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Dharma Talks
given at Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
Publicly available talks can be browsed here in the order indicated by
the "Sort Order" selection. Talk titles and discriptions can also be
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clicking "Search Titles and Descriptions". With multiple words, only those talks
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Get the latest Dharma talks from Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley by Podcast
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2026-01-15
The Gift of Practice: A Choice in Every Moment
45:10
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James Baraz
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It seems with every day of news, there is more uncertainty, deep concern and unease. As much as we would like to, we can't control reality. However, the great gift of practice is that we can choose how to skillfully relate to our experience. This is a time for our practice to hold us. Instead of reacting impulsively in ways that just contract us more or with actions we later regret, we can respond effectively with a wise heart. This talk discusses teachings and practices that help us make that wiser choice.
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Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
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2026-01-08
Practicing with the Four Qualities of the Awakened Heart
45:34
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Eve Decker
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The Awakened heart dwells in the present moment and chooses wise response to the unfolding, ever changing, less-predictable-than-we-think experience of now. The Buddha taught four basic qualities of the awakened heart: friendliness, compassion, joy, and equanimity. These qualities frequently overlap, are innate (though sometimes/often not in charge) and can be practiced, strengthened, and uncovered. When we do uncover them we gain access to an ease and wisdom we didn't know we had. We can become our own warmest friend and a refuge for others. Listen to Eve in an exploration of these four qualities of the awakened heart.
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Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
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2026-01-01
Welcoming in the New Year Together!
38:18
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James Baraz
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This talk will
1. Look back at 2025 reviewing what we've learned
2. Open to where we are in the present
3. Get in touch with our intention for the 2026 envisioning the qualities that will be most needed for us to deepen our understanding and inner peace
We will also share a New Year's ritual of letting go and cultivation. If you're at home bring a candle.
Please pause the audio to perform the exercises.
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Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
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2025-11-20
Mindfulness and Imagery:
Two strategies for clarity and compassion
44:02
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Eve Decker
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The Buddha taught transcending (and not identifying with) the thinking mind through present moment awareness. He also taught about using the thinking mind skillfully to incline toward wholesome, well-being inducing states. These two bodies of practice are different but each crucial in their own way, and support each other. This talk looks at working with both mindfulness of the present moment and using imagery (a form of the thinking mind) to skillfully invoke peaceful states.
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Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
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2025-10-30
Instructions from My Teachers
40:12
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James Baraz
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We all have teachers who've inspired us to see life in a new way. Who have been your inspirations?
What have you learned from them? I thought I'd share some ways that instructions from two of my
teachers--Ram Dass and HWL Poonja (Papaji)-- have shaped how I see the world and how I practice.
The talk includes a recording of a significant dialogue from 1990 with Poonjaji that reconnected me
with my joy.
Here is a link to the dialogue of the Poonjaji satsang where James asked the question
https://docs.google.com/document/d/16TnL2Zev-6r_mZPrgdSxSTaYLoyzdLOg3CnJ2U3D6C8/edit?tab=t.0
Here is a link to the video on Youtube that is over an hour long
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrjspK5fHiQ. James is at 23:38
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Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
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2025-10-16
Wise Self-Soothing is Crucial
48:15
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Eve Decker
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The Buddha's teachings point to the need for clear understanding of our own minds and hearts, along with intention, compassion, and practice. As the adage goes, we must become the ones we seek while we work to change (or even consistently comfort) the world. To do that, we need to know what's going on for us internally and know how to wisely self-soothe when we are experiencing distress. The Buddha taught this, and this teaching is pretty precisely echoed in neuroscience and current psychology, including (but not limited to) Compassion Focused Therapy; Polyvagal Theory; and Internal Family Systems. The Buddha observed reality and neuroscientists are doing the same.
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Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
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