Dharma week 24-30 April: Who are we in the world? "Nothing to worry about" doesn't mean "everything is going great." It just means, "Worry doesn't help." In these times of transformation, we need all the help we can get. This week, we will investigate what is true about who we are in the world--from the outermost to the innermost realms of what we are. The facts of life from mutual influence and the demands of these crazy times, to deep awakening to what is. Email shahar(AT)o

Over the 9 years that I have offered online teachings, I have come to love the way themes and breakthroughs seem to happen around the world with different people at the same time. The more time and space we leave open, the more emerges. Online meetings allow a kind of impersonal friendliness that often gets obscured when we interact in person. David Bohm captures (below) his experience of how Dharma emerges within a group of people, with commitment and openness, friendliness,

All night I could not sleep because of the moonlight on my bed. I kept on hearing a voice calling: Out of Nowhere, Nothing answered "yes." ~attributed to the poetess Zi Ye sometime between 6th-3rd century BCE (transl. Arthur Waley) I will be offering a 2-year online Dharma program, starting in late April of this year--2019-2021. We will allow the teachings to emerge from the field of our practice, commitment, friendliness, and silence. Participants will take initiative

Is it self-indulgent to commit to so-called inner work? Is it avoidance if we devote ourselves to so-called outer work? (Drawing by Jaya, Copyright Jaya Julienne Ashmore, 2019.) I've been hearing these questions frequently in recent weeks. In the face of ecological turbulence, for example, where do we reach for our response? What do we do and from where do we find a real willingness to be here and meet our situation fully? I'd like to share and get real with these and oth

Meditating together "Work and play: inner and outer change" 8 meditations Join one or all live sessions Listen to one or all of the recordings Just receive links to the sessions or to the recordings Or join the online forum to share insights, questions, struggles, artwork, links, music, good company, etc. "I am continually surprised how 'live' it feels, and how relevant the words and themes Jaya brings in." ~participant Teachings offered on a donation basis. Organizatio

"Freedom" Saturday, 17 November, online--this weekend! 5:30-7 pm Spanish time Half an hour each of meditation, Dharma teachings, and dialog and inquiry. Have fun with meditation, silence, community, and the inner power that shakes us free from a pervasive sense of trouble and not-enoughness. Discovering the well of goodness in us, that comes forth not from demand and stress, but through enjoying a love of life and radical honesty. Email shahar@opendharma.org --with "17 N