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Prepared to Answer PodcastWhat Teens Need for Lasting Faith, with Mike McGarryOur special guest, Mike McGarry of Youth Pastor Theologian, shares what he thinks today’s Christian teens need most — sound, theological teaching. Mike explains how knowing theology helps teens grow into a faith that will endure the struggles they will face and also responds to common objections to teaching theology in youth ministry.📖 Resources mentioned in this episode:Youth Pastor Theologian’s WebsiteMike’s Books:Discover: Questioning Your Way to FaithLead Them to Jesus: A Handbook for Youth WorkersA Biblical Theology of Youth MinistryGospel-Centered Youth Ministry: A Practical Guide (contribution)So Much More Than Sex SeriesFollow YPT...
2024-06-1839 min
The Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2024.05.13This is my dharma talk on May 13, 2024, about the Drawing Power of Love. How comfortable are you in allowing love to draw you into emotional intimacy? How do we work with the magnetic pull of our own wholeness? How do we cultivate the experience of Archetypal Love? This Dharma talk fell in the week before the Christian holy day of Pentecost.
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2024-05-1431 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2024.05.06This is my dharma talk on May 6, 2024, about Saying Yes to Life. How heavily do you lean on excuses in your life? How willing are we to experience the full spectrum and depth of all our emotions? What are we willing to risk in order to experience the bliss at the center of our being? This Dharma talk fell a couple days after the Celtic holiday of Beltaine.
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2024-05-0741 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2024.04.22This is my dharma talk on April 22, 2024, about Story Stewardship. How deeply do you treasure the stories of those dear to you? In what ways are the stories that you tell yourself holding you back or keeping you small? Where did we find the stories that call forth our deeper strength and wisdom? This was the final in a series of three Dharma talks about Brené Brown’s Theory of Cultivating Meaningful Connection.
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2024-04-2332 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2024.04.15This is my dharma talk on April 15, 2024, about the Courage to Walk Alongside. How well do you respect your own boundaries and the boundaries of others? How much do you focus on how you can empower others? How attentive are you that all the aspects that make a relationship thrive? This was the second in a series of three Dharma talks about Brené Brown’s Theory of Cultivating Meaningful Connection.
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2024-04-1640 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2024.04.08This is my dharma talk on April 8, 2024, about Grounded Confidence. How deeply have you arrived in yourself? How rigorously honest are you with yourself? How fully do you accept the totality of who you are? This was the first in a series of three Dharma talks about Brené Brown’s Theory of Cultivating Meaningful Connection.
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2024-04-0930 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2024.04.01This is my dharma talk on April 1, 2024, about Facing Difficult Truths. How open and undefended are we in the face of feedback? How do we expand our emotional capacity? How rigorously honest are we with ourselves?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2024-04-0233 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2024.03.25This is my dharma talk on March 25, 2024, about Surrender. Why do we cling so tenaciously to the illusion of control? How is letting go conducive to our growth, joy, and freedom? How do we learn to trust the deeper and wiser forces that govern our destiny?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2024-03-2629 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2024.03.11This is my dharma talk on March 11, 2024, about Self-Love. Why is one's level of self-love such an important issue in all areas of one's life? What is the relationship of self-love and self-discipline? How does the path of self-love involve embracing the paradoxes of healing?
quote sheet
2024-03-1441 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2024.03.04This is my dharma talk on March 4, 2024, about being a Spiritual Warrior. How deep is the strength of your discipline? How courageous are you in facing yourself? How fiercely do you pursue what you know is best for you?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2024-03-0534 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2024.02.26This is my dharma talk on February 26, 2024, about White Privilege. For white people, how does the challenge of seeing and unpacking our white privilege resemble many other challenges on the spiritual path? How does Buddhism help us to understand the harm caused by white privilege? How willing are we to embrace all the sacrifices necessary to love all beings?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2024-02-2733 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2024.02.19This is my dharma talk on February 19, 2024, about Living a Noble Life. What does it mean to move through the world in a noble way? What truly motivates our virtues and our efforts to do good in the world? Why does Buddhism describe the four central truths and the eightfold path as noble?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2024-02-2032 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2024.02.12This is my dharma talk on February 12, 2024, about Emptying and Emptiness. Why do the world's religious traditions all urge us to empty ourselves out? How does the deep spiritual logic of emptying ourselves run so counter to the stories about consumption and filling ourselves up that are so prevalent in this culture? What is meant by the Buddhist idea of emptiness? This talk fell on the Monday before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent.
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2024-02-1330 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2024.02.05This is my dharma talk on February 5, 2024, about Radical Self-Responsibility. What does it mean to take deep responsibility for how we feel and for our emotional states? How do we embrace responsibility for our boundaries and for how others impact us? Why is it that we cannot find the rich satisfaction that we seek and that we intuitively know we deserve unless we make the decision to grow up fully in life?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2024-02-0628 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2024.01.29This is my dharma talk on January 29, 2024, about the Archetypal Feminine. How deeply and how well do we receive life? What is our relationship to flow? How do we understand our place in the interconnection of all things? This talk fell during the week of the Celtic holiday of Imbolg.
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2024-01-3033 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2024.01.22This is my dharma talk on January 22, 2024, about the Buddhist path to facing difficulties. What is our attitude toward difficulties? Do we recognize the futility of playing the blame game? What would it look like to embrace deep responsibility in our lives?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
This is the blog article quoted in the talk.
2024-01-2344 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2024.01.15This is my dharma talk on January 15, 2024, about the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail. How just and fair are the “rules” that we follow and that we use to judge others, especially when we’re upset? In what ways are we merely lukewarm in our commitment to what we know is right? How much are we willing to embrace being extreme in the pursuit of what we know is for the highest good?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
Letter from a Birmingham Jail full text
2024-01-1645 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2024.01.08This is my dharma talk on January 8, 2024, about starting a meditation practice. What does it mean to commit to meditation? What are the predictable challenges to this commitment that we should expect? What does it mean to trust our capacity for growth?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2024-01-0934 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2024.01.01This is my dharma talk on January 1, 2024, about commitment. What are the tangible self-care practices, if any, that you practice every single day without fail? Why do we expect rigorous commitment from romantic others, but can manifest nothing like that level of commitment toward ourselves? How is commitment the doorway to our freedom?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2024-01-0227 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.12.26This is my dharma talk on December 26, 2023, about loving the outcast. What is our relationship to people we avoid and/or consider our enemies? What are the parts of life that we completely reject or avoid? Do we have the courage to give a bold YES to absolutely everything that we are, including the places we have long avoided or neglected?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-12-2723 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.12.18This is my dharma talk on December 18, 2023, about joy. What does it mean to say that we are responsible for our own joy? What does it mean to trust the joy at the core of our being? What are the practical steps we can take to cultivate joy in our life?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-12-1932 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.12.11This is my dharma talk on December 11, 2023, about inner peace. What is the relationship of mental discipline and inner peace? What is the relationship of responsibility and inner peace? How is letting go at many levels essential to inner peace?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-12-1230 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.12.04This is my dharma talk on December 4, 2023, about Hope. How do we hope without falling into the trap of expectations? What does it mean to relate well to the unknown? How do we cultivate a deep sense of hope from our core?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-12-0524 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.11.27This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on November 27, 2023, about Perfection vs. Completion. How is perfectionism a no-win internal hell? What are the many dysfunctional forms of perfectionism? What is so healing about Jung’s contrasting idea of completion?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-11-2824 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.11.20This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on November 20, 2023, about Gratitude. How is taking things for granted such a poison in spiritual life? How does Buddhism help us to appreciate the gift within each challenge? How does gratitude have the potential to fully transform our entire experience of life
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-11-2130 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.11.13This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on November 13, 2023, about the Eightfold Noble Path. To what are we prepared to commit ourselves in life? How intentional are we about how we talk, what we do, and how we move through the world? What is the typical quality of our attention in everyday life?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-11-1432 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.11.06This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on November 6, 2023, about the Four Noble Truths. What is our relationship to fantasy? How are we defended against life? How courageous are we in letting go?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-11-0730 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.10.30This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on October 30, 2023, about the relating with the Unconscious. What is our relationship to control? How deeply do we listen to ourselves? How responsible are we for our projections? This talk fell days before the Celtic holiday Samhain.
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-10-3130 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.10.23This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on October 23, 2023, about the Major Arcana of the Tarot as a path of healing. What are the virtues that support the unfolding of the healing process? What do we risk about ourselves when we undertake healing? How does the healing process restore us to a deeper level of innocence?
This is the slideshow used in the talk.
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-10-2454 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.10.16This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on October 16, 2023, about the book Dancing in the Flames. How do we create our own reality? How do we recognize and pursue the wisdom inside us? What leads us to our wholeness?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-10-1738 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.10.09This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on October 9, 2023, about deep belonging. How do societal messages distort our understanding of belonging? How do we cultivate deep belonging within ourselves? How does our own belonging impact our ability to belong with others?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-10-1021 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.10.02This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on October 2, 2023, about Chinese Bagua as a model of healing. What is the therapeutic value of shock in the healing process? What is the role of gentleness and self-compassion in the healing process? What is required to integrate head-level insights deep into the body?
This is the slideshow used in the talk.
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-10-0333 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.09.25This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on September 25, 2023, about inner protection. What does the First Noble Truth imply about many of the kinds of protection we seek? What is the role of good boundaries in protecting ourselves? What is the true nature of inner protection? This talk will fall on the Monday before the Christian holiday of Michaelmas.
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-09-2621 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.09.18This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on September 18, 2023, about facing the unknown. What is our relationship to the unknown? What stories or motions come up when we face the unknown? How do we relate to the unknown within ourselves? This talk fell on the Monday before the Autumnal Equinox.
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-09-1924 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.09.11This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on September 11, 2023, about grief. What is our relationship to grief? What is the cost of avoiding pain? What are the deeper layers of grief that we carry within us?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-09-1222 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.09.04This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on September 4, 2023, about nonattachment to outcome. What is our relationship to the unknown? What is the source of our inner urgency? How do we cultivate a heart ready for anything?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-09-0525 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.08.28This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on August 28, 2023, about Antiracist Work as a Yoga. What are the characteristics of a yoga? What does Resmaa Menakem call the six intelligences of the body? How do we live out the magnanimous love at the core of the antiracist message? This talk fell on the 60th anniversary of Dr. King's “I Have a Dream” speech.
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-08-2944 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.08.21This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on August 21, 2023, about rising to a challenge. What is our relationship with risk? How well do we balance what we control with what we don’t? How eager are we to rise to the challenge of whatever the next step of our growth demands?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-08-2224 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.08.13This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on August 13, 2023, about stepping into our power. What are the four principles of personal power? What are the paradoxes of moving toward our power? Why does moving toward our power activate our deepest fears?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-08-1529 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.08.06This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on August 6, 2023, about what Jennifer Welwood calls the true ride. What does it mean to be a grown-up adult? How deeply have we integrated the Buddhist teaching of impermanence? How does trying to avoid pain create even more pain?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-08-0824 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.07.31This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on July 31, 2023, about archetypal masculinity. What does it mean to live from the depths of our psyches? what wisdom does the Chinese yin/yang system offer for modern gender roles? In our present time, what does healthy masculinity mean?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-08-0126 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.07.24This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on July 24, 2023, about a heart ready for anything. What are the ways we resist fully growing up? How does spiritual growth demand letting go? How can we cultivate a heart ready for anything?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-07-2523 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.07.17This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on July 17, 2023, about self-love. What are the misleading misconceptions about self-love? Why is self-love so difficult? Why is self-love essential for the spiritual path?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-07-1833 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.07.10This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on July 10, 2023, about emotional capacity. Why is the size of our capacity such a fundamental moral & spiritual issue? What are the everyday consequences of having a small or large capacity? How do we increase our capacity?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-07-1123 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.07.02This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on July 2, 2023, about the spiritual foundations of America. What does it mean to be American? What does “pursing happiness” mean in the original sense? What wisdom teachings are contained in the Great Seal of the US? How do we align our personal spiritual work with the public good
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
Great Seal of US, side 1
Great Seal of US, side 2
2023-07-0429 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.06.26This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on June 26, 2023, about making friends with Death. What does it mean to have a healthy relationship with death? How does the awareness of mortality support and strengthen all other spiritual values? How does affirming death help us to affirm life fully?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-06-2726 min
The Heart of Light PodcastMike’s I-Revolution Dharma Talk, 2023.06.25This is my dharma talk from the I-Revolution at East Bay Healing Collective on June 25, 2023, about freedom. What are the limitations of conventional definitions of freeom? What does the psychology of addiction teach us about freedom? How do we work toward genuine inner freedom?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-06-2622 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.06.19This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on June 12, 2023, about abundance. How are we ultimately responsible for our own experience of scarcity? How is abundance about growing up? How do we open ourselves more fully to the Love that is greater than we ever could imagine?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-06-2031 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.06.12This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on June 12, 2023, about insight (prajna). What are the limits of a head-only experience of Life? How do we connect more genuinely with the wisdom of the body? How do healing, disattachment, and letting-go open up deeper ways of knowing Life? This talk was the sixth in a series of six talks on the Paramitas in the Mahayana tradition.
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-06-1332 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.06.05This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on June 5, 2023, about concentration. What does it mean to be an excellent listener? What is the inestimable healing value of inner silence? What is the powerful connection between high-quality attention and overall life-satisfaction? This talk was the fifth in a series of six talks on the Paramitas in the Mahayana tradition.
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-06-0632 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.05.29This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on May 29, 2023, about enthusiasm. What is the difference between enthusiasm and excitement? How hungry are we for truth and growth? What is the critical role of accepting feedback in spiritual life? This talk was the fourth in a series of six talks on the Paramitas in the Mahayana tradition.
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-05-3030 min
The Heart of Light PodcastMike’s I-Revolution Dharma Talk, 2023.05.28This is my dharma talk from the I-Revolution at East Bay Healing Collective on May 28, 2023, about memory. How do we work with the stories we tell ourselves? What kind of commitment do we have with ourselves? What does it mean to “remember” the part of us that is eternal?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-05-2925 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.05.22This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on May 22, 2023, about patience. What does patience have to do with expectations and capacity? What is the “near enemy” of patience? How do we cultivate equanimity and presence? This talk was the third in a series of six talks on the Paramitas in the Mahayana tradition.
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-05-2323 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.05.15This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on May 15, 2023, about discipline. How do we cultivate discipline? What is the connection between discipline and self-love? What are the subtle differences between self-discipline and the paramita of discipline? This talk was the second in a series of six talks on the Paramitas in the Mahayana tradition.
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-05-1627 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.05.08This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on May 8, 2023, about generosity. When is giving true generosity? What are the connections between generosity and vulnerability? What are the many forms of generosity in everyday life? This talk was the first in a series of six talks on the Paramitas in the Mahayana tradition.
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-05-0922 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.05.01This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on May 1, 2023, about the Jungian idea of the Shadow. How does pretend otherness differ from true otherness? How do we work with the deeply held patterns of permission that bind us? What is so frightening about stepping into our authentic power? This talk fell on the Celtic holiday of Beltaine.
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-05-0226 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.04.24This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on April 24, 2023, about the meaning of life. How does living in the head prevent us from having richly meaningful experiences? How deep is our ability to connect? What is the role of inner silence in contacting what is most meaningful?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-04-2520 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.04.17This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on April 17, 2023, about humility. How does the wounding of toxic shame pervert our understanding of humility? How can we joyfully embrace letting go of ego’s many self-glorifying attachments? How is healthy humility deeply grounded in self-love?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-04-1824 min
The Heart of Light PodcastMike’s I-Revolution Dharma Talk, 2023.04.16This is my dharma talk from the I-Revolution at East Bay Healing Collective on April 16, 2023, about emotional sovereignty. How are healthy boundaries a gift to ourselves & others? What does it mean to cultivate a warrior’s discipline? What are the challenges and rewards of embracing deep self-responsibility?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-04-1720 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.04.10This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on April 10, 2023, about recognizing the Sacred. How is taking anything for granted a poison in in spiritual life? Are we alive to the way that beauty can move us? Do we allow out heart to be touched by all the love around us?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-04-1128 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.04.03This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on April 3, 2023, about the Last Supper discourse. What is the role of humility & humiliation in spiritual life? What ideal of love furthers our unfolding? How do we move closer to the interconnection that is our primary reality? This talk fell on the Monday of Holy Week.
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-04-0432 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.03.27This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on March 27, 2023, about transformative healing. How do we work with the core pain of shame & self-hatred? What are the paradoxes of healing? How do we trust in the possibility of healing our life?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-03-2830 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.03.20This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on March 20, 2023, about inner renewal. How do we contact the vivid freshness of life? How do we honor what is emerging in those close to us? How do we keep up with the edge in us that is fearless about growth? This talk fell on the Vernal Equinox.
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-03-2129 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.03.13This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on March 13, 2023, about the first chakra. What is our relationship to belonging? How do we work with toxic shame? How do we arrive fully in our bodies and in our lives? This was the last in a series of three talks on the first three chakras.
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-03-1624 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.03.06This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on March 6, 2023, about the second chakra. What is our relationship to patterns of holding & release? What is our relationship with pleasure and addictions? How do we relate to those aspects of the world and to those aspects of ourselves that are in uncontrollable flow? This will be the second in a series of three talks on the first three chakras.
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-03-0723 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.02.27This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on February 27, 2023, about the third chakra. What are healthy boundaries and why are they rare in our culture? How do we strengthen our boundaries? What does it mean to cultivate one’s own power? This was the first in a series of three talks on the first three chakras.
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-02-2825 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.02.20This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on February 20, 2023, about discipline, one of the paramitas of the Buddhas. Why is self-discipline so hard in modern times? What are the potential pitfalls of cultivating discipline? How do we craft a discipline that affirms and nurtures all of who we are?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-02-2119 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.02.13This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on February 13, 2023, about mysticism in everyday life. What is irreducible about ordinary sense experience? How does silence reveal the radiance of the world? How do we approach the intimate mystery beneath our own deepest vulnerability?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-02-1426 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.02.06This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on February 6, 2023, about antiracism & Buddhism. How does antiracist work dovetail with Buddha dharma? How do we unpack the racism held in our bodies? How do we embody love & compassion in a healing & integrative way? This talk fell on the first Monday of Black History month.
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-02-0723 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.01.30This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on January 30, 2023, about desires vs. real needs. How do we distinguish authentic needs from imagined fantasized needs? How well do we distinguish between enough and too much? How do we simplify our needs?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-01-3116 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.01.16This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on January 16, 2023, about the sacrifice of love. How deeply do you give? In what ways are you prepared to risk yourself in love? How do we cultivate the capacity to step into the more profound levels of letting go? This talk fell on the evening of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-01-1720 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.01.09This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on January 9, 2023, about believing in oneself. What would it mean to have faith in oneself? How would we live if we really trusted ourselves and our intuitions? How do we cultivate greater self-trust and self-fidelity?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-01-1019 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2023.01.02This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on January 2, 2023, about confinement and choice. What true choices do we have in relating to outer unpleasant constraints? How do we relate to our own inner stuckness? What is the paradoxical wisdom of transformation that opens the door to a whole new experience?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2023-01-0328 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, December 27, 2022This is a dharma talk on December 27, 2022, about unique vs. special. What are the profound ways we are unique? What are some of the traps around seeing ourselves or our lives as special? What is the relation of humility to these ideas? This talk fell on the Christian feast of St, John, Apostle & Evangelist.
Here is the quote sheet for the talk.
2022-12-2811 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2022.12.19This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on December 19, 2022, about resilience. How do we cultivate resilience? How do we push past ego’s imagined limits? How do we cultivate faith in our core wisdom & strength? This talk fell on the first day of Hanukkah and a couple days before the winter solstice.
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2022-12-2026 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2022.12.12This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on December 12, 2022, about reckless love. How do we respond to the overwhelming reckless love of the Sacred for us? How can we be more reckless, in totally healthy & functional ways, in our practice of compassion & love? What are the risks inherent in the most noble forms of love?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2022-12-1321 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2022.12.05This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on December 5, 2022, about intense experiences. How does Buddhism enhance our ability to integrate intense experiences? How does intensity enhance our attention and vitality? How do we bring that heighten vitality back to stillness and to the safety of everyday life?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2022-12-0621 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2022.11.28This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on November 28, 2022, about waiting. How do we wait and what does the way we wait say about us? What are the gifts and challenges associated with waiting? How do we relate to the disconnected parts of ourselves that have been waiting for love & connection since before our earliest memories? This talk fell on the first Monday of Advent.
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2022-11-2917 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2022.11.21This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on November 21, 2022, about the four levels of gratitude. How do we open our eyes to the miracles of life? How is “taking for granted” a toxin to the soul? How can we begin to receive even difficult experiences as gifts?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2022-11-2219 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2022.11.14This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on November 14, 2022, about Buddhism in a time of moral conflict. What guidance does Buddhism give us for relating to polarized conditions? What nuance does Buddhism offer to our own cherished moral ideals? How do we embody an invitation to a deeper human unity?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2022-11-1525 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2022.11.07This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on November 7, 2022, about the Christian ideal of loving one’s enemies. How is this seen through the lens of the Buddhist ideal of compassion? How does our relation to inner otherness limit how open we can be to external others? What is the work we can do to move beyond fear and moral disgust toward genuine love?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2022-11-0820 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2022.10.31This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on October 31, 2022, about risk and safety. Where in our bodies do we find a true feeling of safety? Do we recognize and embrace risk as an irreducible part of all growth and all authentic connection? How do the tools of Buddhism help us to live with courage in an uncertain world? This dharma talk took place on the Celtic holiday of Samhain.
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2022-11-0121 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2022.10.24This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on October 24, 2022, about patience, one of the paramitas of the Buddha. What typical mind-patterns lead to impatience? What is the Buddhist perspective on impatience? How do we develop and deepen patience?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2022-10-2519 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2022.10.17This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on October 17, 2022, about the dynamics of pain. How does emotional pain bamboozle the strategic rational mind? How do the dysfunctional inner bids for connection demand that we wisely reparent ourselves? How do Buddhism and the other Wisdom Traditions offer us a treasure trove of healing possibilities?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2022-10-1823 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2022.10.10This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on October 10, 2022, about impermanence. To what extent do we understand ourselves as journeying through the temporary conditions of our life? How do we relate to those parts of Life that are in uncontrollable flow? As we experience a world and a body that constantly change, and often not for the better, how do we continue to affirm love and joy? This talk took place on the first day of Sukkot.
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2022-10-1224 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2022.09.19This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on September 19, 2022, about facing darkness. Darkness calls to mind what metaphors and what experiences? How do we respond to those metaphors? What can we learn from reflecting on darkness? This talk took place a couple days before the Autumnal Equinox.
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2022-09-2026 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2022.09.12This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on September 12, 2022, about avoidance. When is avoidance healthy vs. unhealthy? What do patterns of avoidance reveal about our boundaries and attachment style? How do we generate additional suffering when we try to avoid the unavoidable pain of life?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2022-09-1318 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2022.09.05This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on September 5, 2022, about spiritual work. How do we know that we are doing the Work at all? How rigorously honest are we with ourselves? How do we actively expand our capacity? How much do we act from true freedom?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2022-09-0616 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2022.08.29This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on August 29, 2022, about control & anger. What is our relation to the aspects of Life that are always in uncontrollable flow? What is the core anger that arises when our control & independence feel threatened? What is our fierce core resistance to the wisdom of surrender?
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2022-08-3017 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2022.08.22This is my dharma talk from the East Bay Healing Collective on August 22, 2022, about Story Stewardship. What does it mean to listen well? How do we contribute to narrative trust in a relationship? How do we hold the stories of others in a way that both affirms them as they are and invites their deeper growth? This dharma talk was Part 3 in a 3-part series on Brené Brown’s theory on Cultivating Meaningful Connections.
This is the quote sheet for the talk.
2022-08-2324 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2022.08.15This 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.
2022-08-1625 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2022.08.01This 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.
2022-08-0229 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2022.07.25This 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.
2022-07-2623 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2022.07.11This 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.
2022-07-1219 minThe Heart of Light PodcastTitle: Mike’s Dharma Talk, 2022.06.27This 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.
2022-06-2820 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2022.06.20This 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.
2022-06-2129 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2022.06.13This 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.
2022-06-1417 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2022.06.06This 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.
2022-06-0719 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2022.05.30This 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.
2022-05-3119 minThe Heart of Light PodcastMike’s Dharma Talk, 2022.05.23This 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.
2022-05-2422 min