Eve is a long time student of the dharma. She began practicing Vipassana in the early 1990s, trained in mindfulness-based social action through the two-year Path of Engagement program at Spirit Rock. and is a certified meditation teacher through the Community Dharma Leader Program. Eve is also a performing artist and co-founded the feminist folk trio Rebecca Riots(1993-2009). They were dubbed “Best Band with a Conscience” by the SF Bay Guardian, toured nationally, and released five CDs. In 2006 Eve released a solo CD, “Commentary on the Perfections of the Heart”, ten original songs based on a Buddhist list of qualities that promote a contented heart. A review of the CD in Tricycle magazine said, “Decker’s melodies, and her luscious, inventive phrasing, give her songs the power of a transmission”. Here's what James Baraz has to say, "Listening to Eve’s songs are often just what I need to remind myself of the truth inside. They’ve been a big part of my daily life practice to inspire and open my heart. I love Eve Decker’s music!"
Many of us have learned to motivate ourselves with self-criticism. At what price? Negative criticism is a form of aversion - one of the three "poisons" to well-being taught by the Buddha. We can practice and get better at motivating ourselves with self-compassion instead. Join me for an evening of exploration and practice with self-compassionate motivation.
Many of us learned, for multiple reasons, to ignore our own needs. While this may support being of service to others in the short term, in the long term we can burn out and become resentful if we don't know what our authentic needs are and endeavor to meet them. We are each our own primary caregiver, and how we meet and respond to our own version of Universal Human Needs makes a big difference in how consistently available we can be to others. Using the skills of mindfulness, interconnection, compassion, and more, we can bring awareness and warmth into how we take care of our own needs. Hope to see you! Warmly, Eve
Compassion for self, others, and the world is essential for well-being and freedom. This form of love often needs to manifest tenderly - and - just as often, needs to be fierce. Join Eve for a look at bringing together 'a sword and a lotus'.
Self-Compassion requires us to cultivate capacities of presence with difficulty, kindness, and awareness of common humanity. But this doesn't mean that it always must be tender and internal. Often, our self-compassion requires us to be action-oriented and courageous. Join Eve for a look at these two forms of self-compassion and some ways to practice.
During mindfulness practice, we might anchor our awareness through a focus on breath or body. We can also become mindfully aware of vedena, or feeling tone: whether we experience something as pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral. Becoming mindful of this mental function helps us interrupt our own reactivity, in order to both experience and offer greater levels of equanimity and peace.
Mindfulness helps us see our minds. Neuroscience and our own observations make clear that the natural negativity bias is there, and can be overridden in favor of intentional practices that increase contentment. Join Eve to explore two of these practices - appreciating others ('mudita' in Pali) and appreciating ourselves (noticing and savoring our innate and expressed goodness).
The Dalai Lama said “The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness.” And the Buddha taught that the wholesome energies that support goodness are the stepping stones to freedom. Join Eve for a deeper look at appreciation for goodness, the ensuing increase of inner ease, and ways we can practice.
With metta, Eve
