Meditation Happy Hour: Tea, Talk, and Truth with Karuna Karuna Schwartz

Let’s be honest: the noise in our minds is often deafening, especially when we're trying to make it quiet. In this episode of Meditation Happy Hour: Tea, Talk, and Truth with Karuna, John and Karuna explore some of the time-tested meditation techniques to help free the unruly mind from its bad habits.  

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Study Meditation with John on MindOasis.org:  https://mindoasis.org/event/whats-wit... 

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In this episode of Tea, Talk, and Truth with Karuna, Sander Cohen and Karuna take a glimpse into motorcycle and gompa stories that inspire introspection, chat about Dharma Shop, and inquire about the lives of the artists and artisans working and living in Nepal and their relationship with Dharma Shop.   

"I am so proud to walk into the house of one of our artists and know that we're supporting them and they're living in this place in Nepal. They have access to food, they have access to everything because of Dharma Shop."  

"No one was getting any orders in Nepal, so we placed all of our orders and they said, we can't start in these four months and we paid them for it anyway. We've been doing business forever. We trust you. And it really changed how things worked in Nepal. People realized we were there for them and we were there to support them. And I think it took another step up where people realized that we're all in this together and we're here to support you through this time because obviously everyone in Nepal is used to selling to tourists and there hasn't been a tourist there in two years."
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Dharma Shop
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"I think it's Pema Chodron in her book The Wisdom of No Escape, she goes to Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and she's like, I'm doing everything wrong in my [meditation] practice, I can't visualize, I can't do this, I can't do that. And he just sort of pats her hand and says, Sweetheart, I always wonder about the people who say it's too easy. I wonder what's going on there. And that's been a big inspiration for me because I don't think it's easy. I think it's worthwhile."

"Just recently I discovered that if you put in the hard work, that calm thing that yoga journal likes to promote, I believe it is possible and that it's more attainable. You can touch it more frequently if you really do have a consistent [meditation] practice, but it is literally that consistency that's going to get you there. And sometimes it's hard to get to the consistency because it doesn't necessarily feel good in the beginning, so, part of a strong meditation practice is the stick-with-it-ness, and you kind of just have to trust that other people have done it in the past before you and that they. Their wisdom is boomeranging back."

~Karuna, Founder & Executive Director of Mind Oasis


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2022 MindOasis Yoga Immersion

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In this episode of Tea, Talk, and Truth with Karuna, Kelly Sell and Leanna Gilliam take a peek at their truth, how they found the practices of mindful self compassion, and how these practices benefit them and others. 

"There's a lot and there's been a lot going on collectively in the world. And the reason for me for coming back to these practices that give me a sense of safety, that give me a sense of grounded-ness and centeredness and well-being. These practices in turn, allow me to show up for others in a very present way, a very authentic way. 

The metaphor we talk about and mindful self compassion is the oxygen mask. So when you're in an airplane, if you're traveling with people who need assistance, the instruction is put your oxygen mask on first and then you can help others. That metaphor of tuning into what's needed for ourselves in any given moment, and particularly in a moment of stress or struggle. And by doing so answering that question, What do I need?"

~Leanna Gilliam 



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"I don't think this is about Ukrainians. For me, it's not about Ukraine. It's not about Russia. Those divisions, those national identities, is what created the problem in the first place. That's what creates conflict in the first place. This is about humanity and about freedom

Question is, are we going to sit back and wait for a perfect business plan before we act? Are we going to risk like everyone is risking? My friend is risking everything. Everyone on the ground is risking everything. It's just a big, risky, messy situation, unfortunately caused by human greed and error."

"My friend's nonprofit has been chosen as one of the three nonprofits by the Ministry of Health in Ukraine to support the infrastructure through this time. They're a Ukrainian organization, unlike many other organizations coming in, so they have Ukrainian bank account and Ukrainian banks are closed. There's still an opportunity to donate to them through a wire transfer because electronic ways of doing banking is still there, it's still available... But what we are trying to do is set up a way for the international community to contribute, is easily for things like PayPal and, you know, Facebook fundraisers through all these easily available ways to raise money for nonprofits, in order to do that we need to create a way for us to set up a bank account or a sister non-profit organization that could collect money for that. So I'm a president of a nonprofit called Inner Way LA, and our board has agreed to act as a way to provide fiscal sponsorship, meaning that collecting money for this nonprofit in Ukraine is going to be a project of our non-profit. So we're using our non-profit status, using our bank account and using our fundraising tools. We can raise money for that nonprofit. So we're hoping that that will ease the ability for people internationally to donate money and we can speed up and get the funds over there. Because these people are already plugged into an existing infrastructure that needs help, because people are still having regular health issues, they're having new health issues and doctors are already stressed.... now they're being bombed."


~Dima Yepishin, Inner Way LA President

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"These Mahamudra teachings they're the most extensive and deep, and I'm not exaggerating, lineage of emptiness teachings that exist. It's extraordinarily precious, and it's important that this wisdom points to in our world. It's essential now that we all wake up to what these teachings are pointing out to us, and that we also save this jewel."


"I can't hoard the jewels. And this is perhaps... the Vajrayogini teachings of our lineage, you know, if I don't share them, it's a wrong deed, and I think I might get sick, actually. You know, I feel very physiologically at a deep, deep level called to pass this on."


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Study and Attend: Mahamudra with Kimberley on MindOasis

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