Dharma Talks and Sangha Shares

Insight Meditation Houston
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What does it mean to truly wake up — not someday, but in this very life? Insight Meditation Houston ("IMH") invites you to find out. Rooted in 2,500 years of Vipassana tradition and planted in Houston's spiritual community since 1980, this podcast brings you the liberating teachings of the Buddha — accessible, grounded, and alive for modern practitioners. Each episode can offer guided meditations, Dharma talks, and teachings drawn from the ancient path of insight meditation: the careful, compassionate observation of breath, thought, and emotion that slowly — and then suddenly — changes everything. Whether you're sitting for the first time or deepening a lifelong practice, you'll find here a genuine refuge. Not a performance, not a philosophy debate — just sincere companions on the path, committed to mindfulness, ethical living, and the wisdom that sets the heart free. Join a community that has been quietly, persistently waking up together for over four decades — and discover what it means to meet your own life with presence, clarity, and compassion. All backgrounds welcome. No experience necessary. Just bring yourself. Visit us at our website: insighthouston.org

  1. 2d ago

    The Essentials of Mindfulness

    Whether you're new to meditation or have been practicing for years, coming back to the basics is always worthwhile. In this introductory talk, Travis Hicks lays out the essential qualities of mindfulness — presence, non-judgment, awareness, acceptance, and returning — and explains simply what we're actually doing when we sit down to practice. The talk covers why the body is such a reliable anchor for presence, what it means to observe the mind without trying to change it, and how the classic simile of the two arrows points to where our real suffering comes from. Travis also touches on the relationship between mindfulness and skillful effort — how accepting what's here and working to change unskillful habits aren't contradictory, but actually depend on each other. Clear and accessible, this is a good talk for anyone wanting a grounded overview of what this practice is and why it matters. About Travis Travis Hicks has been practicing Vipassana meditation since 1995 and teaching since 2005. He completed a two-year teacher training program at Spirit Rock Meditation Center under the guidance of senior teachers in the Theravada tradition. Travis brings a warm, accessible style to the dharma, drawing on both classical Buddhist teachings and contemporary psychology. He leads weekly sittings, daylong retreats, and occasional residential retreats for the IMH community.

    The Essentials of Mindfulness

  2. 2d ago

    Dependent Origination

    Dependent origination is one of the deepest teachings in Buddhism — and also one of the most misunderstood. In this talk, Travis Hicks works through the Buddha's teaching on dependent co-arising, the framework that answers a question the Four Noble Truths point to but don't fully explain: how exactly does suffering arise, and where can we actually intervene? Moving through the chain — from aging and death back through birth, becoming, clinging, craving, feeling, contact, and consciousness — Travis shows how each link conditions the next, and why most of them aren't places where we have much practical leverage. The one place we do? The gap between feeling tones and craving. That's where meditation practice does its quiet work, moment by moment. He also walks through three common ways of understanding the teaching: as a map of moment-to-moment mind states, as a framework for a single lifetime, and as the traditional three-life view that connects karma and rebirth. No definitive answer is given on which is right — just a clear, honest look at what the teaching says and what it asks of us. About Travis Travis Hicks has been practicing Vipassana meditation since 1995 and teaching since 2005. He completed a two-year teacher training program at Spirit Rock Meditation Center under the guidance of senior teachers in the Theravada tradition. Travis brings a warm, accessible style to the dharma, drawing on both classical Buddhist teachings and contemporary psychology. He leads weekly sittings, daylong retreats, and occasional residential retreats for the IMH community.

    Dependent Origination

  3. 3d ago

    Walking Meditation on the Four Elements

    The four elements practice — earth, water, fire, and air — is one of the less commonly taught objects of mindfulness, but for some practitioners it opens something that sitting practice alone doesn't. In this talk, Travis Hicks shares why he finds the elements practice particularly valuable, especially when taken outside, and walks through what it actually feels like when it's working well. Rather than experiencing the body as a contained self with arms and legs, the practice gradually dissolves that boundary — sensations inside and outside the body begin to feel continuous, and the usual sense of separation from the world softens. Travis draws on two vivid personal examples: walking barefoot through dewy grass in a labyrinth at a Houston retreat center in January, and sitting on a rock in a power line clearing in British Columbia with the wind moving through. Both point to the same thing — that this practice is less about analysis and more about direct, unmediated contact with experience as it actually is. About Travis Travis Hicks has been practicing Vipassana meditation since 1995 and teaching since 2005. He completed a two-year teacher training program at Spirit Rock Meditation Center under the guidance of senior teachers in the Theravada tradition. Travis brings a warm, accessible style to the dharma, drawing on both classical Buddhist teachings and contemporary psychology. He leads weekly sittings, daylong retreats, and occasional residential retreats for the IMH community.

    Walking Meditation on the Four Elements

  4. Jul 30

    Spiritual Renewal

    Even a dedicated meditation practice can quietly become a routine — and that's exactly when renewal matters most. In this talk, Rafi Rahman reflects on what it means to bring freshness back to practice, not by starting over, but by loosening the grip of what we think we already know. About Rafi Rahman Rafi was born and raised in Bangladesh and has been practicing Insight meditation since 2015. He has been part of the Insight Meditation Houston (IMH) community since 2018 and currently serves as Chair of the IMH Board. He is passionate about helping build a warm and welcoming practice community. His path has been shaped by silent retreats, the loss of close family members, and a lifelong curiosity about what it means to live with wisdom and compassion. Alongside Buddhist practice, he enjoys studying Jungian psychology and exploring the meeting place between Eastern and Western approaches to awakening and healing. By profession, he is an engineer, and outside of work he enjoys listening to bamboo flute music, taking walks at Memorial Park, and sharing meaningful conversations with friends.

    Spiritual Renewal

  5. Jun 16

    Generosity

    What would it mean to move through daily life with genuine generosity — not as a transaction, but as a way of being? In this talk, Ginger Clarkson reflects on the Zen precept "Do not be stingy," exploring generosity through small moments of kindness, unexpected gestures, and the simple act of paying attention to others. Drawing on Buddhist teachings on dana, a Zen meal chant, the image of Indra's net, and a vivid poem by Rumi, Ginger weaves together personal stories — from smiling at airport workers to her hospice visits with her service dog Amanda — to show how generosity flows in both directions and costs less than we think. She also gently points to what withholding does to the heart, and what opens up when we let go of the impoverished mindset that says there isn't enough to give. About Ginger Clarkson Ginger is a Community Dharma Leader certified by Spirit Rock Meditation Center in California, where she studied under the mentorship of Jack Kornfield and completed the Dedicated Dharma Practitioner program with Eugene Cash and other senior teachers.

  6. Jun 4

    Loving-kindness and Non-harm as a Preliminary

    Most of us sit down to meditate and jump straight into watching the breath — but what if a few minutes of preparation made the whole practice easier? In this talk, Travis Hicks explores the idea of preliminary practices, drawing on Mahasi Sayadaw's recommendation of six things worth doing before formal meditation begins. The six include reflecting on your own virtuous conduct, recalling the benefits of practice, cultivating confidence in the teachings, bringing to mind the qualities of the Buddha, practicing a little loving-kindness, and recollecting death as a nudge toward urgency. Travis shares honestly how he has been experimenting with these in his own practice, and makes a case especially for two: metta as a way of softening the heart before settling the mind, and the simple reflection on good things we have done — something our culture, he notes, doesn't make particularly easy. The talk is practical and personal, with a bug catcher making a memorable appearance along the way. About Travis Travis Hicks has been practicing Vipassana meditation since 1995 and teaching since 2005. He completed a two-year teacher training program at Spirit Rock Meditation Center under the guidance of senior teachers in the Theravada tradition. Travis brings a warm, accessible style to the dharma, drawing on both classical Buddhist teachings and contemporary psychology. He leads weekly sittings, daylong retreats, and occasional residential retreats for the IMH community.

    Loving-kindness and Non-harm as a Preliminary

  7. May 18

    Vesak and a Brief Life of the Buddha

    Every year on the full moon of May, Buddhists around the world celebrate Vesak — the birth, enlightenment, and death of the Buddha, all said to have occurred on the same day. In this talk, Travis Hicks marks the occasion with a walk through the life of Siddhartha Gautama, from his sheltered upbringing in a noble household to his eventual enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. Travis traces the familiar arc — the Four Heavenly Messengers, the failed ascetic practices, the decision to simply sit and not move until he found the answer — but tells it in a grounded, unhurried way that brings the human side of the story forward. He closes with the Buddha's final weeks and last words, which return, as always, to the same simple teaching he offered for 45 years: all compounded things pass away, so practice with diligence. A good introduction for those newer to the tradition, and a worthwhile revisit for anyone who hasn't heard the full story told in one sitting. About Travis Hicks Travis Hicks has been practicing Vipassana meditation since 1995 and teaching since 2005. He completed a two-year teacher training program at Spirit Rock Meditation Center under the guidance of senior teachers in the Theravada tradition. Travis brings a warm, accessible style to the dharma, drawing on both classical Buddhist teachings and contemporary psychology. He leads weekly sittings, daylong retreats, and occasional residential retreats for the IMH community.

    Vesak and a Brief Life of the Buddha

  8. May 6

    Brahma Vihara Practice of Mudita (Sympathetic Joy)

    Joy isn't a distraction from the spiritual path — according to the Buddha, it's an essential part of it. In this talk, Ginger Clarkson guides the group through mudita, or sympathetic joy, the third of the four brahmaviharas, exploring why it may be the most challenging of the heart practices to cultivate. Ginger reflects honestly on how easy it is to feel genuine warmth toward strangers while still harboring judgment toward others, and how mudita asks us to celebrate the good fortune of others even when we ourselves are struggling. The talk includes a guided meditation sending appreciative joy to others and to oneself, followed by an interactive partner practice where participants share something good in their lives and receive it with an open heart. About Ginger Clarkson Ginger Clarkson is a Community Dharma Leader certified by Spirit Rock Meditation Center in California, where she studied under the mentorship of Jack Kornfield and completed the Dedicated Dharma Practitioner program with Eugene Cash and other senior teachers.

    Brahma Vihara Practice of Mudita (Sympathetic Joy)
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About

What does it mean to truly wake up — not someday, but in this very life? Insight Meditation Houston ("IMH") invites you to find out. Rooted in 2,500 years of Vipassana tradition and planted in Houston's spiritual community since 1980, this podcast brings you the liberating teachings of the Buddha — accessible, grounded, and alive for modern practitioners. Each episode can offer guided meditations, Dharma talks, and teachings drawn from the ancient path of insight meditation: the careful, compassionate observation of breath, thought, and emotion that slowly — and then suddenly — changes everything. Whether you're sitting for the first time or deepening a lifelong practice, you'll find here a genuine refuge. Not a performance, not a philosophy debate — just sincere companions on the path, committed to mindfulness, ethical living, and the wisdom that sets the heart free. Join a community that has been quietly, persistently waking up together for over four decades — and discover what it means to meet your own life with presence, clarity, and compassion. All backgrounds welcome. No experience necessary. Just bring yourself. Visit us at our website: insighthouston.org

Information

  • Creator
    Insight Meditation Houston
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    19
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Insight Meditation Houston
  • Show Website
    Dharma Talks and Sangha Shares