Dharma Ocean Podcast

Today, we listen to the second part of Reggie’s talk on ritual - Tradition and Ritual. In offering instruction on ritual in Vajrayana Buddhism, he introduces three chants that connect us to three domains of mystery: love, the body, and the unseen world. This talk was...

In the first part of this talk on the place of tradition and ritual in Vajrayana Buddhism, Reggie discusses how symbolism, liturgy, and community can serve to help connect us with mystery as modern practitioners. This talk was given at the 2006 Advanced Meditating...

Episode - Awakening Through Relationship Part III: In the third part of this series on consort relationship, Reggie says that the journey of awakening through relationship requires a commitment to receiving all aspects of our partner with love. In this way, the open...

In Awakening Through Relationship Part II, in the second part of the opening keynote from Reggie and Caroline’s weekend program on the journey of consort relationship, Reggie discusses the somatic experiennce of beholding one’s beloved from the empty open state of...

Reggie begins this talk by saying, Episode - Life is Not a Problem: “There is nothing wrong with anyone here.” When we approach meditation practice as a way to solve a problem, we miss the basic message of this lineage: that life is perfect, right now, as it is. This...

In this talk, Growing Neurological Capacity, Reggie discusses the neurological capacity that develops through the somatic practice of pure awareness. He says that an important step in the practice involves setting aside preconceptions about the goal of meditation....

In Basic Sadness, Reggie discusses the basic sadness we feel in relation to the fundamental loss of connection to the Source. This sadness gives rise to a longing to reconnect with it, which is the basis of the spiritual journey. This talk was given at the 2006...

In Direct Experience, Reggie says that direct experience is the touchstone of the Buddhist tradition, and the gateway is the body. Through disembodiment, we lose our connection with reality and, therefore, our humanity. This excerpt is taken from Reggie’s online...

In this episode, The Truth of Suffering, Reggie introduces the first Noble Truth, the truth of suffering, in context of the somatic practice of pure awareness. He says that this ancient teaching allows us to see the reality of our lives, in this moment, as modern...

In Somatic Descent, Reggie introduces the practice of Somatic Descent. He says that when we touch the primordial body, the soma, we receive information about the practicalities of our everyday life. This excerpt is from a talk given in Somatic Descent: Experiencing...

In this talk, Gateway to the Awakened State, Reggie says that we are born to fly in the eternity of our true nature. We long for the vastness and freedom of the awakened state, and this longing inspires us to become passionate about tasting this freedom in each moment...

In the final part of this talk on dark knowledge, Realm of the Inconceivable, Reggie says that in the tradition of the practicing lineage we understand that the body is the enlightened alaya—the primordial source of all experience. To trust the body, is to trust...

In the second part of this talk on the dark knowledge of the body, Realm of the Inconceivable, Reggie says that in the practicing lineage we learn how to rest with the soma and wait. What unfolds is a process of vertical transformation that fundamentally changes our...

In Realm of the Inconceivable, Reggie discusses the conceptual maps that we use to overlay experience. Direct experience, he says, is found in the body. It is the gateway to the dark knowledge of the soma: the totality that is beyond thought. This talk was given at...

In this episode, Meditation in the Modern World, we listen to an excerpt from the opening talk of the first audio program Reggie recorded with Sounds True in 2003. He says that meditation helps us cut through the busyness and distractions of the modern world so that...

In the second part of this talk on the journey of meditation, Path of Opening Down, Reggie says that it is important to not hang on to anything in our practice. Integrity in meditation is opening to what is, not chasing daylight, and letting go of what we think. This...

In this talk, Path of Opening Down, Reggie says that the samsaric approach to chaos is to try to limit it, control it, and shut it down. The purpose of meditation is to make room for chaos. In doing this, we open to the unknown and the unencumbered birth of our life....

Episode - Working with Psychological Distress: Meditation allows space to open in our state of being for difficult, challenging, and distressing experiences to arise. Reggie says that these experiences are not pathological, but rather expressions of the unconscious...

In this episode, Shadowlands, we listen to an excerpt from a talk Reggie offered on how the range of direct experience increases as we progress along the path of somatic meditation. He says that fear, anxiety, and apprehension in practice are often harbingers of...

In this talk, Spirituality and Religion, Reggie discusses the difference between religion and spirituality. He says that religious traditions often gain inspiration from living spirituality, but there is a distinction: religions offer maps, while spirituality is the...

In this episode, Wholehearted Commitment, Reggie comments on how dependence on the teacher can stunt fundamental transformation. True growth, he says, requires unconditional commitment. Through letting go of options, we are cornered by the imperatives of the journey....

In the second part of this talk on Vajrayana tantra "Tibetan Tantra: An Esoteric Tradition", Reggie reflects on the somatic journey of becoming transparent to the cosmos through our own body. He says that the siddha tradition does not involve renunciation of worldly...

In this talk, Tibetan Tantra: An Esoteric Tradition, Reggie comments on the esoteric tradition of Buddhist meditation that Chögyam Trungpa taught to Western students. He describes the terrifying experience of encountering a person who completely embodied empty open...

Today, we listen to the third part of Reggie’s talk Risk and Trust, on the radical journey of individuation that occurs when we trust the inherent force of our unique karma. Through this process, we learn to let go of expectations and embody our individuality with...

In Risk and Trust Part II, Reggie says that the true path of Dharma is risky because it leads to full disclosure of who we are. In the lineage of Chogyam Trungpa, we cultivate a suspicion of spiritual ambition, narcissism, goals of attainment, and religious...

In the first part of this talk on the Vajrayana tradition, Risk and Trust, Reggie comments on the shocking nature of the meditative path of desire. He says that the wisdom of Buddhism is that is does not offer answers, but rather practices for realizing the lineage....

In the second part of this talk on the nature of space, Space, Energy, and the Elements, Reggie discusses how the primordial expression of energy manifests as the five elementals: earth, water, fire, air, and space. Each element, he says, is inherently open and empty,...

In this talk, Space, Energy, and the Elements – Part I, Reggie speaks to a group of longtime practitioners about the elemental energies of the cosmos that we encounter on the journey of somatic meditation. When we work with the elements, he says, we contact the...

In the final part of this talk on discomfort, Physical and Emotional Pain, Reggie discusses a second approach to working with painful emotions: to offer them to the lineage. By doing this, we discover that we are not alone, that our experience is worthy, and that it...

In Physical and Emotional Pain Part II, Reggie says that the pain we feel in meditation practice is a teacher, a gateway through which the body expresses the unconscious. When we welcome pain, we liberate reality. Suffering is the harbinger of enlightenment. This talk...

The practice of siting meditation often gives rise to experiences of pain and discomfort. In this talk, Physical and Emotional Pain Part I, Reggie offers instruction for working with pain on the meditation cushion. He says that pain is often caused by patterns of...

In this refuge ceremony talk, Journey of Refuge, Reggie discusses the meaning of the three jewels: the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. He says that the ritual of refuge connects us with the lineage, the stream of awakened beings who we can call upon to assist us...

In Spirituality and Trauma – Part II, Reggie explains how we heal trauma through identifying with the vast space and warmth of the earth. This "groundless ground" is the source of the life force that we work with in somatic meditation. It is a state of being that is...