Dharma Ocean

Spiritual materialism is an approach to meditation in which we fixate on goals and perfection, and try to secure a sense of accomplishment. In this talk, Reggie challenges this notion. He says that true spirituality is actually a journey into the grittiness of our humanity. This talk was given at the 2009 Winter Dathun retreat held in Crestone, CO. To find out more about upcoming retreats, please visit www.dharmaocean.org

In today’s talk, Reggie says that true spiritual empowerment happens when we surrender to the raw expressive force of our unique incarnation. Doing this requires that we let go of unhelpful ideas about spiritual hierarchy and trust the natural process of awakening to our true nature. This talk was given at the 2009 Winter Dathun retreat held in Crestone, CO. To find out more about upcoming retreats, please visit our program calendar.

This episode features the second part of a talk that Reggie offered at a weekend retreat in Boulder titled African and Tibetan Approaches to Working with the Elements. Here, Reggie discusses how somatic meditation practices of Vajrayana Buddhism help us connect with the elemental reality of the universe. This talk was given in 2008. To find out more about the next Meditating with the Body retreat that begins in September, please visit www.dharmaocean.org.

Today’s talk is from a weekend retreat Reggie co-lead with his spiritual brother, the Dagara shaman, Malidoma Somé. Here, Reggie draws upon his training as a religious historian to discuss the alienating movement away from earth based spirituality in the development of the so-called high religions of agriculatural civilizations. This talk was given in 2008 at a weekend retreat in Boulder called African and Tibetan Approaches to Working with the Elements. To find out more about the next Meditating with the Body retreat that begins in September, please visit www.dharmaocean.org

In this episode, Reggie discusses embodiment on the spiritual journey. He says that oftentimes we approach meditation as spectators – always a step removed from direct experience. Embodied meditation, however, invites us to enter the full action of our lives. This talk was given at the April 2007 Meditating with the Body retreat held in Crestone, CO. To find out more about the next Meditating with the Body retreat that begins in September, please visit www.dharmaocean.org

Following last week’s episode on the deception of ego, in today’s talk Reggie uses Vajrayana imagery to describe the process of ego dismemberment that unfolds through the practice of meditation. He says that such experiences are part of the initiatory process in becoming who we are. This talk was given at the 2007 Advanced Meditating with the Body retreat held in Crestone, CO. To find out more about the next Meditating with the Body retreat that begins in September, please visit www.dharmaocean.org

Reggie begins this talk by saying, “The view of ego is a personal, solid, sense of self that we have to maintain at all costs.” He discusses how the view of ego is reflected in the rampant materialism of the modern world, and explains how ritual can help us transcend the trap of ego. This talk was given at the 2006 Winter Dathun retreat held in Crestone, CO. To find out more about upcoming retreats, please visit www.dharmaocean.org

In this talk, Reggie addresses the topic of religiosity in Buddhism. He says that ritual forms are problematic when seen as separate and external from our inner being, but can be helpful when related to as an expression of our enlightened nature. This talk was given at the 2005 Meditating with the Body retreat held in Crestone, CO. To find out more about the next Meditating with the Body retreat that begins in September, please visit www.dharmaocean.org

Trungpa Rinpoche taught that there are two orders of logic in the universe: the conventional rationality of ego, and the principle of chaos. In this talk, Reggie explains how the job of the vajrayana teacher is to communicate the principle of chaos. This talk was given at the 2002 Winter Dathun retreat held in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. To find out more about the upcoming retreats, please visit www.dharmaocean.org

In today’s talk, Reggie discusses the karmic cycle of birth, existence, death, and rebirth. He says that by learning to open to karmic cycles in the situations of our lives, we can relinquish our resistance to change, and allow life to emerge free and unencumbered. This talk was given at the 2003 Winter Dathun retreat held in Crestone, CO. To find out more about the upcoming retreats, please visit www.dharmaocean.org

In this talk, Reggie discusses the esoteric tradition of Buddhist tantra. He explains that there is powerful intelligence in human desire – it awakens in us a longing to unite with experience in raw and direct ways. This excerpt is from a talk given in Buddhist Tantra, an audio course produced in 2003 by Sounds True, and available the Dharma Ocean download store at www.dharmaocean.org

In today’s episode, we hear Reggie’s instruction to a group of practitioners who are coming to the end of a meditation retreat. Such transitions, he says, are opportunities to discover our inherent dignity in the face of death, dissolution, and rebirth. These excerpts are from talks given at the 2005 Winter Dathun retreat held in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. To find out more about the upcoming retreats, please visit www.dharmaocean.org

Episode 109: Continuity In this episode, we listen to remarks Reggie offered during the first staff meeting at the Meditating with the Body Teacher Training that was held last week at Blazing Mountain Retreat Center. He explains that tantra is the energetic continuity that lies beneath our habitual ideas and concepts about our lives, and that Vajrayana practitioners are people who are interested in immersing themselves in this continuity. Somatic Descent is offered as a practice that connects us to tantric reality. These remarks were offered to the staff of the 2015 Teacher Training program held in Crestone, CO. To find out more about upcoming programs with Dharma Ocean and the practice of Somatic Descent, please visit www.dharmaocean.org

In this talk, Reggie discusses the experience of fruition on the path of meditation. He says that at a certain point the spiritual identity falls way completely and eternity communicates through each moment of ordinary life. It is basic being – we are completely aligned with the karmic situation of our unique incarnation. This talk was given at the 2014 Mahamudra for the Modern World retreat held at the Blazing Mountain Retreat Center in Crestone, CO. To find out more about upcoming retreats, please visit www.dharmaocean.org

In this episode, Reggie discusses the fullest expression of being human. It means being completely naked to our world and seeing that each moment and situation of our life is a constant expression of wisdom. These excerpts are from talks given at the 2006 Advanced Meditating with the Body and 2013 Winter Dathun retreats held in Crestone, CO. To find out more about the upcoming retreats, please visit our program calendar.