The Heart of Light Podcast

Mike’s Dharma Talk, 2021.03.22

This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on March 22, 2021, about nonattachment to outcome.  How do expectations separate us from a primary experience of vitality?  Why do we get so hooked on our stories about the future, despite all evidence? How can we cultivate a heroic posture toward the future unknown, a heart ready for anything?

This is the blog article quoted in the talk.  

This is the quote sheet for the talk. 

Mike’s Dharma Talk, 2021.03.15

This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on March 15, 2021, about inner renewal.  How do we transcend the cycle of seeing our life as stale, stuck, and uninspiring?  How do we break through to seeing with new eyes?  How do we contact the vibrant freshness deep down in the world and deep down in ourselves?  This talk took place the Monday before the Vernal Equinox.

This is the quote sheet for the talk.  

This is the poem quoted.    

Mike’s Dharma Talk, 2021.03.08

This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on March 8, 2021, about the trap of seeking to be right.  How does focusing on being right limit our happiness? Why can humans be so deeply and painfully hooked on the need to be right?  How do we heal the powerful dynamics underlying a compulsion to be right?

This is the quote sheet for the talk.  

Mike’s Dharma Talk, 2021.03.01

This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on March 1, 2021, about inner confinement.  How do we imprison ourselves?  How do pain and pleasure trap us?  How are we limited by our misconceptions of freedom?  What are the steps we can take toward true freedom?

This is the poem quoted.       

This is the quote sheet for the talk.  

Mike’s Dharma Talk, 2021.02.22

This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on February 22, 2021, about the Major Arcana sequence of the Tarot.  The Major Arcana lays out, in archetypal form, a detailed map of the spiritual journey, indicating the typical challenges, the strengths required, and kinds of support available.  Wherever we are in our own journey, what can we learn from the path that so many before us have walked?

This is the quote sheet for the talk.  

This is the slideshow used in the talk.  

 

Mike’s Dharma Talk, 2021.02.15

This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on February 15, 2021, about romantic love.  In light of the Buddhist call for universal compassion, what is the place of this strong emotional bond with one other person? How do the problematic kinds of attachment (clinging), about which Buddhism warns, interfere with our ability to form healthy attachments (emotional bonding)? How does a romantic connection provide such a deep and intimate arena for personal growth work?  This talk took place the day after Valentine’s Day.

This is the quote sheet for the talk.  

Mike’s Dharma Talk, 2021.02. 08

This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on February 8, 2021, about the Chinese Bagua system, which arises from the Yijing and underlies Fengshui.  Confucius’s commentaries on the Bagua elucidate a template for working with the overwhelming energies that can be released in healing and in spiritual practice: in its rich symbolism, it provides a powerful map for healing trauma. 

This is the quote sheet for the talk.  

This is the slideshow used in the talk.  

This is a video of the talk.  

Mike’s Dharma Talk, 2021.02. 01

This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on February 1, 2021, about the power of yin.  What is the deep strength that superficially looks like weakness?  How do we catalyze the emergence of our own power by cultivating deeper levels of acceptance, surrender, and allowing? How do we activate the transformative power of sacrifice & bliss within us?  This talk occurred on the Celtic holiday of Imbolg.

This is the yin/yang sheet.

This is the quote sheet for the talk.

Mike’s Dharma Talk, 2021.01.25

This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on January 25, 2021.  I talked about synchronicity. How does the magic we can encounter depend so much on the quality of our attention? How does the deep interconnectedness of Life make itself known to us?  How can we align ourselves more with the great pattern of meaning that underlies Life? 

This is the quote sheet for the talk.  

Mike’s Dharma Talk, 2021.01.18

This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on January 18, 2021, MLK Day, about the measure of love.  How much do you trust choosing from love?  What priority do you give love?  What are you willing to risk or give up for the sake of love?  What would it mean to affirm love as your highest value?

This is the quote sheet for the talk.