The description for the brief April 20th Insight Timer live event with the same title as this blog post was a sutta snippet: Ven. Ananda said to the Blessed One, “This is half of the holy life, lord: admirable friendship, admirable companionship, admirable camaraderie “Don’t say that, Ananda. Don’t say that. Admirable friendship, admirable companionship,Continue reading “Friendship: The Whole of the Spiritual Life”
Category Archives: Podcast
Feeling Feelings With Ann Hince
Professional speaker, author & spiritual teacher Ann Hince and I chat about various topics surrounding feelings, awareness, healing and the body: When I was 19, I woke one morning to find my mother dead face down in our bathroom. Twenty years later the tears from that trauma were still just under the surface. It tookContinue reading “Feeling Feelings With Ann Hince”
(Holistic) Physical Therapy, Buddhism, Sobriety And Alternative Education With Melissa Mayer
[5/2/2022 UPDATE: Uploaded overlooked mp3 for the non-youtube podcast version] Physical therapist and writer Melissa Mayer joins the podcast to talk about her life, work, and various topics of mutual interest like Buddhism, sobriety, travel, healing, service work, meditation and education. From Melissa’s bio I have been practicing physical therapy for over 13 years inContinue reading “(Holistic) Physical Therapy, Buddhism, Sobriety And Alternative Education With Melissa Mayer”
Studying And Practicing With “The Iddhipāda-Vibhaṅga Sutta — An Analysis Of The Bases Of Power”: Unpacking Hindrances And Another Translation Reading (2 of 7)
This second of the seven part series on “The Iddhipāda-Vibhaṅga Sutta — An Analysis Of The Bases Of Power” digs into four types of paired hindrances:
1 sluggishness/laziness
2 overly active/restlessness
3 inward constriction/sloth and torpor
4 outwardly scattered/five strands of sensuality
Don’t Associate With Fools
On April Fools Day I did an Insight Timer live talk with the above title and the description, “A brief chat about associating with the wise while setting aside fools (and that which comes with it)” a person who acts unwisely or imprudently; a silly person dictionary definition for “fool” Some notes for this talk:Continue reading “Don’t Associate With Fools”
Multi-month Pāramitā (Perfections) Challenge For March 2022
[4/29/2022 UPDATE: Zero Pāramitā Challenge provided (to me) for Month 8 / April 2022 yet and 5/23/2022 UPDATE: same thing for the month of May and presumably ongoing unless — barring other possibilities — readers and listeners see a new Pāramitā Challenge from the source and/or a new post/podcast published on IntegratingPresence.com] Expediency, supreme enlightenment,Continue reading “Multi-month Pāramitā (Perfections) Challenge For March 2022”
Being In And Of Nature
The description for this now edited recording of the March 28th, 2022 Insight Timer live event “Being In And Of Nature”: Weather and Insight Timer systems permitting I’ll speak to the challenges and benefits of practicing meditation in nature, under a tree and/or just simply being outdoors. Maybe some practice too I start off withContinue reading “Being In And Of Nature”
Readiness | (3/29/2022 — “Ask Us Anything – LIVE” With Lydia Grace And Joanne Muir)
Fellow Insight Timer teacher Lydia Grace once again inspired the title of this “Ask Us Anything” — live, monthly, open-audience, open-discussions about meditation and related topics. Recently on Lydia’s Insight Timer circle Embodied Living she said of her new three month training Radical Authenticity: “When the energy of empowerment lies dormant in our psyche, we are giving our powerContinue reading “Readiness | (3/29/2022 — “Ask Us Anything – LIVE” With Lydia Grace And Joanne Muir)”
An Integrating Presence Meditation: Peace. Peace. Peace. — March 20, 2022 At Fat Cat Longevity
This (now recorded and somewhat edited) mediation includes: Meditation Audio: Peace. Peace. Peace. Or listen via Insight Timer (app or website) Better than a thousand useless words is one useful word, hearing which one attains peace. Better than a thousand useless verses is one useful verse, hearing which one attains peace. Better than reciting aContinue reading “An Integrating Presence Meditation: Peace. Peace. Peace. — March 20, 2022 At Fat Cat Longevity”
Studying And Practicing With “The Iddhipāda-Vibhaṅga Sutta — An Analysis Of The Bases Of Power” (SN 51:20): Introduction; The Sutta’s Key Encapsulation Paragraph & A Translation Reading (1 of 7)
One reason this blog post and podcast series came about could likely be due to my meditation practice becoming stale and now provides an outlet for a somewhat more advanced level where details are dived into. If and when exploring this sutta on your own, it’s recommended to drop the intricate, sometimes tedious language I go into here to the fullest extent possible. It’s important to remember my intent here of placing plenty under a spiritual microscope to merely visit modes of deconstruction and analysis for study and (formal) practice possibilities, not as a general normalized mode of living. And while I go into minute details pertaining to this sutta please keep in mind it’s likely more helpful not to keep considering this sutta in isolation but within the broader context of the Buddha’s (other) teachings.
Integrating Presence 