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Summertime and the Living's Easy

Hi,

Summer is here at it's beautiful, as always. I recently taught for a week in the Rocky Mountains as the weather warmed, and it was gorgeous! What a treat.

Summer is traditionally the time of vacation, the time of rest. Yet for many of us, any sense of peace is hard to find between work and the hubbub that even traditional holidays can bring.

This is one of the benefits of meditation: that we can find peace within, even when everything around us is kinda nuts. Contacting the silent, spacious stillness inside our own hearts is possible always and everywhere, and that is a big part of what practice is about.

To help you remember to do that, here are some resources from Deconstructing Yourself. I hope you have a fabulous and rejuvenating summer.

with metta,
Michael
Culadasa
 

Culadasa on Meditation and Therapy

In this special episode, Culadasa talks about the domains of meditation and psychotherapy, where their areas of effectiveness overlap and where they don’t. He also shares a powerful personal story of his own emotional processing work after awakening—why it was needed and how it helped.

Culadasa has been practicing Buddhist meditation for over four decades, and is the director of Dharma Treasure Buddhist Sangha, where he teaches meditation and Buddhism from a modern, progressive scientific perspective. His groundbreaking book, The Mind Illuminated is a modern road map to Buddhist meditation for a Western audience which combines age-old wisdom teachings of the Buddha with the latest research in cognitive psychology and neuroscience.

Listen now

Rick Hanson
 

Meditation for the End of Civilization, with Rick Hanson, Ph.D.

Host Michael W. Taft speaks with bestselling author and meditation teacher Rick Hanson about how to maintain resilience in the face of the coming potential collapse of civilization, the problem with agriculture, meditation methods to build inner strengths, Rick’s upcoming book Neuro-dharma, and more.

Rick Hanson, PhD, is a psychologist, Senior Fellow of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, and New York Times best-selling author. His books include Buddha’s Brain, Hardwiring Happiness, and the new book Resilient. Rick began meditating in 1974, has trained in several traditions, and teaches at meditation centers around the world.

Listen now

best meditation books
 

Best Meditation Books 2019

by Michael W. Taft

There are zillions of books on meditation, but there are very few I would recommend, especially for somebody just starting out. Below you’ll find just the books I feel are the most helpful and clear; the best meditation books in 2019.

Read more


Guided Meditations on Youtube


Michael has been live-streaming his class at San Francisco Dharma Collective each Thursday night at 7:30 Pacific Time. You can join this live, or watch the saved videos on his Youtube channel. Each class starts with a one-hour guided meditation, followed by teaching and Q&A.

Subscribe to the channel to get updates about new guided meditations!

For the past several months, Michael has been teaching on contacting nondual awareness. You can watch that series here.
 

Deconstructing Yourself Retreat

Silent Meditation in Beautiful British Columbia


Come sit, practice deeply, and restore yourself in this idyllic location. Michael Taft will lead this focused and intimate retreat at a peaceful and inspiring Tibetan Buddhist center. Michael will meet with practitioners each day to guide, share, and encourage.

Small and rustic, the retreat center know as The Hermitage is located on a 60-acre organic farm on Denman Island, located in the waters of the Strait of Georgia, north of Vancouver. The center is quiet, surrounded by woods and fields, and populated by herds of deer, and other wild creatures. It is within walking distance of nearby ocean beaches. The peace and natural sacredness of this spot is ideal for meditation and relaxation.
 

Aug 30 – Sep 4, 2019  cost depends on your choice of accommodation

Register Here

 

Sexual Well-Being: The Next Revolution

Join Deconstructing Yourself's Jessica Graham at Esalen Institute
 

Our culture is sexually unwell. We can see it almost everywhere we look: in politics, entertainment, the educational system and even in our spiritual communities. The time has come for us to wake up, start a new conversation, and move into a new paradigm of truly conscious and evolved sexuality.

A sexually well culture requires being able to skillfully communicate and connect with purpose about sex without checking out or repressing our authentic sexual selves. This workshop offers tools to start your own personal sexual revolution, while also supporting you in becoming an activist for sexual well-being for all. Meditation, writing, partner exercises and group discussion help you let go of what is no longer serving you, open to new possibilities and up-level your own sex life so you can be part of the sexual solution our world needs. Within a safe, secular, consent-based and trauma-informed container, create a new relationship with your sexuality, deepen your capacity for intimacy and connection and begin forging the path to a culture of sexual intelligence and wellness. 
 

Sept 1 - 6, 2019

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