Contemplative Studies Program Blog
Dharma teachings sometimes happen in mysterious ways, masquerading as everyday occurrences or through the behavior of unlikely characters. Several years ago, while working with marginalized populations, a patient taught me a treasured lesson. I was caught off guard when they handed me a package,...
Rolling thunder rumbled as I reflected on the number of dead bodies surrounding me. Who had these people been? What were their stories? Did they live with integrity? Were their deaths peaceful or wrought with fear? Who did they leave behind? Looking around at the inscriptions, I recognized many...
Emerge from the shadow of the darkest day of the year with Miles Neale and sound master Phil Jacobs guiding you through a ritual purification and intention setting around the virtual, quantum fire. Unified by visualization and vibration we’ll shed the old, while welcoming in the energy of rebirth...
Our quarterly forecast with master astrologer Lynn Bell happens in the Contemplative Studies Program Courtyard October 29th. Lynn will discuss the powerful alignments occurring in November and carry us through into the New Year.
Lynn Bell has been practicing astrology for over...
Introduction to the Tsum Valley Rachen Nunnery Service Project
In a hidden valley in the high Himalayas of north western Nepal, near the Tibetan border, a group of nuns preserve the practice of Tibetan Buddhism at Rachen Nunnery. Kathmandu is the nearest city, a mere 5 or 6-day trek away –...
Discover more about archetypes, astrology, and alchemy as therapist Anderson Todd discusses Carl Jung’s seminal book Aion, in our opening lecture of the Sensemaking the Pandemic series.
Life is exceedingly precious and fleeting, we must use every moment meaningfully to awaken for the benefit of others. In the second semester of our year-long course with Dr. Miles Neale and special guests, we will continue to extract the essence of the gradual path (lam rim) of Tibetan...
The second instalment in the Lam Rim on the Road travelogue by guest contributor Erica Saccente.
Overlooking the silver sea, I drink a cup of coffee and try to recount the events of the past two weeks on Ithaca. This hypnotic island warps time so that a week feels like 24 hours and 6 months...
Part 1 of our Review Session reminds us of our methodology, combining study and reflection, with meditation and application to everyday life.
We refresh steps 1-14, ending in the first milestone of Renunciation.
Hopefully this review is helpful for those who have completed all the posts in our...
Congratulations! You made it to the summit of the gradual path.
The correct view of reality sees the conventional reality of people, places, things, and experiences, as inseparable from their ultimate reality, the lack of inherent existence. Emptiness is form, form is emptiness. Which means we...
Definition of emptiness - The lack of inherent existence of the subject, object, and interaction.
The “lack” implies something we thought was there is not. Self-existence or independent existence is not there. And yet...things still arise, appear, and feel good or bad.
There is a...
The ability to hold ones attention on an object, sustaining it indefinitely, at will, leading to an intense experience of bliss.
They say that concentration taken to its extreme can produce psychic abilities (siddhis) we would call extra sensory perceptions like clairvoyance.
There are also the...
