Undoing the Blocks and Discovering the Capacities That Will Make a Difference to Ourselves and to the World. Discover the Powers We Have to Act Wisely and Beneficially During Difficult Times These are times of struggle, concern, difficulty and confusion. Things are changing in society and in our environment. We may feel that we want to go out and make a difference in the world but that it is too difficult or pointless. Buddhist inspired teachings can help us to develop capacities of steadiness, equanimity, confidence, and a big compassionate heart, which we need both for a fulfilling life and also to act wisely and effectively. Mindful awareness and contemplative practices will show us how to dissolve our psychological and emotional patterns and reactivity. We can meet changing circumstances with more resilience and balance. This course includes 8 audio talks, 8 guided meditations and many accompanying texts. It will show us how to discover and develop the qualities we need to change our own minds and hearts and change the world.

There is no question more engaging, universal and mysterious than the question: 'Who Am I?' This is not a theoretical question. Ignorance concerning who I really am, and the assumption that we are subjects separate from an external world against which we struggle, leads us to live automatically. We see ourselves in a shifting unreliable world to which we respond with our needs, desires, aversions and attachments. As soon as we start to question and explore who or what we are, a new landscape is revealed and our life can get dramatically more deep and interesting. We find ourselves in a world of paradox, mystery, and yet unimagined freedom. 'Who is in charge of my life?' 'What in me is changing and what is constant?' 'Which of the many voices within me can I rely on?' 'How can I let go of the sense of separation between me and the world?' 'How much can I change things?' ‘What is the experience of the limitless?’ Buddhist practice to discover the self and what is beyond helps us peel off layers of conditioning and beliefs and live more wisely, more lightly and more freely. We are actually more transparent than we first thought. This is the insight into anatta, non-self, and sunyata, emptiness. It removes the veil or filter through which we usually view the world, which then appears meaningful, joyful, and unlimited. In this course, we will explore these questions concerning self and world, by means of talks, meditations, and exercises.

It is often not easy to develop a fruitful meditation and mindfulness practice within the busyness of daily life, and to actually see it grow and develop at home. This practical course includes guided meditations, day by day, step by step, along with daily homework and some feedback and questions. We will learn how a deep morning meditation can help us to start the day right, to look at things with more clarity, compassion and with new eyes, and to convert daily life challenges from problems to opportunities for transformation.

Do we feel that our meditation practice is limited and does not really change our lives? Do we long to discover more stillness and go beyond our normal limits? Do we need to know how mindfulness can be more powerful in dealing with our concerns and difficulties? This course is designed to show us how our mindfulness practice can be deeper, more powerful and more effective. It is has sessions twice a week and homework in between. It will begin by extending our mindfulness to reduce the inner noise of the troubled mind and heart, and experience more inner peace and awareness. It continues with the development of capacities through meditation, such as trust, steadiness, and resilience, to help us to meet the challenges of daily life.

Core Buddhist powers and capacities that drive a liberated life. How can we surf the waves of change rather than be submerged by them? How do we perform a restart?The five spiritual powers is a classical Buddhist teaching that is not so well known. But it presents an essential toolkit for transformation, as well as describing the inner capacities we can develop to help us through difficult times. The 5 powers include: 1. Trust, faith and confidence 2. Energy, determination and persistence 3. Mindful awareness, attention and presence 4. Concentration, steadiness and serenity 5. Wisdom, insight and realization. This course will show us how to build capacities and empowerment within our spiritual practice and teachings, which will help us in all kinds of life circumstances and the journey to the beyond. The course will have talks followed by guided meditations which focus on each one of the powers. For deeper guidance and background, have a look at my book: The Five Powers: A Guide to Personal Peace and Freedom.

In this course, we will introduce all the Factors of Awakening, the bojjhangas, as capacities which we develop through spiritual practice. We will explain the sources of the Seven Factors in classical Theravada Buddhist practice, and continue with their relevance to our practice and development. These are the stepping stones that change our mind and body, our personality, and how we look at the world. Our practice builds these new and beautiful capacities or qualities , not necessarily in a linear fashion, and awakening happens because of them not so much because of certain experiences we have on the way. We will explore each of the factors or aspects in each class. They include mindfulness/clarity/presence (Sati), investigation/ deepening/discovery (Dharmavicaya), energy/motivation/effort (Viriya), joy/rapture/well-being (Pitti), calm/steadiness/serenity (Passadhi), concentration/focus/absorption (Samadhi) and equanimity/limitlessness (Upekkha).

A clear and practical exploration of the Buddhist teachings of the Ten Paramis. These are refined, developed capacities by which we navigate through our life with ease, clarity and joy. The Paramis are the way we live in the world, skillfully meeting and flowing with  all the challenges and possibilities of our daily existence. They are capacities and qualities that we manifest naturally from our wisdom, insight, love and interconnectedness with all life. They are the actions through which we help ourselves and the world at the same time. In this course we will learn how to develop qualities such as calm, energy, authenticity, generosity, equanimity, and a loving heart.  What happens to our personality if we engage with Buddhist teachings and practices? How can we live our daily life, including challenges such as relationships or work, from a radically different place? What is an enlightened action?

joys and pains of life, the suffering and the freedom, the ignorance and the wisdom – how do they really happen? This course takes us deep into life’s journey and the mysteries and possibilities of our conscious experience.This is a fundamental and yet most profound Buddhist teaching that details how we create our experience and how in each moment we can free or imprison ourselves. It is the basis of Buddhist psychology, and insight into perennial questions about reality that keep arising, for example: What is creation? Why do I suffer? How can I understand birth and death, and at the same time the timeless and deathless? What is consciousness?