Today we talk more about inner-peace and how to find it within ourselves. Meditation sit by meditation sit, mindful moment by mindful moment we become better at it.

There is a reason why you were drawn to this session today. There is a gem of insight or a drop of healing that you are looking for and you might as well find it within you through today’s talk and meditation.

Today we first do an exercise to find out what it is we would like to gain clarity about. Then we go on a visual journey to receive answers to our questions, from deep within ourselves.

Today we visualize health and harmony in our life. We are guided into a visual journey to meet an inner guide. On the way, we are helped by an amazing mountain lion and get to enjoy watching playful dolphins.

Today we visualize our abundant health. We are guided into a visual journey to meet an absolutely healthy version of ourselves - and merge with her in order to integrate her in us and take her along into our everyday existence.

Today we visualize our abundant life. We do exercises and are guided into a visual journey to get clarity on what our heart desires - and take the next action step.

Today we reflected about the forgiveness meditation instructions of Bhante Vimalaramsi from last week, and how we made use of them in everyday life in the last week. We did that privately in our Zoom session only, then opened the guided meditation to all on YouTube.

We’re honored to be having Bhante Vimalaramsi visit our session today, exactly six months after his first visit to the High Country Meditators. We’re learning from him how to do forgiveness meditation correctly, a powerful tool to forgive ourselves, others, and lift burdens off our shoulders to live happily.

Back to the basics: this week we revisit the Anapanasati Sutta to simplify the meditation technique that the Buddha taught: mindfulness of breathing.

This week we learn from Ajahn Brahm, what important role joy plays to prepare for meditation. How do we arouse joy on demand? Besides Ajahn Brahm’s instructions, we let His Holiness The Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu inspire us.

This week we finish reading the Mahamalunkya Sutta. We’re diving into the jhanas. Jhanas are stages of the mind that we go through as we relax body and mind more and more, learn to sharpen our mindfulness bit by bit, and lovingly and effectively deal with distractions which naturally come up during our meditation.

This week we review meditation instructions by Bhante Vimalaramsi: the 6 R’s. Recognize, Release, Relax, Re-Smile, Return, Repeat. We’re reading from Bhante’s book The Anapanasati Sutta, downloadable for free.

This week we learn about the value of meritorious deeds. We first read two short suttas from the Itivuttaka and the Anguttara Nikaya. In them, the Buddha shares memories of past lives and explains that being generous, practicing meditation, and behaving ethically, lead to positive experiences in the future.

Today we turn to the question what enlightenment at all is. We hear a lovely story about the five children that all get a wish. Then we read from two suttas which quote and explain the Noble Eightfold Path, guiding us to contentment. Full contentment means freedom from desires.

This week we skip the Jhana-section of last week’s sutta and move on to its final curious question about what should come first, serenity or insight. We find the answer in another teaching called Yuganaddhasutta.

This week we continue to read from a sutta in which the Buddha talks about the five lower fetters - tendencies of the mind which keep us from awakening - and how to let go of them: namely by practicing the jhanas, steps of deep meditation.

This week we read from a sutta in which the Buddha talks about the five lower fetters - tendencies of the mind which keep us from enlightenment. It’s called Mahamalunkya Sutta, or ‘The Longer Discourse With Māluṅkya’

This week we read from one of the suttas that explains how karma (kamma in Pali) works in detail. It’s called Cula-kammavibhanga Sutta, or ‘The Shorter Analysis of Deeds’.

This week we read from the two metta suttas, the Buddha’s teaching on the technique and the benefits of love. Love here is unconditional love, aka loving kindness, friendliness, friendship. That’s the scope of the pali word metta.

This week we read from the Buddha’s teaching to the Kalamas of Kesamutta, the Kalama Sutta. The Buddha and the Kalamas are discussing which guru to believe, which teacher to follow, which doctrine to accept.