Special PODCAST:
This talk explores the 7th of the Ten Perfections: Honesty and Truthfulness.
You'll learn about the search for truth, the recognition of truth, how to attune to truth and some guidelines for speaking the truth in difficult situations.
Subscribe to Jonathan's podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/jonathan-foust/id455422434?ign-mpt=uo%3D4
iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
Special PODCAST:
This talk explores the sixth of the Ten Perfections: Tolerance and Forbearance.
You'll learn about the power of refraining from hurting those who have hurt you, how to cope with the suffering you have to endure, how to develop confidence in the ultimate truth and how to be more aware of the the 'near-enemies' of tolerance.
Subscribe to Jonathan's podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/jonathan-foust/id455422434?ign-mpt=uo%3D4
iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
Special PODCAST:
This talk explores the fifth of the Ten Perfections: Energy and Vitality.
You'll explore the importance of understanding the limited time and energy you have in this life and how to assess and manage your energy in a way that creates a 'virtuous cycle' of well-being.
Subscribe to Jonathan's podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/jonathan-foust/id455422434?ign-mpt=uo%3D4
iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
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please signup here.
It's a muddy vortex of whirlpools, floating trees and unrelenting current. Ducks, geese, mergansers and cormorants have left for calmer waters. Due to the morning gloom I've missed the seasonal images of pollen-laden air backlit by the sunrise.
Nature is, if nothing else, an improvisor.
The flowers are heavy with color, the green of things is as green as it ever could be and the frogs, peepers and snakes look happy as the bogs have expanded their territory. The other day on a hike a monster snapping turtle saw us, turned with surprising speed, and slid back into the muck.
I'm exploring a set of classic teachings I've not payed a lot of attention to before: "The Ten Perfections." If there ever was a list that looked like it was customized for ruthless self-judgement and a feeling of eternally falling short, it would be this one.
Perfection? What does that even mean?
I've come to see how when you cultivate these qualities they shine like the polished facets of a gem. Rather than the 'thou shalt not' perspective, you can view these as descriptions of a fully integrated and thriving life.
Here's the list: * Generosity and Giving of Oneself
* Morality and Life-Supporting Conduct
* Renunciation and Letting Go of What is Not Needed
* Wisdom and Insight
* Energy and Vigor
* Patience and Tolerance
* Honesty and Truthfulness
* Determination and Resolution
* Loving Kindness and Empathy
* Equanimity and Serenity Swami Kripalu spoke about how inter-related these observances can be. Like a string of beads, if you pick up one bead, the others naturally follow. When you look at these more closely, you can see how interdependent they are.
If you cultivate generosity, you'll naturally find your conduct toward yourself and others more life-affirming.
If you let go of what's not truly needed, you'll naturally be less distracted and see more clearly into the nature of reality.
If you'd like to catch any of these talks, here's what I've got so far on both my podcast and on youtube:
1. How to Cultivate a More Generous Heart
2. How to Align Your Actions with Your Goals
3. How to Let Go of What's Not Aligned with Your Heart
4. How to Cultivate Wisdom and Insight
When someone tells me their relationship is ending I can't help but ask "When did you know it wasn't going to work out?"
I'm no longer surprised when people say, "I had a feeling at the beginning."
How many times have you ignored your sense of what is best for you? How many times have you agonized over a decision, torn by all your options and the opinionated voices in your head? How many times have you wondered what your life would look like if it was less driven by fear?
If you are interested in exploring and developing the relationship between meditation and intuition in your life, this five-day residential program in the Berkshire Mountains is a blend of inner-focused practices with being in the community of our retreat as well as the Kripalu community.
At Kripalu you'll enjoy wonderful people, amazing food and a smorgasbord of supportive activities ranging from talented hands on healers to yoga and dance classes, swimming in the lake and hiking.
This topic has been a passion of mine for decades. I always look forward to this retreat and love sharing the discoveries and insights that come from sincere, focused inquiry in a safe and supportive environment.
If this feels like a match for you, I hope you can join me in connecting your capacity to 'see clearly' with a deep dive into the most important questions in your life. If you have any questions, feel free to get in touch with me.
For more information and to register.
The flooded river means I was a landlubber this month.
A snapping turtle heads back to the primordial ooze.
The eaglet is now a juvenile and about ready to launch.
Tripped out fern.
Tripped out Persimmon flowers.
Tripped out Coleus.
Peony about to explode.
Exploded Peony.
More rain in the forecast.
Here's a short overview of The Still, Small Voice Within retreat in July.
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iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
Special PODCAST:
This talk explores the fourth of the Ten Perfections: Wisdom and Insight.
You'll learn about the qualities of a wise person, what gets in the way of wisdom, how to cultivate greater wisdom and insight in your life and the delicate balance of wisdom and compassion.
Subscribe to Jonathan's podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/jonathan-foust/id455422434?ign-mpt=uo%3D4
iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
Special PODCAST:
This talk explores the third of the Ten Perfections: Renunciation.
You'll learn the importance of goals and the challenge of distractions, what it means to simplify and live your life aligned with what you most want.
Subscribe to Jonathan's podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/jonathan-foust/id455422434?ign-mpt=uo%3D4
iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
Special PODCAST:
This talk explores the second of the Ten Perfections: Virtue and Ethical Conduct.
You'll explore the importance of having clear goals in life and using ruthless and honest self-assessment to ensure what you are doing is fully aligned with the outcome you seek.
Subscribe to Jonathan's podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/jonathan-foust/id455422434?ign-mpt=uo%3D4
iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
To receive a monthly newsletter,
please signup here.
Last fall a pair of eagles decided to make their home nearby on an island on the Potomac River.
I got to watch them build their nest, tend their eggs and just the other day, got a first look at their offspring, a healthy, curious and lively eaglet.
We've got babies everywhere these days.
Despite the struggles in our culture right now, it's helpful to remember that not only does life go on, but there is a freshness and openess that comes when we embrace the here and now.
"I can't sit still when I meditate!," Sarah complained. "It's like you described it... my mind is like a caffeinated chipmunk! How can I meditate when my mind is on fire like this?"
There's a classic line that says, "Enlightenment is an accident. Meditation makes you accident-prone."
You can't make 'enlightenment' happen. But you can create the most optimal environment possible.
If you've got a lot of tension and stress in your life, you may find some active, mindful movement is the best way to prepare your mind for meditation and the subtle art of 'non-judging awareness.'
Movement helps you release the deep-seated tensions in your body. When you contact the places inside where you feel tightness, congestion, stagnation and enervation you can notice them and breathe, relax, watch and allow. Chances are you may feel some of those sensations start to shift, change, diffuse or soften.
Have you noticed your meditation feels deeper after you exercise or do some yoga? Your body has probably dumped some serious tension and has allowed you to feel more calm and centered.
When I'm keyed up, anxious or stressed and have, say, half an hour to practice, I may take ten or fifteen minutes to move mindfully. Then when I sit, I feel more present, less at war with my mind.
And more 'accident-prone.'
If you live in the DC area and would like to explore how to balance movement, meditation and relaxation in your life, you might like to check out a daylong retreat I'm offering on May 13th.
It's called "A Meditative Journey: Mindful Movement, Meditation and Deep Relaxation"
I learned something about generosity the other day.
My friend Tony and I went out for dinner at the Waterfront in Washington, DC. I had just given a talk to a gathering of business professionals interested in meditation.
We found a Chinese restaurant where I felt sure I could find something vegan.
While we had a great time hanging out, my plate of vegetarian Pad Thai was not only meager, but tasted like something you'd dump into a bowl dry and then add hot water. I counted three pieces of vegetable and roughly four crushed peanuts.
Tony's dish was a little bigger than my fist and looked unremarkable on all counts.
No drinks. No side-dishes. No dessert. $60.00.
$30.00 for a dish that cost about $2.98?
First I was incensed. Then I was resentful.
When pen in hand, perusing this outrageous bill, I paused, pondering the tip.
Wait a minute. The serving staff did a fine job. They'd taken our order on time, didn't mess it up, checked back a few times to ensure we were OK.
Was I going to punish these people for these rip-off prices?
Years ago, inspired by some cool people in my life, I decided I wanted to be a generous person. A well-wisher of all.
One place I could practice that was in tipping. I always erred on the side of generosity and noticed not only no ill effect, but three things:
1. Pleasure at the anticipation of being generous.
2. Pleasure at being generous.
3. Pleasure on the reflection of being generous.
I ended up giving a big tip and in retrospect, I'm grateful the servers didn't have to bear the brunt of my anger. Does that mean I'd go back to that restaurant? No. That I'd tell others to go? No. That I might write up an honest review? Yes.
Being generous does not mean condoning bad behavior. It doesn't mean not standing up to bullies and injustice. It does mean you 'look for the good,' as my friend James Baraz says.
The practice of generosity means that you move from a self-centered person to new possibilities. I recently gave a talk called "How to Cultivate a Generous Heart," the first of ten talks on the "Ten Perfections." You can catch it here on iTunes, here on the web and here on youtube.
Other recent talks this month:
Making It Happen vs. Letting It Happen
How to Be with Sickness and Pain
Last fall, two eagles started ferrying in nest supplies.
They worked hard and fast putting together their new home. The nest is now the size of a small car.
The first sighting of our new neighbor.
The bluebells were stunning this year. Acres and acres.
Big morning sky over the Stockbridge Bowl in Western MA.
The Great Blues have staked out their turf.
Fresh chlorophyll in the morning light.
Here’s a little introduction to the "Meditative Journey" retreat I’m leading this month.
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please signup here.
iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
Special PODCAST:
This talk explores the first of the "Ten Perfections," on generosity.
You'll learn what the Buddha taught about generosity, how the practice can dramatically impact your consciousness, the key to completing the cycle of generosity and a reflection how you might personally embrace the practice.
Subscribe to Jonathan's podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/jonathan-foust/id455422434?ign-mpt=uo%3D4
iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
Special PODCAST:
This talk explores the differences between the practices of willful effort and conscious surrender.
You'll learn about skillful and unskillful strategies as well as suggestions as to how you can find your personal point of balance between doing and being.
Subscribe to Jonathan's podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/jonathan-foust/id455422434?ign-mpt=uo%3D4
iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
Special PODCAST:
This talk explores how cultivating humility can transform your life and your effectiveness in the world.
You’ll learn about the formation of the self, the nature of selflessness, what it’s like to be selfless in your work and relationships and how to find the balance between healthy self-esteem and humility.
Subscribe to Jonathan's podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/jonathan-foust/id455422434?ign-mpt=uo%3D4
iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
To receive a monthly newsletter,
please signup here.
It’s Spring in the mid-Atlantic!
Geese are pairing off and claiming their turf on the islands. The eaglets are a few weeks old and being served up fresh food from doting parents. Our lactating fox comes by more often to search for uncracked sunflower seeds under the bird feeder.
And there’s pollen. Lots of it. And mud. And baby snakes everywhere. And vicious little fast-moving mosquitos.
Good news? Bad news? Who knows?
I wish you well into this new season of change.
If you’re looking for powerful retreats where you can get away and and take a deep dive, here are a few programs I’m offering at Kripalu Center:
This is a "blow out the tubes" intensive where you’ll explore a range of practices and a powerful form of transformational breathwork, all in the context of social silence and a great community.
What is the most reliable and direct way to tap into inner knowing? It has a lot to do with the kinesthetic intuition - how your body holds information. This five day immersion takes you through practices that help you calm and clear your mind, formulate the questions most important to you and powerfully develop your capacity to both listen and interpret what arises.
For yoga teachers working toward their 500-hour professional training certification, this is an immersion into using meditative language in asana as well as an experiential training in simple and profound meditation techniques.
For more information and to register, click the banner to learn more:
Attachment leads to suffering.
But are all desires 'bad?'
In a recent talk on Desire and Addiction, I explore this phenomenon through the lens of the four essential principles that inform Buddhist psychology:
1. The fact of stress and suffering.
2. The cause of stress and suffering.
3. The cessation of stress and suffering.
4. The path - practices, observations and restraints - that lead to the release of stress and suffering.
Anything you do that reliably takes you away from the ‘here and now' could be described as an addiction. That includes substances as well as the subtlety of thoughts and stories.
What is the antidote?
Two things:
Wisdom is your capacity to see clearly and recognize when you are less than fully alive.
Compassion is your capacity to hold your experience with empathy and kindness.
One of my go-to addictive patterns is worry.
As far back as I recall, I worried. A lot.
One particular memory stands out. I think I was about six or seven.
My aunt and uncle were visiting our farm in the Pennsylvania Dutch Country for the holidays. They were both English professors, as was my father. During the meal the conversation moved toward esoteric Phd dissertation topics.
After dinner I remember sitting on the smoke house roof feeling sick and desperate.
"What am I going to do my dissertation on? All the good topics will be taken by the time I get there! What am I going to do to be successful? If there are no good dissertation topics, should I be a doctor or a lawyer?"
But then another thought popped in.
"What if I helped people? Could I be someone who helped people and survive?"
That question kicked off a new set of possibilities. Maybe I could be someone who helped.
That new 'desire' fueled my interest in service and set the stage for an amazing life journey.
So perhaps not all desires are bad. 'Wholesome' desires can be expansive and heart-opening.
We are ruled by desire, and some of them are wonderful.
You desire inner peace. You desire to provide for your family. To be more compassionate. To be more awake and kind.
In my second talk, Desire and Liberation, I take a closer look at 'wholesome desires.'
There is still a 'self' desiring wholesome states. Ultimately, one could argue, that 'self' evolves and/or perhaps dissolves.
But until then, it can be helpful to reflect on what you desire that opens your heart, expands your consciousness and opens up new possibilities.
Desire and Addiction Website, iTunes and YouTube
Desire, Addiction and Liberation Website, iTunes and YouTube
Frisbee, anyone?
Hunting for the family.
Momma Fox
40 Arctic Tundra Swans stopped by for a week or so.
Heading north for breeding season.
The eaglets have hatched!
Geese are pairing off on the islands.
Warm weather coaxed the Blue Bells out, then froze them pretty solid.
Preening at dawn.
If you’d like explore two minutes of Coherent Breathing, this video guides you through seven long, slow deep breaths with some scenes from the Potomac this month.
If you want to establish or revitalize your mindfulness practice, Tara and Jack Kornfield have created a a wonderful program to get you into action. Called Mindfulness Dailyit is a 40 day, 15 minute a day course, that will systematically deepen your practice of mindfulness and compassion.
It’s low cost and effective... here's the link.
To receive a monthly newsletter,
please signup here.
iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
Special PODCAST:
This talk explores ways you can more mindfully be with physical stress and suffering.
You'll learn about the inevitability of sickness and pain in your life and some fundamental teachings and strategies for being fully present in difficult times.
Subscribe to Jonathan's podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/jonathan-foust/id455422434?ign-mpt=uo%3D4
iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
Special PODCAST:
This talk explores the relationship between desire and liberation.
You’ll learn how your desires can be informed by fear as well as by compassion, kindness and love and how liberation may simply be the absence of any and all desires.
Subscribe to Jonathan's podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/jonathan-foust/id455422434?ign-mpt=uo%3D4
iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
Special PODCAST:
This talk explores some elemental teachings on desire and it’s relationship to addiction.
You’ll learn how stress is part of the human condition, how you tend to get caught in reactive patterns to stress, the key to finding inner peace and some thoughts about the practices that lead you to greater freedom.
Subscribe to Jonathan's podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/jonathan-foust/id455422434?ign-mpt=uo%3D4
iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
To receive a monthly newsletter,
please signup here.
Robert Frost said, "In two words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life...It changes."
This winter here in the mid-Atlantic is so warm the trees never went dormant. The slightest warming results in fresh pollen. A few days ago the spring peepers at the pond were so loud I had to shout over them to be heard. The fox look surprisingly plump for mid-winter.
I’ve have been working on a talk about change recently and started paying particular attention to my reactions. Some changes I love and some freak me out.
Transcendent of the flux of change lies a capacity to observe without judgement and to react without fear.
May we all come to know that place more intimately.
If you’re looking for powerful retreats where you can get away and and take a deep dive, here are a few programs I’m offering at Kripalu Center:
This is a "blow out the tubes" intensive where you’ll explore a range of practices and a powerful form of transformational breathwork, all in the context of social silence and a great community.
What is the most reliable and direct way to tap into inner knowing? It has a lot to do with the kinesthetic intuition - how your body holds information. This five day immersion takes you through practices that help you calm and clear your mind, formulate the questions most important to you and powerfully develop your capacity to both listen and interpret what arises.
For yoga teachers working toward their 500-hour professional training certification, this is an immersion into using meditative language in asana as well as an experiential training in simple and profound meditation techniques.
For more information and to register, click the banner to learn more:
Henry David Thoreau refused to pay poll taxes for six years because he objected to money going to the war and to support slavery.
For this he was jailed.
His good friend, writer and philosopher, Ralph Waldo Emerson allegedly came to visit him and asked: "David, what are you doing inside this jail?
Thoreau responded: "Ralph, what are you doing outside this jail?"
I’ve made some comments on politics in this newsletter and in some dharma talks, notably a talk called "How to Keep Your Heart Open During the Election".
I got some feedback. Some of it was trolling with a truly nasty edge, some was tinged with anger and exasperation, but a lot was thoughtful. I’ve done my best to understand the points of view from each person and I’m grateful for the opportunity to be in dialog.
There’s a story of someone asking a wise, non-dual teacher, "What do I do about others?"
The teacher responded, "There is no other."
I take that to mean that any perception we have of others is simply a reflection of ourselves.
It’s been hard sometimes to listen fully and ensure that I have heard what another has said and to contemplate their message fully without judgement. The result, though, is that I feel more enriched and full.
I despair at the escalating levels of anger, violence and intolerance in our culture.
The more reactive I get, the more I need to find a place of inner stillness and steadiness.
If I’ve offended you in any way with my unskillful rhetoric, I ask your forgiveness.
It’s my hope, even in these times of escalating discord, we can continue to let go, forgive and look for commonality.
I recently gave a talk entitled "Forgiveness and Letting Go as a Spiritual Practice."
It explores the ‘science’ behind forgiveness and a reflection you may find helpful.
A week on retreat. The Meditation Hall at the Forest Refuge.
Off for breakfast. The Eagles are now in active egg-tending mode.
Punked out Mergansers.
Gull invasion. This time of year they show up to eat the early hatching larvae.
Fat Feasting February Fox.
A shot of Wild Turkey at sunrise.
Morning shift change.
This is short clip with images and impressions from my winter retreat.
You’re gonna die.
And get sick. And probably get old.
A great yogi once said, "The greatest wonder in the world is that everyone dies. The second greatest wonder in the world is that no one thinks they will."
How do you want to live, knowing you will die?
That’s the meat of this talk. If you only have a few minutes, it starts off with a few short jokes if you’d like a little hit of humor in your day.
For the Website, follow this link for the podcast, and this link for youtube.
To receive a monthly newsletter,
please signup here.
iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
Special PODCAST:
This talk explores the reality of change and how you can shift your relationship to what is happening in your life.
You’ll learn how change is an essential fact of reality, how you can learn to embrace change and what it means to live in a world that seems to be changing faster and faster.
Subscribe to Jonathan's podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/jonathan-foust/id455422434?ign-mpt=uo%3D4
iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
Special PODCAST:
This is short clip with images and impressions from my winter retreat.
If you’d like to here more of the nitty gritty, here’s my talk, "Four Things I Learned on My Winter Retreat"
youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTuM1TzZNZo podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/jonathan-foust/id455422434?mt=2 Subscribe to Jonathan's podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/jonathan-foust/id455422434?ign-mpt=uo%3D4 iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
Special PODCAST:
This talk explores how to find freedom in relationship to sickness, old age, death and embracing ‘reality-based’ practices.
You’ll learn how deeply investigating these phenomena helps you to savor and celebrate this life and to re-dedicate yourself to live your life fully.
Subscribe to Jonathan's podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/jonathan-foust/id455422434?ign-mpt=uo%3D4
iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
Special PODCAST:
This talk explores the transformative power of forgiveness and letting go.
You’ll learn about the consequences of not letting go, how to motivate yourself to change, the technology of forgiveness and what it means to cultivate a forgiving heart as a personal practice.
Subscribe to Jonathan's podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/jonathan-foust/id455422434?ign-mpt=uo%3D4
iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.