Especially in these turbulent times, it is valuable to cultivate qualities such as kindness and compassion. On Sunday 13 April, Irène Kaigetsu Bakker will lead a workshop on Metta (loving kindness) – a heart quality that helps us to be open and connected in life. In addition, we will share two inspiring retrospective tips and there are fascinating live lectures by Han de Wit and Tuere Sala on the schedule.

Sincerely,
Dirk & Joost

Metta – Workshop

Especially in these worrying and uncertain times, it is important to develop beneficial qualities instead of getting stuck in polarization or a sense of powerlessness.

The historical Buddha already gave helpful guidelines to his monks (who were afraid of terrifying creatures) such as the cultivation and practice of metta: loving kindness and benevolence.

Metta is one of the 'Four Brahmaviharas', also called 'Exalted Abodes' or simply 'Four Inner Friends'. You can fall back on them, again and again!

During this online workshop, led by Irène Kaigetsu Bakker, we will focus on these heart qualities: in addition to kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity, which are already present in each of us. By actively practicing these qualities, they become stronger and will naturally emerge in our actions. May that contribute to the well-being of each of us and for all living things, including our earth.

📅 Sunday evening April 13, 19:30 PM – 21:30 PM
👤 Under the guidance of Irène Kaigetsu Bakker
🔗 More info & registration: 30NOW.nl/metta

More info & register

Dealing with Thoughts – March 23

Thoughts are useful, but sometimes they continue endlessly and become an obstacle. In this workshop, we will explore, using a teaching from the Buddha, how we can deal with this in a helpful way – both in meditation and in daily life.

We explore practical techniques, practice together and share experiences. With these tools you can also continue practicing at home, so that thoughts no longer stand in your way, but take on a supporting role.

More info & registration: 30NOW.nl/dealing-with-thoughts

Review tips

Live tips

Sunday 16 March
Hand of Wit

🕙 20:00 – 20:15 | Inside is outside and outside is inside

The world we live in is the world as we experience it.

In that sense, our entire world is not an 'outside world', because we are already mentally up to our ears in it: the world around us is only given to us as a personal experience. Our world is our world of experience. If there were such a thing as personal enlightenment, then that also concerns the world around us.

This vision is central to Mahayana Buddhism; not as just an idea, but as a vision that can support our meditation practice and enable us to hold the world, with all its joys and pains, close to our hearts.

This lecture is about how this vision helps to free us from short-sightedness, hard-heartedness and fear of life.

Dr. Han de Wit is a dharma teacher in the tradition of secular Buddhism of Shambhala and author of, among others, 'The Hidden Blossoming', 'The Lotus and the Rose' and 'The Open Field of Experience'.

Sunday 23 March
Tuere Sala

🕙 20:00 – 21:15 | The Importance of Maintaining Inner Stability in External Uncertainty

When external conditions begin to fluctuate and spin at a fast pace, we need to know how to ground and stabilize ourselves internally. This is what the four foundations of mindfulness are pointing towards. Knowing how to establish mindfulness is an empowerment. It creates agency in oneself and allows us to move through challenging situations with strength and integrity.

Tuere Sala serves on Spirit Rock's Guiding Teachers Council and is a Guiding Teacher at Seattle Insight Meditation Society. She has practiced Vipassana meditation for over 30 years. Tuere is committed to lay practice and inspired by bringing the Dharma to nontraditional places. She is a strong advocate for practitioners living with high stress, past trauma, and difficulties sitting still. Tuere has been teaching since 2010 and has a long history of assisting others in establishing and maintaining a daily practice.

(This evening is in English with live subtitles.)

🔗 The participation link for the above live sessions can be found at 30NOW.nl/live, or use the free e-mail announcements.

🙏 The Live Meditations & Lectures are made possible by the guides based on free contributions (dana). With your contribution, these sessions will be kept accessible to everyone. Thank you for your contribution!