Buddhist teachings reveal our innate wakefulness and inherent wholeness, asserting that there is no fundamental lack in ourselves, others, or the world. Everything and everyone emerges from the ground of … More Skymind: Vast View, Sacred Land
Please note, this retreat requires the completion of Feeding Your Demons (FYD) Level I. Come join us in romantic Prague the second level of a full cycle of FYD teachings. … More Feeding Your Demons in Prague: Level II
A thousand years ago, Machig Labdrön, the renowned 11th century Tibetan yogini, taught that it is only in meeting our fears and shadows that we are able to access the wisdom and peace we so deeply yearn for. We are invited to “go to the places that scare you” – not with armor and aggression but with curiosity and compassion. … More Skymind at The Garrison Institute: Buddhist Teachings on Meeting our World with a Vast Mind & Fierce Heart
Relaxing your body onto the earth, gazing into the vast expanse of the sky and the open sea, you learn to “rest the mind in the way of the sky.” Drawn from original texts at the heart of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, Machig’s pith and luminous verses remind us to turn towards the innate wholeness of our being and the natural spaciousness of primordial awareness. … More Skymind at Hollyhock: Sacred Land, Sacred View
Skymind explores the Nature of Mind through teachings from Machig Labdrön, focusing on meditation techniques and compassionate engagement. It supports both experienced and beginner practitioners in integrating mindfulness into daily life, enhancing awareness, and transforming emotional challenges. … More Skymind: Machig Labdrön and Open Awareness (Online)
The dynamic and transformative practice of Dentog Chigma, “liberation on one seat,” combines the melodic and rhythmic aspects of traditional Chöd with the visualization and mantra recitation of Tibetan Buddhist deity practice. The practitioner engages with various forms of Machig Labdrön – including a wrathful emanation – through purification, receiving blessings, radiant compassion, and ultimately the awareness of our inseparability from the ground of being. As such, it is an incredibly dynamic and transformative practice. … More Liberation in One Seat (Dentog Chigma Chöd)
Buddhist teachings reveal our innate wakefulness and inherent wholeness, asserting that there is no fundamental lack in ourselves, others, or the world. Everything and everyone emerges from the ground of being, the Great Mother, accessible through the essence of our awareness, the nature of our minds. As the esteemed 11th-century Tibetan yogini Machig Labdrön advises, “rest in your nature.” Join us on the powerful land of Tara Mandala for an immersive exploration of these teachings, as conveyed by Machig. … More Skymind: Vast View, Sacred Land
Feeding your Demons is a powerful and profound method for working with rather than fighting against the obstacles, conflicts, and challenges of our life. By meeting our fears and obsessions with gentleness and compassion, and nurturing their underlying need, we allow them to transform into allies, insight and wisdom. Drawing on traditional practices and teachings of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, this process was developed by Lama Tsultrim Allione, a Western Buddhist teacher and author of Feeding Your Demons: Ancient Wisdom for Resolving Inner Conflict. … More Kapala I: Feeding Your Demons
At the heart of Buddhist teachings lies the invitation to rest in our true nature, which is not other than the ground of being from which all things and all beings arise. In every moment of life – even in times of confusion and unrest – this ultimate refuge is accessible to us, offering us support, inspiration and a profound connection to all beings. But this ground also calls on us to open our hearts to all aspects of the human experience – even the most difficult emotions, people and situations. This retreat – based on Pieter and Charlotte’s forthcoming book – introduces nature of mind teachings and a meditation practice to access this ground of being in our direct experience. … More Skymind: Opening to the Vast Radiance of Our True Nature
Chöd (literally ‘to cut’ or ‘to sever’) is an ancient Tibetan Buddhist practice through which we confront our fears and attachments by cultivating compassion and generosity. We visualize offering our own body to the forces that seem to destroy us, learning to let go of our grasping at the self. At the same time, we open ourselves to the innate freedom, compassion, and wisdom within. This practice, sung to beautiful melodies and accompanied by a drum and bell, has its roots in shamanic traditions and has traditionally often been used as a healing practice. … More Chöd – Cutting Through Ego-Fixation
At the heart of Buddhist teachings lies the invitation to rest in our true nature, an inherent, brilliant wholeness which is not other than the ground of being itself. Recognizing and remembering this fundamental and inextricable connection to everyone and all things paves the way for a life of awakened, joyful compassion. In this evening’s talk, we will draw on the teachings of the 11th century Tibetan yogini Machig Labdrön, whose wisdom remains relevant and applicable in everyday modern life. … More Skymind: Glimpsing the Radiance of Our True Nature
Feeding Your Demons® Kapala Level I is a simple but profound five-step process that guides the practitioner to transform their demons into protective allies through a sequence of illuminating questions and visualizations. Created by Lama Tsultrim Allione, it employs principles of the Tibetan Buddhist practice Chöd, as originally articulated by the eleventh-century female Tibetan teacher, Machig Labdrön. This method has helped thousands of people transform and heal negative emotions, fears, illnesses, and self-defeating patterns. … More Feeding Your Demons® Kapala Level I
Given all that’s going on in our world, how do we witness the strife, turmoil, and dissonance without succumbing to its weight? On a personal level, how do we manage our challenges, neuroses, and emotions without losing our capacity for presence and kindness? The Buddha suggested that our grasping to a self lies at the very heart of all our suffering. Machig Labdron, the great 11th-century Tibetan yogini, calls it ego-clinging and offers the remedy of “cutting through,” releasing our sense of an isolated, separate self. But what does this really mean in a practical sense? … More Ego-clinging and Compassion: Everyday Remedies for a Complex World
In May 2020, I had the fortune of engaging in one month of solitary retreat, supported by a grant from the Hemera Foundation. I spent a portion of my time … More “Look in the Way of Not Looking:” Reflections from Retreat