Ep. 248 – Sacred Effort

Jack unfolds the radical wisdom and healing teachings of the great Buddhist sage Atīśa on living this dreamlike life as gesture of love.This episode is brought to you by Betterhelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/heartwisdom and get on your way to being your best self.“If life is like a dream, make it a beautiful one.” – Jack KornfieldIn this episode, Jack mindfully explores:Radical wisdom from the 7 Verses of Atīśa – one of the greatest Buddhist sagesA moving story about the deep transformative power encased within committing an act of truthThe nature of timeless awareness and the witnessExchanging “spiritual trading cards” with Ram DassHumor, listening, stillness, and spiritual perspectiveNot being swayed by outer circumstanceLearning what really matters in this lifeLiving with an honest and compassionate heartEmptiness and considering all phenomenon to be dreamsNot brooding over the faults of othersNoticing our inner waterfall of thoughts, feelings, sensationsBecoming medicine for others and the worldLooking through the eyes of mercyBeing grateful to everyone and everythingAlways relying on joyful and peaceful mind and heartDon’t expect a standing ovation for your spiritual work or service to the world“Who you are is what matters most—and who you are is awareness having this amazing life journey.” – Jack Kornfield“Let your life be a gesture of love.” – Jack KornfieldThis episode was originally recorded on 11/20/23 for the Spirit Rock Monday Night Dharma Talk and Meditation. To join Jack's next livestream, head to JackKornfield.com/eventsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this fresh guided meditation, Jack invites you to rest your mind and heart to uncover the authentic happiness encased within true peace.This Dharma Talk originally took place for the Spirit Rock Monday Night Dharma Talk and Guided Meditation on 11/23/2024. To join his next livestream, please check out Jack’s events calendar.“There is no greater happiness than peace.” – Jack KornfieldIn this episode, Jack leads a guided meditation on:Peace as the highest happinessFinding ease, stability, stillness, and presenceReceiving whatever arises with kindness and compassionInviting thoughts and emotions to quietResting in mindful loving awarenessUncovering a peaceful mind and full heart“Feel how the earth you are sitting on supports you completely in its steadiness.” – Jack KornfieldJoin senior meditation teachers David Nichtern and Rebecca D’Onofrio for a free online discussion on the path of developing one's own meditation practice and supporting others who wish to explore this transformative path. Register for free today: The Journey of Becoming a Meditation Teacher | Sep. 19th @ 6:00pm ETSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Listening to the song of the present moment, Jack uncovers how to dance with life’s dynamic rhythms along the harmonizing path to inner-freedom.This episode is brought to you by Betterhelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/heartwisdom and get on your way to being your best self.“The rhythm of your breath is no different than the rhythm of the stars.” – Jack KornfieldIn this episode, Jack mindfully explores:The art of listening to the song of life, birth and deathWhy it can be so tough to actually “Be Here Now” like Ram DassHow love connects to the present momentAlan Watts, music, dance, and harmonizing to the universeFeeling the rhythms of your breath and bodyLearning to dance to life’s dynamic musicStaying open and avoiding spiritual bypassLooking at our body and life clearly and directlyThe power of attention, noting, and spaciousness for diffusing our judgements and emotionsBuddha’s discovery of the Middle Way, and why he stopped fighting himselfDealing with the unfinished business of grief, loss, loneliness, woundsHow to handle worries or fantasies that keep looping over and overChögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and the tenderness and fearlessness of an Awakened HeartWhy Buddha focused on humans as ‘five processes,’ rather than personalitiesLetting go of our rigid sense of self and diving into the fluidity of lifeNon-grasping and how even enlightenment is a problemDiscovering the true path to liberationDeath, dying, and a reading from the Tibetan Book of the Dead“To listen is to be awake in the present without moving away from or running away from what’s actually here.” – Jack Kornfield“The only place to actually love another person, or a tree, or a living creature, or the earth itself, is when we’re here in the present.” – Jack KornfieldDiscover your great joy and love in Jack’s life-changing new online journey – The Awakened Heart: Discovering Great Joy and Love – Dive in here and now at JackKornfield.comThis Dharma talk originally recorded in 1991 was originally published on DharmaSeed.Join senior meditation teachers David Nichtern and Rebecca D’Onofrio for a free online discussion on the path of developing one's own meditation practice and supporting others who wish to explore this transformative path. Register for free today: The Journey of Becoming a Meditation Teacher | Sep. 19th @ 6:00pm ETSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Revealing how to calm the mind through meditation, Jack shares wisdom on self-acceptance, trust, and healing the unfinished business of the heart.Discover your great joy and love in Jack’s life-changing new online journey – The Awakened Heart: Discovering Great Joy and Love – Sign up by Sept 9 to take part in two live Q&A’s with Jack.“Don’t live in the mind, rest in the heart and let the mind come and go as it will. This is discovering your Buddha Nature.” – Jack KornfieldIn this episode, Jack mindfully explores:Working with the ‘unfinished business of the heart’ – grief, sorrows, longing, wounds, lossHonoring life’s ‘ocean of tears’ with love and kind attentionCultivating the courage to allow your heart to be brokenChögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and the tender heart of a warriorSelf-acceptance, allowing yourself to feel, and reawakening a trust in yourselfHealing the mind by seeing clearly and not taking it so seriouslyResting the in heart and letting the mind come and goDiscovering Your Buddha Nature, your fundamental ground of beingThe technique of seeing the world as enlightened, and the path as yoursThe healing encased within understanding emptiness, selflessness, and letting goMeditation as a truly courageous act“The problem with the mind mostly is that we take it seriously.” – Jack Kornfield“Healing of the mind is when we can hold in our hearts all that arises, and sense a rest and a goodness, a wholeness in us.” – Jack KornfieldJoin senior meditation teachers David Nichtern and Rebecca D’Onofrio for a free online discussion on the path of developing one's own meditation practice and supporting others who wish to explore this transformative path. Register for free today: The Journey of Becoming a Meditation Teacher | Sep. 19th @ 6:00pm ETThis episode recorded in 1991 was originally published on DharmaSeed.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Exploring healing through meditation, Jack shares on kundalini, addiction, suffering, and the transformation of having an ‘in body experience.’This episode is brought to you by Betterhelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/heartwisdom and get on your way to being your best self.“You have heard of ‘out of the body experiences,’ but what we’re after is something more unusual and important, an ‘in the body experience.'” – Jack KornfieldIn this episode, Jack mindfully illuminates:Finding strength, wakefulness, and compassion amidst it allThe Coconut Monk and the Jesus-Buddha connectionFinding compassion and joy despite suffering and warHealing—what it is, how it arises, and how we can connect with itListening and respect as the ground for healingFinding and living a path with heartMindfulness, breath, attention, noting, and the BuddhaMeditation and having an ‘in-body experience’Kundalini and opening the energy bodyLearning to handle both pleasure and painBuddha and finding the Middle WayThe healing of reconnecting with our senses and world around usWhat addictions really mean in an addicted societyFacing our suffering as the gateway to the precious mystery of lifeReading children’s direct messages to God“There’s a healing that comes just in reconnecting with the senses and the world around us.” – Jack Kornfield“As we begin to practice together, we can sense that meditation and spiritual work is to bring a heartfelt awareness to our life, and out of this there comes an awakening or opening, which we call healing.” – Jack KornfieldDiscover your great joy and love in Jack’s life-changing new online journey – The Awakened Heart: Discovering Great Joy and Love – Sign up by Sept 9 to take part in two live Q&A's with Jack. This episode recorded in late December 1991 was originally published on DharmaSeed.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Deeply unveiling the Buddha’s transformative miracle of awakening, Jack provides a comprehensive guide to finding freedom in everyday life.Discover your great joy and love in Jack's life-changing new online journey beginning Sept 9 – 'The Awakened Heart: Discovering Your Great Joy and Love'“We’re asked to discover in this dance the possibility of awakening in the midst of our life, to turn what we do into something sacred.” – Jack KornfieldIn this episode, Jack mindfully explores:What happened to the Buddha when he sat under the Bodhi TreeWhat Buddha’s enlightenment means for the worldBodh Gaya and the possibility of awakening through natureBuddha’s path as a yogi, and how he dealt with his spiritual powersBuddha's miracle of awakening and educationReflections and questions from the Buddha for how you are livingKeeping freshness and “beginner’s mind” in your practiceParenting, schooling, and the different styles of educationFinding freedom in the difficulties and direct circumstances of your lifeThe real possibility of awakening in the midst of lifeThe Ten Paramitas, Buddhism’s Ten PerfectionsWhat walking meditation is actually aboutWhy Thich Nhat Hanh does everything slowly and mindfullyPatience, listening, and presenceSpiritual life as the education of awakeningListening deeply for the Tao, Dharma, truth“Spiritual life kindles in us an interest, an attention, a passion to awaken.” – Jack Kornfield“Meditation is the art of doing what we do and bringing our senses, our heart, our whole being to that.” – Jack KornfieldThis episode recorded on 10/01/1990 was originally published on DharmaSeed.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this fresh Dharma Talk, Jack reveals how listening from the heart can empower you to transform yourself and the world.This episode is brought to you by Betterhelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/heartwisdom and get on your way to being your best self.“Difficult times call on our best spirit.” – Jack KornfieldIn this fresh episode, Jack mindfully explores:Navigating life skillfully through difficult timesHow we can change ourselves and the world through true listeningThe two dimensions of mindfulness: Sati (mindful presence) and Sampajanna (mindful response)How deep listening leads to compassionate responseUsing our difficulties as doorways of opportunity to help us awakenReflecting on how we respond to the troubles of the worldThe art of listening and how it brings us into the present momentHow taking a “sacred pause” leads to more possibilitiesThe childlike playfulness and joy between His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond TutuJack tells a transformational and moving story of Dr. Yeshi Dhonden, the miraculous Tibetan physician.How all the problems and conflicts of the world are symptoms, and the solution is in the human heartActivism, service, and helping with an open heartListening deeply to sense the universal truths of realityThe powerful prayer of Black Elk, the mystical Lakota medicine manListening inwardly, tending the heart, and honing your intuition“The very difficulties you have are the place that truly awakens the heart.” – Jack Kornfield“Quiet the mind, take time, tend the heart, listen inwardly, listen to one another, listen to the earth—and you will know what to do.” – Jack KornfieldThis Dharma Talk originally took place for the Spirit Rock Monday Night Dharma Talk and Guided Meditation on 4/15/24. To join his next livestream, please check out Jack’s events calendar.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this special episode originally airing on television’s Thinking Allowed series, Jeffrey Mishlove interviews Jack Kornfield about meditation, mindfulness, and self-acceptance.Want fresh Jack teachings delivered to your inbox? Sign up for Jack’s newsletter for weekly free content from JackKornfield.com – guided meditations, Dharma Talks, articles, and more! JackKornfield.com/newsletter“The purpose of meditation is to make people happy.” – Jack KornfieldIn this special television episode, Jeffrey Mishlove interviews Jack about:How western psychology and science fits together with eastern spirituality and meditationWhether Jack preferred getting his Ph.D. or his time at the Buddhist monasteryThe three aspects of Buddhist practice: generosity, ethics/virtue, training of heart/mindHow what we practice, positive or negative, grows in our lifeSpiritual bypass and mediation as an escapeVipassana meditation and seeing clearlyOvercoming the “near enemies” in BuddhismEquanimity, balance, centering, and fearlessnessMeditation in action and engaging mindfully with the worldFacing our fears and confronting ourselves in meditation practiceSelf-acceptance and learning to care for oneselfNot being so afraid of what’s painfulUncovering the basic mechanics of meditationReleasing tensions, unskillful concepts, and our limited sense of selfPsychic abilities and intuitionAwareness and moving past our thoughtsUsing meditation to relate deeper to your inner life“Meditative awareness has a healing quality to it.” – Jeffrey Mishlove“One of the tenets of Buddhism is that the heart, body, and mind can all be trained. That is, if you practice something, it will gradually grow in your life.” – Jack KornfieldAbout Jeffrey Mishlove:Jeffrey Mishlove, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist, an accomplished radio and television interviewer, and one of the most erudite and articulate personalities on television. Jeffrey holds the only doctoral diploma in parapsychology to be awarded by an accredited American university. Learn more about Dr. Mishlove and his ongoing offerings and interviews at newthinkingallowed.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Unraveling the mystery of who you truly are, Jack reveals mindfulness as the gateway to liberation within the ever-changing river of life.This episode is brought to you by Betterhelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/heartwisdom and get on your way to being your best self.“Mindfulness, in the Buddhist tradition, is said to be the gateway to liberation, the gateway to that which is eternal, to the timeless or the deathless.” – Jack KornfieldIn this episode, Jack mindfully explores:Mindfulness as the gateway to liberationThe Buddha’s Eightfold Path and the Middle WaySacred attention, receptivity, and sensitivityThe prayer of Mad Bear, a magical Iroquois medicine manOvercoming worry in the present momentRumi’s transformational poem, The Guest HouseAwareness of breath, body, mind states, feelings, dharma, and the laws of natureUsing mindfulness as a vehicle to discover who we really areEternity, time, timelessness, change, and becoming deathlessWhat it was like when Thich Nhat Hanh visited Spirit RockEntering the “river of life,” humanity’s collective pains, joys, etcDealing with attachment, aversion, grief, and sufferingWorking spiritually with our dreamsStepping out of the bureaucracy of ego, thought, and mindThe freedom of identifying with “the witness”Liberation as both practical and radical“Reality comes out of nothing, exists according to certain patterns, and then disappears. To know this frees us. To not know it, we are bound. This recognition brings us face to face with the mystery.” – Jack Kornfield“To become mindful is to become free, to have the capacity to step out of the rat race, the speed, the complexity and be who we are, be true to our hearts. There comes a great balance and ease with that. In any moment, we stop the war, we stop the conflict, we come back to be as the Buddha sits, as the Buddha walks, as the Buddha speaks, where we are, just present and alive.” – Jack KornfieldThis Dharma Talk recorded on 3/1/1992 was originally published on DharmaSeed.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Exploring how to direct energy in a wise way, Jack shares how embracing Sacred Effort nourishes joy, ease, beauty, equanimity, mindfulness, and loving kindness in your life.Want fresh Jack teachings delivered to your inbox? Sign up for Jack’s newsletter at JackKornfield.com/newsletter for weekly free content – guided meditations, Dharma Talks, articles, and more!"Right Effort, or Wise Energy, most fundamentally is the effort to pay attention, the effort to be present, awake, and see what is true in front of us. Out of all the kinds of efforts we can make, the most fundamental wise effort in spiritual life is to be where we are and see it clearly, to be conscious, or mindful." – Jack KornfieldIn this episode, Jack mindfully explores:Directing the energy of your life to be awake, aware, and presentSeeing the Eightfold Path as a lotus or mandalaCarlos Castaneda, impeccability, and becoming a spiritual warriorHow to wake yourself up from sleepwalking through your lifeHaving a full heart, deep attention, and clear seeingThe two levels of spiritual friends and spiritual practiceUsing suffering to develop a wise heartRemembering death and impermanenceWhat Jack taught his daughter about deathBowing to our difficult emotions and moving onDisentangling ourselves from greed, fear, and obsessionNourishing equanimity, ease, joy, beauty, and loving kindnessTending each moment as if you were planting a seedBalance and the Buddha stringing the luteRamana Maharshi and the wisdom of letting goMaking your life and activity an expression of the Tao"The teaching of Right Effort or Wise Effort is a reminder of our nobility. It is a reminder of the human inspiration of spirit not just to get through our lives, but to honor it, to respect it, to be present for it, to delight in it." – Jack Kornfield"Unclench the heart, steady yourself, and be present for things as they are, and then your activity becomes an expression of your awakening, it becomes a vehicle for the Tao." – Jack KornfieldThis Dharma Talk recorded on 3/1/1992 was originally published on DharmaSeed.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.