Two Types of Thinking
Sit & Dharma Talk with SIM Community Teacher Rev. Diane Wilde
Thoughts… what a random mess! They come uninvited, stick around for a bit and then they are off. Thoughts that we enjoy as well as thoughts that we would prefer to ignore. Thoughts that are inspirational and others which bring out our worst nature. The Buddha explains in the “Dvedhavitakka Sutta” that he too wrestled with uninvited thoughts. Using mindfulness practice, he categorized arising thoughts into skillful and unskillful, i.e. which of his thoughts alleviated suffering and which made things worse. In our contemporary lives, we are unfortunately, mostly unaware of the harm we needlessly cause ourselves because we rarely monitor our own thought processes. This is true for the dramatic “big issues”, but it is also relevant for thoughts that arise from seemingly innocent and often mundane daily activities. Tonight we will discuss strategies for elevating our “thought experience” both on and off the cushion.
Sacramento Insight Meditation events are sustained by the generosity of instructors in offering teachings freely and on the generosity of students and members of the meditative community in the form of financial support, service and participation in events. With our practice of dana, we support our Sangha.
Thursday Night Talk Dana
“Generosity is the virtue that leads to peace.” – The Historical Buddha
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*Sit & Dharma Talk – Diane Wilde – Two Types of Thinking
Weekly MeditationTwo Types of Thinking
Sit & Dharma Talk with SIM Community Teacher Rev. Diane Wilde
Thoughts… what a random mess! They come uninvited, stick around for a bit and then they are off. Thoughts that we enjoy as well as thoughts that we would prefer to ignore. Thoughts that are inspirational and others which bring out our worst nature. The Buddha explains in the “Dvedhavitakka Sutta” that he too wrestled with uninvited thoughts. Using mindfulness practice, he categorized arising thoughts into skillful and unskillful, i.e. which of his thoughts alleviated suffering and which made things worse. In our contemporary lives, we are unfortunately, mostly unaware of the harm we needlessly cause ourselves because we rarely monitor our own thought processes. This is true for the dramatic “big issues”, but it is also relevant for thoughts that arise from seemingly innocent and often mundane daily activities. Tonight we will discuss strategies for elevating our “thought experience” both on and off the cushion.
Sacramento Insight Meditation events are sustained by the generosity of instructors in offering teachings freely and on the generosity of students and members of the meditative community in the form of financial support, service and participation in events. With our practice of dana, we support our Sangha.
Researching the Impacts of Meditation
NewsA research team at the University of Colorado Boulder is conducting an online survey of meditators. They hope to understand meditators’ perspectives and how they differ from non-meditators. They would like to invite you to participate!
The survey can be completed from your computer and should take no more than 15 minutes to complete. If you are interested in participating or want to learn more about the study, check out https://cuboulder.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5sx0NqNLjw45z7L.
03/21/2019 “Communicating with the ‘Other'” with Diane Wilde
Audio DharmaIf you would like to download this talk, please right click and select “save as” here.
Our polarized society has caused many of us to not only avoid speaking to those who don’t share our political, spiritual or cultural views, but to avoid them altogether. Social scientists state that the animosity towards the “other” is as extreme as it was in the 60s and 70s during the Vietnam war. And yet, it has never been as critical to speak about the perilous issues that effect everyone. Speaking to each other is a task we all must undertake because we now have no choice. Avoidance has been creating its own downward trajectory… the climate crisis worsens, and political polarity has resulted in societal paralysis.
Tonight we will discuss steps we might consider taking in communicating with the “other.” The Buddha offered advise in many suttas, and contemporary social scientists have weighed in on how to begin a conversation eliminating rigidly held dogma or self-righteous anger.
Tea with Vance Pryor March 29th
NewsTea with Vance Pryor
NewsPlease join us for tea to meet and welcome Vance Pryor to Sacramento. This will be an opportunity for community members to get to know Vance, who is leading our visiting teacher weekend this year, and will also be assisting Kamala Masters in teaching SIM’s September Residential retreat. We hope that you can make it, and look forward to seeing everyone there. If you plan to attend, please send an email to info@sactoinsight.org or RSVP below.
At the bottom of this page, you may enter the number of people planning to attend and select the button “Confirm RSVP“.
03/14/2019 “Patience: Antidote and Perfection” with Rich Howard
Audio DharmaIf you would like to download this talk, please right click and select “save as” here.
Building Rich Howard’s talk on anger last month, this evening’s presentation will explore the Buddhist view of patience. In his recent book “Perfecting Patience: Buddhist Techniques to Overcome Anger,” the Dalai Lama writes, “The only factor that can give refuge or protection from the destructive effects of anger and hatred is the practice of tolerance and patience.” So, first we will look at this function of patience as an antidote.
We will then look at patience as one of the Paramis, qualities we need to cultivate and develop to be truly free. The Historical Buddha called Patience the highest virtue, so we will look into this important but seldom appreciated mind state. This will also be a good opportunity to inquire into the linked practices of refraining from harmful activities and cultivating healthy ones.
03/07/2019 “Working with Difficult Thinking” with Dennis Warren
Audio DharmaThe Important Things To Know In Working With Difficult, Problematic and Obsessive Thinking:
If you would like to download this talk, please right click and select “save as” here.
We all know that our minds have “a mind of their own.” It’s not uncommon to find ourselves in situations where we can’t stop thinking about things we don’t want to think about. Or we can’t think the way we want to think in dealing with highly emotional or pressurized issues. Thinking can be difficult, problematic, obsessive…and more. It plays a major role in nearly every, if not every, intra-personal, interpersonal and existential question, delima and dysfunction.
This evening will examine what’s important to know in working with thinking. What do we do when we are faced with a mind that seems out of control? How do we deal with thinking that just won’t stop? How do we develop the ability to think clearly and productively when we want to? What are the underlying principles that will help us understanding our thinking patterns and what to do about them?
There are basic approaches that will apply to all these topics whether your particular mind’s approach to “thinking” is based primarily on logic, kinesthetic or body based, through imagery or emotion, or one of the other ways the mind processes information, relates to experience and makes decisions.
In preparation for this talk, please consider the following basic questions:
Book Club (Wed Morn)
Study GroupMeeting the second and fourth Wednesday of the month, the Wednesday morning book club formed in February 2019.
NOTE: This book club is no longer accepting new members. If you are not already a member of this group but are interested in joining as space permits, or if you’d like to be a part of creating a new book club, visit https://sactoinsight.org/interest-book-club/ for more information.
Book Club (Wed Morn)
Study GroupMeeting the second and fourth Wednesday of the month, the Wednesday morning book club formed in February 2019.
NOTE: This book club is no longer accepting new members. If you are not already a member of this group but are interested in joining as space permits, or if you’d like to be a part of creating a new book club, visit https://sactoinsight.org/interest-book-club/ for more information.
Book Club (Wed Morn)
Study GroupMeeting the second and fourth Wednesday of the month, the Wednesday morning book club formed in February 2019.
NOTE: This book club is no longer accepting new members. If you are not already a member of this group but are interested in joining as space permits, or if you’d like to be a part of creating a new book club, visit https://sactoinsight.org/interest-book-club/ for more information.