In this Dharma talk, Trudy Goodman shares a reflection on the moments of greater freedom that we cultivate with mindfulness practice.
Trudy Goodman, Ph.D., is a Vipassana teacher in the Theravada lineage and the Founding Teacher of InsightLA. She also teaches residential retreats at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, CA, Vallecitos Mountain Retreat Center, and Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA, among others. Learn more at trudygoodman.com
Moments Of Greater Freedom
Trudy reflects on the process of opening and closing that comes with mindfulness practice. How can we cultivate ease and joy through mindfulness?
“We have these moments of greater freedom and then something happens. Maybe we are hungry or maybe we are angry about something. Maybe we are lonely, encapsulated in our thought world, it is very lonesome to keep thinking and thinking all the time. Recognize these symptoms of the times when we are feeling unfree.” – Trudy Goodman
Making A Practice Our Own (9:05)
Can we adapt spiritual practices to better suit where we are at and how we have been shaped by our environment? Trudy looks at the possibility for us to bring ourselves and the practices we learn into better alignment with one another. She shares stories about learning to trust ourselves and our practice – living each moment fully.
Stepping Back Into Awareness (37:05)
Trudy shares teachings from Zen Master Dōgen. How can we use the study of the self to loosen our attachment to the self?
“The study of Buddhism is the study of the self. We study the self to forget the self. We forget the self to be awakened by all things.” – Zen Master Dōgen
The Shift (44:00)
As we practice mindfulness, we begin a shift in the perspective of our own consciousness. Trudy closes the talk with look at how we can be a part of the world without becoming attached to the experience.
“My first teacher, Seung Sahn, his meditation instruction was boiled down to: don’t make, don’t touch, don’t hold. In other words, when you have an experience don’t make something of it – a story about yourself for example – don’t touch it – keep going – and don’t hold on to it.” – Trudy Goodman