Karuna Training

This class introduces Karuna Training, a program focused on Contemplative Psychology and the integration of elemental magic into everyday life. The discussion explores the unique aspects of Karuna Training, including its roots in Tibetan Buddhism and the significance of the five Buddha family elements. Participants engage in a guided meditation grounded in the five elements and share reflections afterward. The conversation concludes with an invitation to join upcoming classes and the importance of community in the learning process.Please note, this is a recording of a Karuna event. If you'd like to join one of our future Karuna events, please visit: ⁠https://karunatraining.com/events/⁠⁠Don't miss your chance to join our 4-part online course, "Embodying Compassion Through Radical Honesty" beginning on October 18th: https://karunatraining.com/event/embo...Sign up for our newsletter: https://karunatraining.com/newsletter...#fiveelements #guidedmeditation #meditationpractice #rituals #sacredritual #talk #elementalmagic #communitybuilding #tibetanbuddhism

This Karuna Live explores the concept of soulful bonds and the importance of building a loving community through Karuna training. Melissa Moore, a steward of Karuna training, discusses the significance of relationships in our well-being, the unique approach of Karuna training rooted in Buddhist psychology, and the practices that foster authenticity, vulnerability, and emotional exchange. The dialogue highlights the importance of community support in personal growth and the transformative impact of shared experiences.Please note this is a recording of a Karuna event. To respect and protect the confidentiality of all participants, their contributions have been removed from this recording. If you would like to join us live for an event, learn more about our future ⁠free Karuna Live events and course offerings here⁠.

Join lead Karuna faculty members Miriam and Naoko and a few Karuna graduates for this recording of our first Karuna Curiosity Session. This informational, storytelling, and live question-and-answer session is for those who are considering signing up for or are already registered for the Karuna Basic Training Program . A second phase one cohort is launching in September 2025. The first part will cover an experiential practice and frequently asked questions. It will be followed by a section in the middle with Karuna graduates who will share some of their personal stories about their experiences. Then, we will have an "ask us anything" session to close.Please note that this is a recording of a Karuna event. If you would like to join us live for an event, learn more about our future free Karuna Live events and course offerings here.

Join Karuna Faculty member Miriam Hall in this Karuna Live recording, Set Your Compassion Compass. In this conversation, Miriam Hall discusses the importance of compassion for oneself and others, emphasizing the interconnectedness of our experiences. She introduces the concept of setting a 'compassion compass' as a guiding principle for the new year and explores the nuances between empathy and compassion. The discussion includes a detailed explanation of a four-step compassion practice designed to help individuals connect with their feelings and experiences, ultimately fostering a deeper sense of compassion for themselves and others.Please note this is a recording of a Karuna Live event. If you'd like to join one of our future free Karuna Live events, please visit: https://karunatraining.com/events/#Karuna #Mindfulness #Compassion #Empathy #CompassionPractice #Grounding #Meditation #MeditationPractice

Join Karuna Faculty member, Miriam Hall in this Karuna Live recording, All Our Disguises: Introduction to the Realms. This conversation delves into the teachings of Tibetan Buddhism, specifically the six realms and their implications. Each realm represents different states of suffering and attachment, exploring themes of jealousy, longing, survival, and aggression. The discussion emphasizes the importance of compassion and understanding in navigating these realms, both for oneself and others. Please note this is a recording of a Karuna Live event. If you'd like to join one of our future events, please visit: https://karunatraining.com/events/ #TibetanBuddhism #Buddhism #Karuna #SixRealms #Mindfulness #Compassion #SpiritualTeaching #Patterns

Melissa Moore and Erika Berland discuss embodiment and somatic practices in this conversation. They also discuss the power of practicing embodiment and using anatomical imagery as a tool for experiencing the body. They delve into the concept of the subtle and energetic bodies, exploring how everything is fundamentally vibration and how the body's glands are intricately linked to the chakras. If you'd like to learn more about Erika at https://erikaberland.com/. If you'd like to learn more about Karuna Training, please visit us at https://karunatraining.com/.

In this Karuna Live introductory session, we will have time to reflect and discuss how we can draw on our innate wisdom as a resource in an ongoing way. The program is open to everyone and will include guided meditation, an experience of the Karuna teachings, and a discussion of upcoming Karuna Training offerings. Please note that participant sharing has been removed from this recording to respect privacy. If you'd like to join one of our events, please visit: https://karunatraining.com/events/ If you'd like to join our Fall cohort, please visit: https://karunatraining.com/basic-training-2024/

In this Introduction to Karuna Training, Executive Director Melissa Moore discusses discovering strength in vulnerability. Please note that this event has been edited to honor the privacy of our participants. If you'd like to attend a live event, please visit: https://karunatraining.com/events/ If you'd like to find out more about how to apply for Karuna Training, please visit: https://karunatraining.com/basic-training-2024/

Are you overwhelmed by the news and your reactions? Are you holding back from conversations because of how you or others may react? Do you feel trapped in negativity or hopelessness, ready to boil over or give up? In this fraught election year and these painful times, we take sides and harden our hearts against perceived enemies. We know that hatred and aggression - and ignorance and nihilism - are not long-term strategies. How can we find shared ground to serve the well-being of our communities and planet? How can we tap into the strength and wisdom of our compassionate hearts? In this discussion, Sandra explores Uncovering Polarization: Cultivating Compassionate Exchange. Please note this talk has been edited to protect the safety of participants. If you'd like to attend one of our live events, please visit our website at https://karunatraining.com/events/

Join Miriam Hall for a contemplative writing practice to follow up on her talk about queer rights, pride and liberation. If you'd like to learn more about us, please visit: https://karunatraining.com/

Join Karuna Faulty member Miriam Hall as she explores queer pride and liberation in relation to identity and Buddhist teachings. To learn more about Karuna Training, please visit us at https://karunatraining.com/

This meditation is an extension of the previous episode, The Elegance of Aging: Working Compassionately with a Long Lens. If you'd like to learn more about Karuna Training, please visit www.karunatraining.com.

Join Karuna-trained faculty to discuss how aging can be an elegant oscillating process between fostering our gratitude for long life and walking on a courageous path of life review that allows acceptance, integration, and compassion for life’s teachings. For more information, visit us at https://karunatraining.com/

In this Karuna Live podcast episode, Janneli Chapin and Melissa Moore explore healing through space awareness. Please note that participant sharing has been removed to create a safe container for our participants. You can find out more at https://karunatraining.com/

Karuna faculty members Sandra Ladley and Terry Jaworski facilitate a guided meditation based on their previous episode, Synchronicity & Opening to Coincidence. You can find out more about Karuna Training at https://karunatraining.com/

Karuna faculty members Sandra Ladley and Terry Jaworski delve into Synchronicity & Opening to Coincidence. You can find out more about Karuna Training at https://karunatraining.com/

Karuna Training lead teachers continue their discussion with a Four Ways to Love meditation practice. In this practice, specific phrases are repeated to invoke the quality of the four flavors of love in our hearts. If you'd like to listen to the discussion that pairs with this episode, please visit the previous episode. This episode is available on all podcast platforms. To learn more about our basic training, visit: https://karunatraining.com/retreats/

Karuna Training lead teachers discuss the classic teachings of loving-kindness, compassion, equanimity, and sympathetic joy. These four ways to love are essential for all relationships, romantic or not, relationships with others and with ourselves. This episode will be followed by a meditative practice on our February 28th episode. Resources: A Fierce Heart by Spring Washam Love as the Practice of Freedom by Bell Hooks Love and Rage by Lama Rod Owens Monsters in Love by Resmaa Menakem To find out more about our offerings, visit: https://karunatraining.com/

As the New Year approaches, we think of change and the possibilities of making a fresh start in the areas of our lives where we may want or need to. Longings and resolutions run rampant, and at the same time, we’re haunted by past failures and habits we can’t seem to break. It’s easy to become disheartened during winter and lose our bearings when spring feels so distant. How do we make changes in our lives when it seems so hard? How can we tap into what research shows as the “fresh start effect” that is more available to us in January? Sandra explores this in her Karuna Live Reimagining Resolutions: Embracing Chance for the New Year. Participant sharing has been removed for privacy purposes. If you'd like to attend one of our events, please visit www.karunatraining.com/events.

The Solstice is a time for sacred rituals as it symbolizes the everlasting nature of time. The holidays can be relentlessly commercial, causing us to lose sight of finding the warmth of community and celebrating our year-end accomplishments as we enter the year's darkest day. In the Northern Hemisphere, the Winter Solstice marks a moment to gather in and invoke the presence of our ancestors and the original stewards of our land. This is a time to express gratitude for the blessings we've been bestowed, to unite in appreciation, and to set intentions for the upcoming period of darkness. Join us in celebrating in a special Karuna Live honoring ritual; bring offerings of your creativity, making or finding something to represent the elements, or come only with an open mind. What to expect: An introduction to Contemplative Psychology. A ritual environment - with some orientation to enacting sacred ritual. A ritual offering of the five elements; space, water, earth, fire, and air - and participants are encouraged to make their elemental offering at home. A few minutes of silence and guided contemplation. Aspirations, sharing, and celebration What to bring: Bring a candle and something to represent the five elements: space, water, earth, fire, and air Make sure you have matches and sit where you can turn off the lights and light the candle without danger. Contemplate what you are aspiring for in the new year. We aspire that you come away with a sense of Karuna Training and that we stand for turning our allegiance to loving kindness and compassion in a world full of confusion and suffering. Please note that participant sharing has been removed for participant safety. If you'd like to attend one of our events, please visit www.karunatraining.com/events.

 In this introductory program, we will do gentle practices together, share in a virtual circle, and touch our pain and inspiration as individuals and as part of the collective. Participants will practice contemplative methods that bring us more present and help connect us with others.  If you're looking for an authentic space to investigate emotional energies, tap them for their innate wisdom, and learn methods that cultivate kindness toward yourself and others – then Karuna Training is the program for you.  Please note that participant sharing has been removed for participant safety. If you'd like to attend a Karuna Live, please visit: karunatraining.com/events

“We tell ourselves stories to live.” - Joan Didion Stories are a core aspect of our psychological well-being and how we make sense in our families and communities. Stories make meaning and help us make sense of a wild, incoherent world. And yet, sometimes, our personal stories are so solidly constructed and tightly held in our minds that they get in the way of grasping a broader perspective. These tightly held narratives constrict moving forward in our lives, seeing others' perspectives, and or allowing for others' opinions and narratives to co-exist. Therefore, unraveling our narrative often involves allowing the holes in our story to emerge and exploring the need to see things more expansively and alternatively. There is a skillful means of making room for others' views and opinions, which we are sorely missing in today's society. The task requires we look at how our narratives serve us, their effect on our lives, and how they affect others who matter, and then through this examination, we may loosen our grips on the storylines of our life and make room for a broader perspective. Unraveling the Narrative will be an hour of exploring how we hold our life stories, the major ones that shape us– exploring where these stories support us and hinder our growth. This program introduces Karuna's methods of drawing from Contemplative Psychology. The program is relevant for anyone willing to openly investigate their psychology in a group setting. The program is interactional. What to expect: A brief introduction to Contemplative Psychology A short guided meditation practice An Exploration of the role of narrative in the context of Contemplative Psychology An experiential exercise on our narrative and potential to share with another participant. Please note participant sharing has been removed for safety. If you'd like to attend one of our live events, please visit: https://karunatraining.com/events/

How do we cope, take care, and continue to contribute as we face overwhelm on a daily basis? In this introductory program, we will learn gentle practices, share openly in a virtual circle, and touch our pain and inspiration as individuals and as part of the collective. This program is an introduction to Karuna Training, a program rooted in time-tested Buddhist teachings that provides a modern opportunity to practice deep psychological awareness. Participants will practice contemplative methods that bring us more present and help us connect with others. Please note that participant sharing has been removed for safety. If you'd like to attend one of our events for the full experience, please visit: karunatraining.com/events .

Embodying our gender and sexuality can feel tricky, and trigger shame. In this introductory program, we will touch on gentle practices together, and build a communal field to share the raw humanness of what makes us both individual and part of collective wholeness. This program is also an introduction overall to Karuna Training, a program rooted in Tibetan Buddhist teachings providing a modern opportunity to practice deep psychological awareness. If you're looking for an authentic space to investigate emotional energies, mine them for their innate wisdom, and learn methods that cultivate kind-hearted acceptance and self-love, Karuna Training is the program for you.  Please note that participant sharing has been removed to create a safe space for our participants. If you'd like to attend one of our live events, please visit https://karunatraining.com/event .

Our world is changing, and suffering is increasing. We had the hottest day in 100,000 years just a few days ago. How are you coping? How are you helping? Are you anxious, hiding out, or somewhere in between? What can we draw on to strengthen us? What do we have to offer? Karuna Training Faculty Member, Sandra Ladley explores to topic of activism and anxiety in this Karuna Live. Please note that participant sharing has been edited out to create a safe space for our students. To join us for a live event, visit: https://karunatraining.com/events/

During this Karuna Live, Karuna Faculty Member, Miriam Hall explores rejoicing in the results of our practice and life experiences. Please note that participant sharing has been removed to cultivate a safe space for our attendees. To join one of our free Karuna Lives, visit: https://karunatraining.com/events/

What if aging wasn’t something to be embarrassed of, or to hide?  What if we could show and tell our age as an honored elder?  What if we could celebrate the wisdom and refined attunement that comes with adapting to changes on a daily basis?  This is not a fantasy; people have lived this way in communities across the globe over time. We’ve looked to our elders as examples and wisdom holders of how to approach life and death.  What is the art of living and aging well? How can we support each other in this?  In this Karuna Live, Sandra explores the topic of aging. Please note that participant sharing has been excluded to cultivate a safe space during the Karuna Lives. If you'd like to join one of our free Karuna Lives, please visit: https://karunatraining.com/events/

Why is it that shame arises so quickly for so many when we discuss gender or sexuality? Though there is nothing inherently shameful about either, systemic patriarchy has been rearing its ugly head with extra force recently, aggravating individual and social shame. Is there wisdom hiding under that shame? If so, how can we shed the shame and grow the wisdom? In this experiential event, we will spend time gently opening up to the shame we each carry around sexuality and gender (regardless of our sexuality or gender) and begin to nurture the wisdom under our worries. Please note that participant sharing has been removed from this episode to create a safe space. Miriam Hall is a cisgender queer white woman who is the lead teacher at Herspiral Contemplative Arts(www.herspiral.com) and co-director of Nalanda Miksang Contemplative Photography (www.miksang.org), as well as a senior teacher of Nalanda Miksang. She is a meditation instructor, an authorized Maitri Space Awareness teacher, and a creativity coach. Her work focuses on the intersection of compassion and perception and unapologetically regards all liberation as inherently tied to social justice. She was a member of the first North American cohort of Karuna Training, both basic and graduate, and has been on faculty since 2017. If you'd like to attend a Karuna Live, please visit https://karunatraining.com/events/ for more information.

Welcome to the Karuna Training Podcast. In this introduction episode, Karuna Training Founder, Melissa Moore shares a quick history on Karuna Training and what to expect from the Karuna Training Podcast. To learn more about Karuna Training, visit: www.karunatraining.com .