BeFriending Fear, Part 3: The Source of all Fears

This talk explores the liberating power of clear seeing — vipassanā, or insight — the capacity to recognize things as they truly are rather than as we wish them to be. Through the practice of mindful attention, we begin to see through the illusions that shape our experience: the illusion that things are solid, that the self is fixed, that craving can bring satisfaction, and that suffering is personal. Each moment of genuine insight loosens the grip of confusion and reveals the luminous awareness that is already free.   You'll learn how insight unfolds through the deep investigation of perception, self, desire, and suffering; how mindfulness and compassion work together to transform pain into wisdom; and how to bring these realizations into the immediacy of daily life. Through stories, reflection, and direct practice, you'll discover how to live from the natural clarity that sees through delusion and rests in the heart of liberation.

This talk explores how to consciously direct the inner process of healing and release. Drawing on the classic teachings of Ho'oponopono, it introduces four phrases that guide your attention to: • Taking responsibility for your inner experience • Attuning to the process of release • Reflecting on gratitude and the opportunity to grow • Resting in loving awareness

This talk explores the heart of the Fourth Noble Eightfold Path factor—Right Action—as a living expression of mindfulness and compassion. We look at how ethical conduct arises not from rigid rule-following but from moment-to-moment awareness, attunement to the body's signals, and a sincere intention to do no harm. Through stories, classical teachings, humor, and direct reflection, we explore non-harming, integrity, embodied wisdom, and the courage it takes to act wisely in a complex world.   You'll learn how to sense alignment in your actions, recognize the body as your most honest ethical compass, and translate presence into choices that support clarity, kindness, and inner freedom. You'll explore practical exercises to listen more deeply, cultivate integrity, stay grounded in challenging situations, and bring compassionate, courageous action into your relationships, work, and daily life.

This talk explores how to apply the Golden Rule in the context of mindfulness practice.   You'll learn how this timeless guidance ties into the practice of compassion (Karuna), interconnectedness (Dependent Origination), loving kindness (Metta) and non-harming (Ahimsa).

This talk explores the radical simplicity and depth of awakening to the present moment. Drawing on early Buddhist teachings and modern somatic inquiry, we'll investigate the building blocks of experience — sensation, feeling tone, perception, and awareness — to understand how the mind creates "now" and how freedom is discovered in direct experience.   You'll learn how to discern between sensation and story, how to recognize the birth of reactivity, and how to rest in awareness itself. Through reflection, humor, and practical meditative guidance, you'll discover that the present moment is not a passing instant but an infinite field of awakening — waiting to be noticed.  

This talk explores the possibility of 'problems' as profound opportunities for growth and expansion.   You'll learn the importance of equanimity, cultivating convergent and divergent thinking and deep investigation into the nature of attachment and the nature of self.

This talk explores how every word we speak carries the power to create harmony or division, awakening or confusion. Drawing from the Buddha's teaching on Right Speech—truthful, kind, useful, and timely communication—you'll discover how mindfulness transforms the way we express ourselves and listen to others. Words become more than sound; they become expressions of presence, integrity, and care. Through stories, reflection, and a few moments of silence, we'll explore how conscious speech can become a profound practice of awakening in daily life.   You'll learn how to pause before speaking, feel into your intention, and sense whether your words arise from love or from fear. You'll explore the liberating clarity of truthfulness, the warmth of kindness, the power of words that serve, and the wisdom of silence. These simple but radical principles—rooted in the Buddha's Eightfold Path—can transform your relationships, deepen your meditation, and turn everyday conversation into an expression of compassion and freedom.

This talk explores the powerful and often-overlooked moment between what we feel and what we think about what we feel. Rooted in both Buddhist insight and somatic inquiry, we'll examine how raw sensation arises, how the mind instantly weaves a narrative around it, and how those stories—when left unexamined—can calcify into beliefs that shape our identity and behavior. With mindful attention, this space between sensation and story becomes fertile ground for transformation, offering a doorway into clarity, compassion, and inner freedom.   You'll learn how to recognize and decode the language of bodily sensation, investigate the stories you habitually tell yourself, and uncover the often-hidden beliefs that reinforce suffering. Through guided reflection, vivid examples, and practical teachings, this talk will show you how to rest in the liberating space of awareness—where choice, wisdom, and healing are possible.

This talk explores the power and peace found at the still point—the place of awareness untouched by the waves of thought and emotion. When we take the seat of the witness, we discover a dimension of consciousness that is both intimate and vast, both deeply embodied and profoundly free. Drawing on the Buddha's teachings on mindfulness and insight, this talk illuminates how awareness itself can become the refuge, how turning toward what arises with stillness and curiosity reveals the freedom that has always been here.   You'll learn how to recognize and rest in the witnessing presence that observes all experience without judgment or grasping. Through stories, reflection, and guided inquiry, you'll explore how to move from reactivity to stillness, from self-identification to awareness itself. You'll discover that when you bring compassionate attention to the body, mind, and heart, the turbulence of experience becomes the very path to awakening—the dance around the still point.

This talk explores the transformative power of tuning into the felt sense—the subtle, bodily knowing that lies beneath thought and emotion. Rooted in early Buddhist teachings and supported by contemporary somatic practices, the felt sense offers a direct path to presence, insight, and release. By connecting deeply with the body from the inside out, we ground our awareness in the Four Foundations of Mindfulness and begin to directly experience the liberating truths of impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and non-self.   You'll learn how to recognize and trust the language of inner sensation, how the felt sense awakens the Five Spiritual Faculties—faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom—and how this embodied presence becomes a guide for wise action and compassionate insight. Through reflections, guided sensing, and practical tools, you'll discover how to stay close to what's real and alive, and how this intimacy with the body can lead to deep inner freedom.