Meditating regularly and cultivating mindfulness in our day-to-day lives can be very challenging.  But, as MOI teacher Mark Wiesman states in this week's talk, we have to keep remembering the reason for this practice -- to cultivate a mind of contentment.  To do this is not about arriving at any state of being, or being in peaceful bliss, but simply noticing what is happening as it's happening.  That's it!  Just being aware and watching how the mind reacts leads to wisdom and insight.  We...

This week's talk, given by MOI teacher Anne Savery, is all about love and pain.  "We can't have pain and suffering without love," Anne states, "and we can't have love without pain and suffering.  They are two sides of the same coin."  As Anne explains the connection between love and pain, she poses a few questions for us to explore, such as: (1) What is your tolerance for the unknown? and (2) What is the difference between acceptance and resignation?  Anne also explores love and pain through...

What is your typical experience of energy in practice?  Is it usually too much?  Too little?  It can be challenging to find the right balance of energy needed to support a daily practice.  In this week's talk, MOI teacher Johnathan Woodside focuses on the relationship between effort and energy.  He discusses how to work with a mind that is filled with lots of energy, as well as a mind that lacks energy.  "Effort begets energy," he states, "If I make effort, it tends to call up energy."  But...

In Buddhism, the terms desire, craving, greed, and wanting are often used interchangeably.  But do they all mean the same thing?  In this week's talk, Rev. Kyle Sorys explains the nuances of these terms and encourages us to explore for ourselves how they each manifest in daily life and practice.     If you feel inspired by these teachings, and wish to practice generosity, please consider supporting MOI and its teachers by visiting, https://mindfulnessoutreachinitiative.org/generosity/

Is there such a thing as Wrong Mindfulness?  What do we do if it is too hard to welcome everything in our practice?  And how do we practice with doubt?  In this week's talk, MOI teacher Mark Wiesman addresses these questions.  In doing so, he threads the importance of mindfulness and investigation when working with questions and difficulties that inevitably arise.  First, Mark states, that we simply start with being present and aware.  Then we investigate and ask ourselves, "What is the...

How do we become more fluid, more open, and more wise?  How do we embrace trust instead of giving in to fear?  In this week's talk, MOI teacher Anne Savery unpacks the path factor of Wise View, dividing it into the two components of fluidity and fixedness.  She asks us to reflect upon our own views and experiences, exploring how fluid or how fixed they can be.  Anne also revisits two important phrases that arise in her own practice: (1) "Habituate to openness," and (2) "Welcome everything;...

Have you ever experienced the feeling of confidence (or faith or devotion) in your spiritual practice?  Like mindfulness, it is a quality of mind to be cultivated.  When MOI teacher Johnathan Woodside speaks of confidence in this week's talk, he is not referring to that of arrogance, but that which arises out of wisdom and clear seeing.  He states that it comes from the trust that is established through personal lived experience.  As with everything, confidence is dependent on causes and...

The mind, by nature, is radiant, shining, and pure -- like perfectly refined gold. Yet, many difficulties can arise due to visiting forces in the mind, known as defilements. In this week's talk, MOI teacher Kyle Sorys explores the primary defilements of greed, aggression, and delusion. In addition to mentioning what they are and ways to work with them,  he also encourages us to deeply know them. "Tremendous understanding comes from being able to engage the defilements," he says, "It is this...

Based on past questions and conversations with students, MOI teacher Mark Wiesman discusses the following five topics: 1. Working with difficulties, especially with events from the past and worries about the future. 2. What's the purpose of this path?  What to do when practice feels like it's not working or going very well. 3. Counteracting the Five Hindrances of sensual desire, ill-will, sloth & torpor, restlessness & worry, and doubt. 4. The various Buddhist traditions. 5....

In this week's dharma talk, Anne Savery discusses the importance of pausing, reflection, and contemplation as it relates to the Winter season.  The cold months are a time for becoming still, slowing down, and connecting to gratefulness.  "How do we slow down?" Anne asks.  By scheduling in breaks, resisting the culture of business, being okay with the discomfort of slowing down, and reorganizing one's environment.   If you feel inspired by these teachings, and wish to practice generosity,...

Johnathan gives the first Dharma talk of the year, in which he discusses the power of cultivating generosity in our practice.  This practice, he emphasizes, is not about what we can get or what we can gain, but about how can we let go.  It's about shifting our mindset from that of not enough to that of abundance, gratefulness, and contentment.   If you feel inspired by these teachings, and wish to practice generosity, please consider supporting MOI and its teachers by visiting,...

Rev. Kyle Sorys gives the last dharma talk of 2021, in which he emphasizes the importance of commitment.  Committing oneself to daily meditation practice and a continuity of mindfulness with everything in life is very challenging, but with skillful effort and intentions, the practice becomes as natural as eating and brushing one's teeth. If you feel inspired by these teachings, and wish to practice generosity, please consider supporting MOI and its teachers by visiting,...