This talk references teachings from the writings of Carlos Castaneda and material from the book The Five Invitations by Frank Ostaseski. Holding on to things goes against nature since everything ends. In our culture, we seek to have death affect us as little as possible. Another option is to look at and show up for death when it crosses our path so that it informs our lives. If we push death away, transformation is not possible. Suzuki Roshi said, “We die, and we do not die.” How are we to understand this? On one level we are terrified of death and on another we encourage it. We can practice with little deaths, with accepting what is, relaxing ego, and acting as needed every day. Stories are recounted which illustrate the five invitations: don’t wait, welcome everything, bring your whole self, find a place of rest in the middle of things, and cultivate don’t know mind. Any consideration about avoiding dying raises the consideration of avoiding living. Our problem is that we think we have time. Are we holding on to something which keeps us from forgiving? How do we hold back from giving our whole self to life? Through loss, feelings of love become transformative. When we surrender to grief, we learn to give ourselves to life. People who are dying offer us a great gift. It’s too important to wait until the last moment to contemplate the mystery of death. VJ is the organizer of the Western Baul Podcast Series and author of Shadow on the Path and Father and Son.
Whatever Happened to Enlightenment? (Matthew Files)
Shadow and Luminosity, Descent and Transcendence (Nachama Greenwald)
The Direct Path: Taking the Backwards Step (Peter Cohen)
The Value and Necessity of Suffering (Red Hawk)
One’s Face on the Path (Jocelyn del Rio)
What If? An Exploration of Transformational Possibility (Regina Sara Ryan)
Cultivating Transparency: Realizing the Emptiness of the Stories You Tell Yourself and Others (Rob Schmidt and Stuart Goodnick)
It’s Not the Fall That Kills You: A Talk on Groundlessness (Juanita Violini)
”What’s Your Pleasure? Poetry and Perspectives on Pleasure on the Spiritual Path” (Karen Sprute-Francovich)
Women Talking: Power, Dominance, and Agency in the Age of ‘Me Too’ and on the Path (Elise Erro)
Removing Obstacles to Our Heart’s Desire (Lalitha)
Losing the Taste for Drama (Bandhu Dunham)
Conscience and the Law of Identification (Red Hawk)
Working with Money as Spiritual Practice (Regina Sara Ryan, Tom Lennon, Vijaya Fedorschak)
The Shadow on the Path (Vijaya Fedorschak)
My Last Bully Is Me (Rick Lewis)
”Honey in the Heart: The Rasa of Enjoyment, Delight and Celebration on the Path” (Nachama Greenwald)
Deep Dharmic Doo-Doo: Resistance is Futile… But So Also Is Acceptance (Peter Cohen)
Wisdom Teachings of the Ancient World: Celtic Spirituality and Tantra (Mary Angelon Young)
Lies We Tell Ourselves (Karl Krumins)
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