Tag: vajrayana

Skymind: Glimpsing the Radiance of Our True Nature

June 7, 2024

June 7, 2024

Public Talk in Frankfurt, Germany (+ live online)

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

May 24, 2024

May 24 – 29, 2024

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

Mechanics of Meditation: Demystifying the Methodology on the Path of Liberation

May 1, 2024

May 16 – June 13, 2024

This five-week series is for experienced and beginner meditators alike. So often we are told: “follow your breath”, or “visualize the following”, or “rest in open awareness”. But what is it that we are really doing with our attention and our awareness, and how can we optimize our meditation experience?  … More Mechanics of Meditation: Demystifying the Methodology on the Path of Liberation

Ego-clinging and Compassion: Everyday Remedies for a Complex World

March 28, 2024

April 12 – 14, 2024

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

Skymind: The Path of Open Awareness (Online Course)

July 15, 2021

October 22 to December 17, 2021

Following on last year’s popular course, we return for a deeper dive into Machig’s verses on the nature of mind, offered both to those new to these teachings and as a deepening for those who attended last year’s program.

Machig Labdrön – the great 11th century Tibetan yogini – is unequivocal in her insistence that our truest nature, the very ground of being, is not elsewhere:
Once one’s mind is recognized for sure, there’s no need to establish buddha from elsewhere. … More Skymind: The Path of Open Awareness (Online Course)

Feeding Your Demons® – Online Program

February 19, 2021

September 11, 2021 (Level I and Full Certification)

Developed by Lama Tsultrim Allione, Feeding Your Demons® (FYD) is a profoundly effective method for recognizing and transforming the deep-seated patterns, triggers, and neuroses that undermine the quality and enjoyment of our lives.
Become fully certified to use this method in a therapeutic setting with clients, or choose the à la carte options for personal growth and enrichment. … More Feeding Your Demons® – Online Program

Wisdom Rising: Journey into the Union of the Sacred Feminine and Sacred Masculine

February 19, 2021

March 14 – 20, 2021.

The image of “masculine” and “feminine” joined in union – Yab Yum – is central to Tantric Buddhism. The Yab Yum represents our inherent wholeness which holds all dualities in a dynamic totality. As we enter the Yab Yum Mandala we recognize the completeness of our true nature and engage the “other” with openness, curiosity and compassion. … More Wisdom Rising: Journey into the Union of the Sacred Feminine and Sacred Masculine

Sacred World, Luminous Vision: Songs of Realization of the Mahasiddhas

February 19, 2021

April 17 – 18, 2021

How can we give expression to the deepest insights into the nature of reality? Can words ever capture that which is beyond concept? Many of the great early Tantric practitioners and mahasiddhas wrote their realizations through songs and poems (dohas) which point, like rainbow arrows, to ineffable truth. At times, these verses draw on everyday, ordinary experience to reveal a view of the sacred world; at others, they point directly and unflinchingly to the nature of mind. … More Sacred World, Luminous Vision: Songs of Realization of the Mahasiddhas

Green Tara

February 19, 2021

June 12 – July 20, 2021

Green Tara sits with one foot in the meditative posture and one foot in the world, thus embodying active compassion and serving as a model for modern day contemplative life. In this online course, you have the opportunity to learn to embody Green Tara, the female Buddha of compassion, who provides protection from fears and obstacles. … More Green Tara

Lion-Headed Dakini (Simhamukha)

February 19, 2021

June 22 – 30, 2021

This retreat offers transmission and teachings on the Lion-Headed Dakini (Simhamukha) practice as well as on Lama Tsultrim’s personal transformation work within the mandala. Simhamukha is known as a powerful remover of obstacles and as Queen of the Dakinis. This practice is a mind treasure given to Ayu Khandro when she was in dark retreat by the Queen of the Dakinis. … More Lion-Headed Dakini (Simhamukha)

Green Tara

Green Tara Retreat

May 23, 2018

Join us to embody Green Tara, the female Buddha of compassion, who provides protection from fears and obstacles. She sits with one foot in the meditative posture and one foot in the world, thus embodying active compassion and serving as a model for modern day contemplative life. In this retreat you will learn the Green Tara practice from the Luminous Secret Vajra Treasury, a treasure cycle of Adzom Drukpa. … More Green Tara Retreat

Dark Clouds

Turning into Darkness

October 17, 2017

We humans seem to come pre-programmed with a primeval fear of negativity.
We are so deeply conditioned to turn away from what we sense or perceive as negative, uncomfortable, painful, or unpleasant that we mostly do it automatically. Ironically, the avoidance itself is often very uncomfortable. It seldom leads to a sunny disposition, instead depositing us in the borderlands around our shadows.
So how to deal with this? … More Turning into Darkness

The Suffering of Busyness

August 14, 2017

I recently heard about a study that found that “busyness” is the new status symbol. I grew up with images of the rich and powerful lounging on a long white beach, drink in-hand and not a care in the world. Now it seems that you prove your social standing by flaunting the number of engagements, commitments and responsibilities you have on any given day. The study showed that this is as true among the working class as it is for the middle and upper-middle classes. I have to admit: too often I find myself commiserating with a friend about my long to-do lists, my numerous and scattered work duties, child care needs, the dirty house, my forever overflowing inbox… It’s an easy – and seemingly always accurate – answer to “how are you?” Busy, busy, busy. Like we all are… … More The Suffering of Busyness