The Compassionate Response

This podcast is an exploration of  how In each mindful moment we can choose to respond rather than react out of habitual conditioning. Epidemics, the horrors of violence, wars, racism, sexism, homo and transphobia, global warming, physical and mental health challenges, financial uncertainty, relational distress, social isolation and more are all part of the conditions of life we may be impacted by.  We can react out of fear, anger, shame, and greed; or we can use these experiences to learn to respond with compassion and wisdom. It's not easy to keep practicing in difficult times. It takes perseverance and a supportive community.  Each moment we can begin again and remember our deepest values and intentions. As we learn to cultivate these wholesome mental emotional states for the challenges we face there can be a shift in our view.  We don't see ourselves or the world in terms of good and bad, right and wrong, or good and evil; we can see only dukkha (suffering, anguish, unsatisfactoriness)  and what leads to the end of dukkha.  When we deeply understand from direct experience dukkha and the end of dukkha, then we feel more love and compassion.  Then we can act in energetic and forceful ways, but without corrosive effects of greed, hatred and delusion.