Letting Go, Letting Be and Surrendering to Presence (Retreat Talk)

This talk explore how to cultivate inspiration in your practice, particularly when it gets challenging.   You’ll learn why we stop practicing and a variety of tips, tricks and techniques for keeping your practice alive, vibrant, interesting and engaging. 

This talk is from the fifth evening of a week-long Vipassana Retreat. You’ll learn how meditation increases your sensitivity to how you hold on, how the intention to let go can set in motion a process that brings you in direct contact with the mystery — and how letting go and letting be are required to wake up to the nature of reality.

Here’s my interview with the wonderful Shawn Parell, a wonderful teacher, guide and passionate student of the dharma. We discuss the evolution of practice, the power of somatic awareness, how to balance daily life with deep practice and how meditation can be a wonderful tool for self-discovery. For more about Shawn and her offerings, go to  www.shawnparell.com, Instagram @ShawnParell for weekly meditations and prompts for practice and lots more. 

This talk explores some of the mistaken beliefs about the practice of meditation. You’ll learn how meditation is not a quick fix for your problems, is not about escaping reality and how this practice is both an art and science … and can dramatically transform your life.

This talk explores the art of new beginnings.   You’ll learn how important it is to embrace your first reaction when things change, how to soften and release the past, how to open to new possibilities and how to engage into what most calls you forward.

This talk explores mindful strategies for overcoming procrastination. You’ll learn different ways we put things off, what gets in the way of the flow state, what flow feels like and for me, the most important question for sparking creative juices.   Jeff Fajains, Phd, offers a 30 Day Creative Momentum  and helps creators bring their ideas to life.  More on Jeff here:  https://jefffajans.com/

This talk explores how to work with acute anxiety.   You’ll learn how to identify the triggers that cause feelings of overwhelm and some strategies for working panic, whether it be for yourself or when you accompany another when waves of intense anxiety arise.

This talk explores the fundamental elements of fear and how to release what is between you and feeling free.   You’ll learn about the essential nature of anxiety, the cause and the release of suffering through the transformative practices of awakening the Wise Heart.

This talk explores strategies for working with fear and anxiety. You’ll learn how you can move from threat mode to opportunity mode and strategies for working with fear and anxiety in the body as well as a particular strategy for working with thoughts and beliefs.

This talk explores the art of working with anxiety and dread. You’ll learn the difference between healthy and unhealthy fear, the roots of fear and some strategies for transforming the experience of anxiety when it arises.