The Heart of Light Podcast

Mike’s Dharma Talk, 2022.08.15

This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on August 15, 2022, about the Courage to Walk Alongside.  How do we accompany others so that our compassion authentically lands in their lives?  How are our own boundaries a profound gift to others?  How does risking ourselves in compassion to others bring us closer to our own essential nature?  This dharma talk was Part 2 in a 3-part series on Brené Brown’s theory on Cultivating Meaningful Connections. 

This is the quote sheet for the talk. 

Mike’s Dharma Talk, 2022.08.01

This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on August 1, 2022, about the archetypal masculine.  How does the healthy life-affirming masculine look, and what are the crucial differences from toxic masculinity?  What is the healing wisdom that we all can draw from archetypal masculine?  This talk fell on the Celtic holiday of Lughnasa.

This is the quote sheet for the talk. 

Mike’s Dharma Talk, 2022.07.25

This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on July 25, 2022, about freedom.  What is problematic about our ordinary ideas about freedom?  How do we recognize our unfreedom?  What does true freedom look like?

This is the quote sheet for the talk. 

Mike’s Dharma Talk, 2022.07.11

This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on July 11, 2022, about the Zen ideal of the Wabi Sabi.  How does “wanting it all” function as an addictive trap? What do our fantasies reveal about the deep patterns of clinging that cut us off from joy?  How do we find peace and fulfillment with the imperfection in ourselves and in others?

This is the quote sheet for the talk. 

Title: Mike’s Dharma Talk, 2022.06.27

This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on June 27, 2022, about making friends with Death.  How do we cultivate a more conscious and mindful relationship with Death?  What is the wisdom that comes from an ongoing awareness of Death?  Why does a “yes” to Death lead to a much deeper “yes” to Life?

This is the quote sheet for the talk. 

Mike’s Dharma Talk, 2022.06.20

This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on June 20, 2022, about the paradoxes of fullness.  In various area of your life, how well do you discern the boundary between enough and too much?  What are the kinds of emptying out that lead to the fullness we seek? How do these processes relate to the Daoist and Buddhist perspectives on emptiness? 

This is the quote sheet for the talk. 

Mike’s Dharma Talk, 2022.06.13

This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on June 13, 2022, about joy vs. fun.   When does fun derive from pure joy and when it is merely an escape or distraction?  How do the dynamics of addiction warp our sense of happiness?  How do we invite more playfulness into our lives?

This is the quote sheet for the talk. 

Mike’s Dharma Talk, 2022.06.06

This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on June 6, 2022, about alignment with the Sacred.   In what ways is our life off-kilter from how we know we should be living?  How deep is our commitment to inner growth? How can the inner invitation of the Sacred transform our lives by its magnetism? This talk fell on Whitsuntide Monday, the Monday following Pentecost Sunday.

This is the quote sheet for the talk.

Mike’s Dharma Talk, 2022.05.30

This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on May 30, 2022, about enthusiasm, one of the Paramitas of the Buddha.   How does enthusiasm differ from excitement? What is the profound relationship between enthusiasm and the quality of our attention?  How can we draw on and live from the enthusiasm that is part of our essential nature?  This talk fell on the Monday before Pentecost Sunday.

This is the quote sheet for the talk.

Mike’s Dharma Talk, 2022.05.23

This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on May 23, 2022, about grief.  What invitation do we make to grief?  How do we hold grief in our bodies?  How do we cultivate a more noble and magnanimous attitude toward life’s inevitable experiences of loss?

This is the quote sheet for the talk.