Listen to Dharma Talks – Orlando Insight Meditation Group Peter Carlson

This talk focuses on cultivating a deeper and more useful understanding of two important Buddhist concepts: Non-self and Emptiness.  The concepts don’t translate well into English from the original Pali teachings, so Peter uses various contemporary scientific and psychological research results to clarify the terms.  Non-self is a way to understand what contemporary neuroscience calls neuroplasticity, while Emptiness is better understood as the quality of attention that is not dominated by the urgent demands of craving and clinging–a maturation of the quietness and stability that can be associated with the development of neutral feeling towards equanimity.

Here are the notes prepared for this talk:  Fullness or Emptiness

The focus of next week’s talk will be on the Second Foundation of Mindfulness, which focuses on understanding and working with pleasant, unpleasant and neutral feeling tones more skillfully.

Mindfully contemplating the subjective experience of the Four Elements: Earth, Wind,Fire, and Water is mentioned in the Four Foundations of Mindfulness Discourse as part of the category “Mindfulness of the Body”.  During the talk, Peter describes the characteristics of each Element, along with how they can be useful for interrupting internal “selfing stories”.  This talk is meant to be accompanied by the recording in the archives entitled “Four Elements Contemplation”.  Those present for the meeting shared their experiences during the meditation and sought clarification regarding the topic.

Here are the notes prepared for this talk:  Working With the Four Elements Contemplations

This guided meditation provides suggestions for contemplating what are called the Four Elements: Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water.  These contemplations are embedded within the Four Foundations of Mindfulness Discourse.  Peter describes the subjective characteristics of each of the Elements and suggests different areas of the body to mindfully investigate their nature.  This guided meditation is intended to accompany the Dharma talk entitled ” Working With The Four Elements Contemplation”, which explains how developing proficiency in this training exercise interrupts hindering internal chatter and supports differentiating the separate characteristics of physical sensational awareness and co-occurring fabricating function of the mind.  This understanding increases one’s ability to “deconstruct” belief in an enduring/autonomous self.

Short Moments, Many Times a Day.

In this meeting of our sangha, we learn a variety of ways to incorporate moments of meditation throughout the day.  This is not a substitute for our daily sitting practice, but a way to extend that practice throughout our daily activities.  The format of the session will veer from our usual practice, as we practice a 4-5  short meditations.  So make sure to join us at 7:00 for a brief commentary on mindfulness which will be followed by a variety of short-form practices.  This session was facilitated by Lezlie Laws.

This week’s dharma talk explores the 7th step in the teaching of the Buddha called “The Noble Eightfold-Path.”  This 7th step is Right Mindfulness. We will explore this key practice that has been described as the watch guard of the mind and an aid to recognize, prevent and release craving and clinging that causes suffering. We will also present an overview of the four foundations of mindfulness discussed in the Buddha’s teachings that are documented in the Satipatthana Sutta. Each of these foundations will be explored in further depth in the upcoming weeks. April Koester gave this talk.

This week’s dharma talk explores the 6th step in the teaching of the Buddha called “The Noble Eightfold-Path.”  This 6th step takes us into the “discipline aggregate” of the eight steps.  Here we learn how to cultivate beneficial qualities of mind and how to disarm unbeneficial qualities of mind.  The talk this week was given by Lezlie Laws.