Jonathan Foust

This talk explores the potential of mindful renunciation.   You’ll learn how critically important it is to know what is most important, cultivate the thoughts, behaviors and actions that will bring about that outcome and as well, identify and modify the the thoughts, behaviors and actions that get in the way of that outcome.

This talk explores how paying attention to your behavior can support you in your life.   You’ll learn how all traditions have guidelines regarding your moral behavior, how morality is often based on a negativity bias and how ultimately, it’s up to you to determine what you really want and define for yourself what it means to be virtuous and in integrity.

This talk explores the power of cultivating an attitude of love and care in your life.   You’ll learn what the Buddha said about giving, how intimately receiving is connected to generosity, the shadow-side of the practice and the power of taking generous actions when you feel called.

This talk explores some practices for cultivating embodied compassion and care.   You’ll explore  what means to ‘heal’ as well as a few ‘deep dives’ - first into a chakra scan then a scan through the body focusing on reflection, gratitude and well-wishing.

This talk explores how to investigate the inner energy centers through the lens of mindfulness.   You’ll learn about the chakras, a bit on the origins of different approaches, the components of each one and how to explore through the lens of non-judging awareness.

This talk explores how to work with challenging energies.   You’ll learn how embodied awareness can open the door to higher degrees of self awareness and how in that recognition of what is arising you can learn to ‘ride the wave’ of resistance and discover what is on the other side.

This talk explores how to open to more subtle felt-sense awareness through mindful breathing. Whole Body Breathing is yet another tool for drawing attention to the play of energy and sensations within and can dramatically heighten awareness of what is arising and how you are relating to it. This talk includes a guided meditation on this technique.

This is an adaptation of the first talk of a five day retreat at the Art of Living Center in Boone North Carolina.   You’ll learn some practical suggestions for embodied meditation and how the body can be an ally in your practice.

This talk explores who you are free from the wanting mind.   You’ll learn about the nature of desire, strategies for working with a greed-filled mind, what can arise as desire lessens and finally, some thoughts on being desire-free and enlightenment itself.

This talk explores who you are in the absence of ignorance and confusion.   You’ll explore the nature of delusion, strategies for overcoming delusion and being more clearly into the nature of reality and what it means to be awake beyond the fluctuations of emotions, thoughts and beliefs.

This talk explores who you are beyond the reach of  aversion.   You’ll learn about how, in our relationship to hatred there can be a rush to premature transcendence and how, by turning toward aversion, what is possible when hatred ceases, namely the arising of inter-connectedness, compassion and love.

This talk explores who you are beyond the conditioned self.   You’ll learn about what arises with the dissolution of the ego:  A greater sense of interconnectedness, an increased flow of compassion and empathy and not least, a more tangible sense of freedom from stress and suffering.

This talk explores the seventh factor of awakening.   You’ll learn how this factor is the the complete expression of all and as you cultivate both spaciousness and steadiness, wisdom and compassion can flow unrestricted.

This talk explores the power of sustained attention. You’ll learn about the consequence of chronic distraction, the levels of concentration you can achieve in your meditation practice,  how to balance concentration with deep relaxation and how to bring more sustained focus into your life.

This talk explores how to cultivate a calm and relaxed presence.   You’ll learn how tranquility is critical to mindfulness practice and sets the stage for more and more intimate awareness of what is happening and how you are holding it.

This talk explores ways you can bring more joy into your life. You’ll learn about the two essential forms of joy and how practicing ‘yes’ to life can cultivate more aliveness, radiance and upwelling of well-being in your life.

This talk explores ways you can cultivate greater aliveness and vitality. You’ll learn how mental and physical energy, vitality and aliveness are integral to the process of being more awake, aware and present in your life.

This talk explores the power of looking closer at what is present. You’ll learn how cultivating curiosity, examining what is arising and how you are relating to it can lead to not only greater freedom, but profound insights into the nature of reality.

This talk explores the factors that go into not only waking up, but working with the most profound challenges in your life. You’ll learn how recognizing the filters through which you perceive is truly a key to liberation and how some specific techniques can sharpen your awareness of when mindfulness is slipping away.

This talk explores the impact of having your personal North Star. You’ll learn how helpful it can be to clearly articulate what you most want, to reflect on the good in your life, to acknowledge what grows you and what calls you. I share a bit from my own Year in Review and offer some time for your reflection.