www.stillwatermpc.org

 

Dharma Topics

Each Thursday evening, we follow our meditation program with a discussion about bringing mindfulness into our lives, families, work, and society. Below are topics that we've discussed in the past.

The first section includes topics since June, 2011 -- the date we switched to a new newsletter service. The second section includes an earlier archive and covers 2004 to 2011.


 


 

Dharma Topics (2004 - 2011)


   
Embracing our place in the universe 7/28/2011
The Dalai Lama’s Teachings on Compassion and Living with Ease 7/21/2011
Making a Spiritual Commitment 7/14/2011
The Wisdom of Letting Pain Unfold 7/07/2011
Simply Being With Life 6/30/2011
Getting Even 6/23/2011
Learning to Really Listen 6/16/2011
Consumption and Our Inner World 6/09/2011
Committing to a Spiritual Path 6/02/2011
The Paradox of Healthy Boundaries 5/26/2001
What We Do When We Sit 5/19/2001
Challenges to Loving Speech 5/12/2001
Ending the War Within 5/05/2001
Life without Boundaries 4/28/2011
Being Here 4/21/2011
Another Golden Rule 4/14/2011
Growing Our Hearts 4/07/2011
Two Good Questions for Thay 3/31/2011
The Poetry of Spring 3/24/2011
Coming Home Together 3/17/2011
Finding Our Happiness 3/10/2011
Infusing the Present Moment with Gratitude 3/03/2011
Interbeing and Peanut Butter Cookies 2/24/2011
Mindful Politics: The Art of Blending Outrage and Awe 2/17/2011
My Heart Can No Longer Live Without Real Love! 2/10/2011
Yearning for Transcendence 2/03/2011
Supported by the Energy of Bodhisattvas 1/27/2011
Dangerous Unselfishness: The Life of Martin Luther King 1/20/2011
Training in Compassion 1/13/2011
Setting Our Intentions And Beginning Anew 1/06/2011
The Sweetness of Forgiveness 12/30/2010
The Practice of Giving 12/23/2010
Refining Our Lives 12/09/2010
It's All in Your Head 12/02/2010
Wonderment and Gratitude 11/25/2010
An Open Heart and a Sturdy Backbone 11/18/2010
The Difficulty of Right Speech 11/11/2010
Prayer, Practice, and Mystery 11/04/2010
Looking Deeply into Our Fears 10/28/2010
The Busyness In Our Lives 10/21/2010
What Have We Learned? 10/14/2010
No Happiness Without Freedom 10/07/2010
Sharing Our Joys 9/30/2010
Acceptance, Confidence, and Transcendence 9/23/2010
Sensory Experience and Neurotic Chatter 9/16/2010
Not Taking That Which Is Not Given 9/09/2010
The Mindfulness of Mindfulness Practice 9/02/2010
Joy on the Path of Service 8/26/2010
Natural Mind, Digital Mind 8/19/2010
This Moment Without Judgement 7/22/2010
Loss, Grief, and Celebration 7/15/2010
Panatipata: Reverence for Life 7/08/2010
We Are More Than Our Conditioning 7/01/2010
Being Happy While Acknowledging Pain 6/24/2010
May You Be Safe, May You Be Happy 6/17/2010
Transforming Anger 6/10/2010
Exploring Nourishment, Rest and Downtime 6/03/2010
Awakening to Craving: Exploring Our Relationship to Material Objects 5/27/2010
What Are You Feeling Right Now? 5/20/2010
Wrestling with Tension 5/13/2010
Home, Homelessness, and Not Knowing 5/06/2010
Our Bodies as Teachers 4/29/2010
Earth Gathas: Meditations for Daily Life 4/22/2010
Forgiveness, Repentance, Criminal Justice,
and Mindfulness
4/15/2010
The Journey from Judgment to Awe 4/08/2010
No Mud, No Lotus 4/01/2010
Going as a River 3/25/2010
Stroke of Insight 3/18/2010
Intimacy and Enlightenment 3/11/2010
Stay Out of the Ruts and Keep Moving 3/4/2010
May I Be Well, May I Be Happy, May I Live With Ease 2/25/2010
Learning to Forgive 2/18/2010
Moon Viewing Is Our Practice 2/4/2010
how it is that we live forever 1/28/2010
Celebrating an American Bodhisattva 1/21/2010
Engaged Generosity 1/14/2010
Setting An Intention To Be Mindfully Present 1/7/2010
A Just-Before-the-New Year Beginning Anew 12/31/09
Christmas Lessons 12/24/09
Giving the Gift of Peace 12/17/09
Responding to Suffering, Experiencing Joy 12/10/09
On Not Taking the Bait: Pleasure, Joy, and Mindfulness 12/03/09
Joyous Thanks Giving 11/26/09
Loneliness and Interconnection 11/19/09
Mindfulness Trainings and Freedom 11/12/09
What Do We Do With Desire? 11/05/09
Living Free 10/29/09
Prayer for Grown Ups 10/22/09
Arriving in Each Step 10/15/09
A Wholehearted Commitment to Practice 10/01/09
Commodity Time, Organic Time, and Zen Time 10/01/09
Spiritual Friends 09/24/09
The Present Moment is the Door 09/17/09
Trainings and Transformation 09/10/09
Sovereign not Controlling 09/03/09
Sweet Gentle Glory 08/27/09
Are you Sure? 08/20/09
The Fifth Mindfulness Training 08/13/09
Exploring Our Expectations and Commitment 08/06/09
Quieting the Body 07/30/09
Healing the Earth 07/23/09
Leaning Into Center 07/16/09
Inspiring Self-Confidence, Joy, and Hope 07/09/09
Practicing Because We Like It 07/02/09
Compassion and the Five Earth Touchings 06/25/09
One Person, One Tree, One Planet – One and the Same 06/18/09
Protecting Ourselves and Society 06/11/09
Mindfulness: The Basics 06/04/09
Touching the Earth -- Connection with Our Ancestors 05/28/09
A Beautiful Continuation 05/21/09
Generosity as a Practice 05/14/09
No Longer the Victim 05/07/09
Practicing Compassion 04/30/09
Keeping Compassion Alive 04/23/09
The Bells of Mindfulness are Sounding 04/16/09
Why Not Kill? 04/09/09
Joyfully Experiencing Emptiness 04/02/09
Soothing Our Hungry Ghost 03/26/09
The Optimistic Environmentalist 03/19/09
Mind Wanting More, 03/12/09
A Contemplation on Bowing 03/05/09
Compassionate Self-Discipline 02/26/09
Okay with Aging 02/19/09
Change -- Can we believe in it?! 02/12/09
Learning to Forgive 02/05/09
Deepening Our Commitment 01/29/09
Bodhisattvas Among Us 01/22/09
Peaceful Communication with Oneself 01/15/09
Setting Our Course 01/08/09
Bodhisattva St. Nick 12/18/08
Going for Refuge 12/11/08
Touching Great Suffering 12/04/08
Lessons from the Long Walk 11/20/08
The Third Mindfulness Training 11/13/08
Mindfulness, Change, and Uncertainty 11/06/08
The Places that Scare You 10/30/08
Touching the Earth, Sensing Our Bodies 10/23/08
The Five Mindfulness Trainings and Their Relevance to Our Society 10/16/08
Equanimity 10/02/08
Five Earth Touchings 09/25/08
Right View with Richard Brady 09/18/08
The Three Gifts 09/11/08
Sustaining a Practice 09/04/08
Touching What Is True 08/28/08
True Emptiness and Interbeing 08/21/08
Simple, Unadulterated Delight 08/14/08
Mindfulness, Transitions, and the Sangha Journey 08/07/08
Setting Our Intentions 07/31/08
Each Step a Prayer 07/24/08
The Five Earth Remembrances 07/17/08
Killing and the Practice of Compassion 07/10/08
Cranking Up and Cranking Down 07/03/08
Mindfulness and Self-Improvement 06/26/08
Scaling-Up Mindfulness, Compassion, and Community 06/19/08
Generosity Brings Happiness 06/12/08
Practice, Lightness, and Joy 06/05/08
Tibet, Hope, and the Future with Losang Rabgey 05/29/08
Mindful Leadership 05/22/08
My Mother's Ashes 05/15/08
The Difficulties of Consuming Mindfully 05/08/08
Letting The Beauty We Love Be What We Do 05/01/08
Intimate Ecology 04/24/08
Consuming With Awareness 04/17/08
Speaking Mindfully in the Midst of the Storm 04/10/08
Creating Fear When There is Nothing to Fear 04/03/08
The Bodhisattvas in Us 03/27/08
Becoming Less Violent 03/20/08
Happiness Without A Hangover 03/13/08
Cultivating Happiness 03/06/08
Reconciling With Our Personal Histories 02/28/08
A Mindful Response to Terrorism 02/21/08
A Generous Heart 02/14/08
What Are We Doing When We Are Sitting? 02/07/08
What Brings You Joy 01/31/08
Martin Luther King's Dream and Our Dreams 01/24/08
Life Is Now Or Never 01/17/08
First Mindfulness Training 01/10/08
Speaking From Our Hearts 01/03/08
Breathing In, Freaking Out 12/20/07
The Buddha in Myself 12/13/07
Conscious Breathing: Do I Do That? 12/06/07
Interbeing As A Practice 11/29/07
Our Psychic Circulation 11/15/07
Understanding Our Cravings 11/08/07
Daddy, I feel so sad 11/01/07
Reaching Out 10/25/07
As We Really Are 10/18/07
Totally Open, Present, There Always Love 10/11/07
We Can Always Love 10/04/07
Celebrating Our Ancestors 9/27/07
Welcoming Our Sorrows 9/20/07
Mindful and Sensual
9/13/07
Firmer, Simpler -- Quieter, Warmer
Working with and Walking with those who are Without Homes
9/06/07
Sharing Our Joys /Let the Buddha Breathe 8/30/07
My Nature Is The Ocean Water 8/23/07
Identifying Our Strengths 8/16/07
Generosity on a Shoestring? 8/9/07
Breathe! You Are Alive 8/2/07
Am I Free? 7/26/07
Mindfulness and the Brain 7/19/07
Knowing Our Fears
7/12/07
Both Dreadful and Wonderful
7/05/07
Life as an Ocean of Energetic Layers 6/28/07
Joyfully Sharing the Merit 6/21/07
Side Railings on Mountain Paths 6/14/07
Ending Suffering -- Why We Practice 6/7/07
Releasing Our Traumas 5/31/07
Offering Joy 5/24/07
No One Can Purify Another 5/17/07
Distinguishing Wants and Needs 5/10/07
Silk Threads and Wild Beasts 5/3/07
Letting Go 4/26/07
Science and Buddhism 4/19/07
Speaking Compassionately and Mindfully to Others 4/12/07
On-The-Spot Practices 4/5/07
Welcoming Spring 3/29/07
Special Touchings of the Earth 3/22/07
Sending Love, Healing Wounds 3/15/07
Creative Responsibility 3/8/07
Enjoying Our Breath, Mindful of our Listening 3/01/07
The Buddha's Smile 2/22/07
Talking Compassionately to Ourselves 2/15/07
The Sangha River 2/8/07
From Self-Hate to Loving Kindness 2/1/07
Being Peace in a Time of War 1/25/07
Mindfulness and Martin Luther King, Jr. 1/18/07
The Joy of Commitment 1/11/07
Cultivating Peace 1/04/07
A Fresh Beginning 12/28/06
Season of Love 12/21/06
Cultivating Compassion and Protecting Life 12/14/06
The Demon of Busyness 12/7/06
Ambassador Stringbean
The Mother of All Buddhas 11/17/06
To Love is to Protect 11/9/06
Finding the Middle Way 11/2/06
Responding to Suffering 10/26/06
Only the Mountain Remains 10/19/06
"Broken Cookies Have No Calories" 10/12/06
George Bush and Right Speech 10/5/06
Submission, Rebellion, or Reconciliation 9/28/06
Joyful Diligence 9/21/06
The World Trade Center and Gandhi  9/14/06
Aspirations, Friends, and Community 9/7/06
I Am Large, I Contain Multitudes 8/31/06
Not Turning Away from Suffering 8/24/06
Peace is Every Step (The Film) 8/17/06
Clay Pots, Metaphors, and Mindful Speech 8/10/06
Mind and Body Together 8/3/06
Being a Bodhisattva 7/27/06
Mindful Breathing 7/20/06
Freedom and Commitment 7/13/06
Not Thinking Too Much 7/6/06
Breathing Mindfully 6/29/06
How Unique and Precious We Are 6/22/06
In Your Heart's Garden 6/15/06
Generosity 6/8/06
Bodhichitta -- Finding Our Soft Spot 6/1/06
Living in the Present 5/25/06
Growing Our Hearts 5/18/06
Cultivating Compassion 5/11/06
Is Happiness Naive or Realistic? 5/4/06
The Connectedness of Life 4/27/06
Discipline, Morality, and Mindfulness 4/20/06
Right Consumption as Loving Oneself 4/13/06
Looking for Happiness in All the Wrong Places 4/6/06
Interbeing, Love, and God 3/30/06
What We Do Matters 3/23/06
The Practice of Generosity 3/16/06
Compassionate Listening, Loving Speech 3/9/06
Liberation by Insight 3/2/06
Bodhisattva Inspiration 2/23/06
Winter Blues and Mindfulness 2/16/06
Unconditional Love 2/9/06
Open Body, Open Mind 2/2/06
Letting Go of Resentment 1/26/06
MLK - Being Fully Human 1/19/06
Urges, Impulse, Emotions and the Spiritual Life 1/12/06
Being More Fully Present 1/5/06
Reflections and Intentions 12/29/05
Celebrating Solstice 12/22/05
Love in the Face of Impermanence 12/15/05
Stealing Comes in Many Forms 12/8/05
Love is Indiscriminate 12/1/05
Thanksgiving and Special Still Water MPC Events
Healing Our Wounds 11/17/05
A Heart Less Calloused 11/10/05
Spiritual Direction and Still Water Orientation 11/3/05
Trusting a Community 10/27/05
Voluntary simplicity 10/20/05
Transforming Through Practice 10/13/05
Nurturing Compassion 10/6/05
Seeing Life Through the Ultimate Dimension 9/29/05
Creating Joy for Others and for Ourselves 9/22/05
Responding to Suffering 9/15/05
Helping Hurricane Katrina Victims 9/8/05
Our Experience of Meditation 9/1/05
Practicing in the Midst of Turmoil 8/25/05
Interbeing 8/18/05
Consuming What Is Truly Good for Us 8/11/05
Can Work Be Play? 8/4/05
Being Fully Present 7/28/05
Loss and Transformation 7/21/05
Being Unconditional Love 7/14/05
Redemptive Violence and Its Alternatives 7/7/05
Celebrating Life in the Present Moment 6/30/05
The Three Touchings of the Earth 6/23/05
Transforming Listlessness 6/16/05
Deep Listening 6/9/05
Celebration, Busyness, and Mindfulness 6/2/05
The Energy of the Bodhisattvas 5/26/05
Learning to Live 5/19/05
Cultivating Authentic Responsibility 5/12/05
Guilt to Joy - Transforming Regret 5/5/05
Growing our Hearts 4/28/05
Mindfulness: The Middle Way in the Modern World 4/21/05
Cultivating Loving Kindness 4/14/05
Generosity and Making an Effort 4/7/05
Sharing Our Joy -- Tea Ceremony 3/31/05
Helping Avalokitesvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion 3/24/05
Our Need for Mindfulness 3/17/05
Returning to Life 3/10/05
Sharing Silence and SW Orientation 3/3/05
Does Time March On or Stew? 2/24/05
Drumming Up Mindfulness 2/17/05
Mindfulness and Lizard Brains 2/10/05
The Enlightened Samaritan 2/3/05
Manifestation, Presence, and Love 1/27/05
Celebrating Martin Luther King 1/20/05
Diets, Cravings, and RA-ELI 1/13/05
Recognizing, Embracing, Transforming 1/6/05
Setting our Intentions 12/30/04
Solstice, Brunch and Cups 12/23/04
Delighting Even in our Suffering 12/16/04
Karma and Concepts 12/9/04
Mindfulness Trainings and Social Action 12/2/04
Gratitude and Love - A Thanksgiving Message
Ambassador Stringbean 11/18/04
The Demon of Self-Doubt 11/11/04
Mindful Speech and the Election 11/04/04
Never Despising, Never Giving Up 10/28/04
The Nurturing Community 10/21/04
Our Life is a Work of Art 10/14/04
Penetrating our Loneliness 10/7/04
Touching the Earth - Mindful Politics 9/30/04
Practice, Karma, and Transformation 9/23/04
Coming to Our Senses 9/16/04
Walking Peace 9/9/04
The Gift of Non-Fear 9/2/04
Experiencing Interbeing 8/26/04
Unconditional Love and Forgiveness 8/19/04
The Earth Charter and Us 8/12/04
No Birth/No Death = No Killing? 8/5/04
Touchings of the Earth 7/29/04
Mindfulness in the Christian Tradition 7/22/04
Complaints are Not the Truth 7/15/04
Touching Seeds of Joy 7/8/04
The Pleasures of the Moment 7/1/04
The Compassionate Practice of Setting Boundaries 6/24/04
Understanding and Forgiveness 6/17/04
Mindfulness in Everyday Life 6/10/04
Diet for a Mindful Society 6/3/04
No Coming, No Going Tea Ceremony 5/27/04
Being our Own Heroes 5/20/04
Mindfulness, Compassion, and Iraqi Brutalities 5/13/04
Right Speech and Expressing Our Suffering 5/6/04
Gratitude and Transformation 4/29/04
The Heart of Nonviolent Communication 4/22/04
Mindfulness and Nonviolent Communication 4/15/04
Mindfully Sharing Together 4/8/04
Loneliness and S-xual Energy 4/1/04
Identifying with the Great Stream of Life 3/25/04
Making Mindful Choices 3/18/04
Just Being with Our Thoughts 3/11/04
Genuinely Nourishing 3/4/04
Practicing Joy on the Path of Service 2/26/04
Why We Practice 2/19/04
What Keeps You from Simply Being Present? 2/12/04
Nourishing Love and Understanding 1/22/04
Healing Ourselves and Others 1/15/04
Basic Practice and Metta Meditation 1/8/04