're all pretty familiar with these days - they seem to be everywhere. What did the Buddha have to say about them, if anything, and how do we let go? Mary discusses the Buddha's teachings on blame and shame and answers a question on where resentment falls into this conversation. Recorded Feb 27, 2021 in the virtual world Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you would like a response - it's not included automatically. Thanks....
Mar 01, 2021•27 min
When your eyes and ears are open, the lessons of the dharma can be found everywhere. In this talk, Mary offers several examples, ranging from Bob Marley to Aristotle to James Baldwin, of how our practice can be supported simply by paying attention. Recorded Feb 20 2021 in the virtual world Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you would like a response - it's not included automatically. Thanks. Visit Mary's website for more info on classes and teachings....
Feb 22, 2021•30 min
The Buddha talks about the fetters which are what bind us to Samsara and a cycle of suffering and discontent. There are three fetters, self-illusion, doubt, and attachment to rites and rituals that are the first three we should examine to move towards liberation. Mary discusses these fetters and how they can show up in our lives and how to let go and move towards 'stream-entry'. Recorded Feb 11, 2021 in the virtual world. Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email...
Feb 15, 2021•31 min
We're living through a time of continuing change and challenge. It's easy to become overwhelmed by it all which makes it doubly important to pause and be present for the joy that exists in all of our lives. Mary talks about taking to time to find that joy that occurs when we allow the mind to quiet. She also discusses the steps we can take to cultivate joy in our lives. Recorded Feb 6, 2021 in the virtual world. Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you wo...
Feb 08, 2021•40 min
The wonderful story of Milarepa and his cave full of demons is emblematic of how we can move through the world and of our spiritual path. It's also a story of cultivating wisdom and learning how to be at peace with even the most difficult and scary experiences. In this talk Mary offers an invitation to discover and make peace with your demons. Recorded January 30, 2021 in the virtual world. Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you would like a response - ...
Feb 01, 2021•28 min
In the Rajan Sutta (Ud 5.1), the Buddha invites us to acknowledge that just as we find no one dearer than ourselves, we should recognize that others feel the same and so we should not hurt others if we love ourselves. It's a wonderful sentiment, but often difficult find a way to hold ourselves with love and esteem. Mary discusses how we can we can get bogged down with ideas that we're not worthy, and how to find a way to self love and love of others. Recorded Jan 21, 2021 in the virtual world Se...
Jan 25, 2021•29 min
For our entire lives we have been told who to be, how to behave and what to believe. This conditioning sets us up for suffering and being disconnected from our hearts and the sacred. Reconnection begins with mindfulness and the willingness to turn toward our experience and this is the path to liberation. This was a dharma talk offered at the 6th Annual Womxn's Retreat. Recorded Jan. 15, 2021 in the virtual world. Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you w...
Jan 19, 2021•52 min
We spend a lot of time attaching importance to particular dates or moments believing that our lives or circumstances will change when something finally happens. This leads to a sense of striving both in our practice and how we move through the world. In this talk, Mary discusses how let go and arrive in the present. It's easy to get distracted and caught up in the habits of the mind, but we can begin again with each breath and in each moment. There is nowhere else, but right here. Recorded Jan. ...
Jan 12, 2021•32 min
In order to be fully present and open we have to learn to be receptive rather than reactive. Because of our conditioning we're not aware of how reactive and stuck in habits we can be. Mary talks about how shifting to a more receptive and open way of being with our experience fosters our ability to stay present which allows us to see more clearly and let go of those things that keep us stuck in samsara. Recorded on Dec. 26, 2020 in the virtual world. Send me a text with any questions or comments!...
Jan 04, 2021•28 min
The idea of experiencing darkness in our spiritual practice is an old one and often means facing difficulties or challenges. Although we're tempted to avoid this discomfort, the invitation is to stay with the richness that the darkness offers. There is dark and there is light and we can't have one without the other. Recorded Dec 17, 2020 in the virtual world Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you would like a response - it's not included automatically. ...
Dec 29, 2020•29 min
In this teaching the Buddha invites us to investigate what it is like when suffering is not present. It doesn't mean there are no challenges or difficulties, but these seven factors offer a way to let go of clinging and release into joy, calm, steadiness of mind and equanimity. This is a very important and relevant teaching for our world today. Recorded Dec. 12, 2020 in the virtual world Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you would like a response - it'...
Dec 21, 2020•33 min
One of the biggest barriers to our practice is ill-will or anger and resentment and the antidote is loving kindness. It is vital to our practice and also necessary as we cultivate care and concern for all beings. Without loving kindness, or metta, it is very easy to dehumanize others and get entangled in the web of greed, hatred and ignorance. The Buddha placed a great emphasis on this and Mary talks about why it is so important and how we can bring more of it into our lives, for the benefit of ...
Dec 14, 2020•31 min
There is so much in our world to be heartbroken about today. Heartbreak can sometimes lead to anger however this practice invites us to be with the heartbreak and instead move into Wisdom and Compassion. Using the legend of the Shambhala warrior, Mary talks about using these two tools as a foundation for equanimity and realizing that they offer a powerful path for liberation. Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you would like a response - it's not includ...
Dec 07, 2020•31 min
This moment in 2020 can feel very chaotic and full of fear, and we can become trapped in the search for certainty. However, that chase for assurances that things will turn out the way we want is empty and unfulfilling. This practice offers us a way to sit with the uncertainty that exists and even to find joy and beauty in the moment. Included is a recording of US Poet Laureate Joy Harjo performing her poem, How to Get Rid of Fear Recorded Nov 21, 2020, in the virtual world Send me a text with an...
Nov 30, 2020•29 min
We often hear about how the practice allows us to experience a sense of spaciousness, but what does that mean and how do we get there? It's actually helpful to examine how we tend to be constricted and fearful. Mary discusses how we can bring mindfulness and cultivate awareness in a way to let go of our small, fixed and constricted habits and ideas, and move into a more spacious, calm and peaceful experience. Recorded Nov 14, 2020 in the virtual world. Send me a text with any questions or commen...
Nov 23, 2020•25 min
Oftentimes when we think we're being strong we're actually defending ourselves or shutting down. The pseudo-strength comes from our armor which is really a type of aversion. In this teaching, originally offered by Roshi Joan Halifax, we're invited to soften to our experiences with compassion yet keep a strong back of equanimity. Mary invites us to be vulnerable, yet move through the world with integrity and strength. Recorded Nov. 7, 2020 in the virtual world Send me a text with any questions or...
Nov 16, 2020•37 min
Equanimity is the culmination of many Buddhist lists and is a place of wisdom, clarity and and deep intimacy with our own experience. In this talk Mary discusses what equanimity is and isn't and how to cultivate it in your life. Equanimity is something we all could use as we navigate the world today. Recorded Oct. 29, 2020 in the virtual world Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you would like a response - it's not included automatically. Thanks. Visit M...
Nov 09, 2020•29 min
So many of our thoughts and emotions are habitual and not necessarily tied to what is happening in the present moment. The Buddha talked about this conditioning and the need to let go of the habits and cultivate an awareness of right now. But how do we let go of something that is so familiar and comfortable? Mary discusses how to spot these habitual patterns and ways to let them go. Recorded Oct. 24, 2020 in the virtual world Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and e...
Nov 02, 2020•36 min
The Buddha said that admirable friendship is the whole of the holy life. Friendship, connection and community are always important, but seemingly even more so as we move through this world of pandemic, uprisings, zoom and social media. Mary discusses how we can cultivate friendship and community in order to maintain the all-important sense of connection. Recorded Oct 15, 2020 in the virtual world Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you would like a respo...
Oct 26, 2020•28 min
The Four Passing Sights, also known as the Four Messengers is a famous story about Siddhartha Guatama and when he first encounters the reality of life and suffering. These were catalysts for him to leave his comfortable home and go forth to search for the end of suffering. In this talk Mary discusses how this story can jolt us into an awareness of our own denial of suffering and serve as a "call to an ethical life" (Bhikkhu Analayo). It's especially important right now as we deal with the suffer...
Oct 19, 2020•28 min
