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Retreat Dharma Talks
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IMCB Regular Talks
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Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
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2016-08-25
"A Box Full of Darkness"
55:48
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James Baraz
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Mary Oliver wrote: "Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this too was a gift." When life brings us unwanted suffering it's sometimes possible to use the experience to deepen our wisdom and compassion, what has been called "grace disguised as obstacles."
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2016-09-08
"All It Takes Is a Moment"
48:23
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James Baraz
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Even when we see how the mind and heart are contracted and caught, we might still be stuck. Seeing clearly how we're identified with the "story" doesn't necessarily reduce the suffering. It's a good and important start. The real shift occurs when, at some point, the heart releases and truly opens to access genuine metta.
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2016-09-22
"The Issue of Othering"
58:04
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James Baraz
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Dedicated to the memory of Bob Kaneko, a dharma friend who recently passed away. As a child Bob spent years 4-8 in a Japanese Internment camp in California,1942-1946. This talk explores how easily we humans can unfairly treat and oppress those different from us. We see this daily in the media with hateful rhetoric stirring fears in many. How can we use practice to skillfully respond?
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2016-09-29
"The Four Faults of Natural Awareness"
57:04
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James Baraz
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James Baraz and son Adam Baraz discuss "The Four Faults of Natural Awareness", a Tibetan teaching (e.g.#1: "So close you can’t see it.") Adam presents the teaching and he and James discuss it with each other and community members.
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2016-10-06
Finding Freedom Through Grief
48:53
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James Baraz
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How can we process deep pain and turn it into deepening compassion and understanding? Kaye Cleave shares her moving story with James and the community about losing her 18-year old daughter and finding a way to transform her grief into meaningful beneficial action. The talk begins with this video about her trip to Nepal to build a school in honor of her daughter.
To view the video: Catherine's Gift, go to Youtube.com at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HILTuvNRXrg
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2016-10-20
"Schadenfreude: Working with Your less than Noble Thoughts"
57:21
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James Baraz
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People in powerful positions can cause suffering and harm to others by spreading hate. It's natural and healthy to want to see them defeated. But what about when we actually enjoy seeing their misfortune and demise? How can we use a dharma lens to understand and hold those feelings?
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2016-10-27
"How to Bring Wisdom and Compassion to our Communication"
61:56
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Kate Munding
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I’ll be giving a talk on wise and compassionate communication. Taking our practice into our relationships and everyday interactions is often where the “rubber meets the road”. It’s not easy to stay mindful when we interact with others. It’s even harder when we are in conflict, overcome with emotions, or trigger by circumstance. Can we stay present and committed to speech that is honest, timely, and kind? We’ll explore it all.
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2016-11-03
"The Big Shift: Learning to Open to Experience"
65:49
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James Baraz
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Our typical response to very negative or positive experiences is to contract in relation to them--either with aversion or attachment. The practice helps us cultivate a radical and much more skillful and profound relationship to them--having the courage and compassion to meet and learn from the negative as well as the wisdom to enjoy the positive while realizing its impermanence. This talk explores different qualities of heart and mind that help us do just that.
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