What is your relationship with technology? Does it feel balanced or out of control? As part of our “Garrison Talks at the JCC” event series, teachers and authors Sharon Salzberg and Ethan Nichtern recently discussed whether it’s possible to mindfully use technology. Some of the key ideas explored: In a technologically-amplified world it’s even more important to have a way to…
Join Karen Maezen Miller, Anyen Rinpoche and Josh Korda at “Finding Freedom from Painful Emotions,” this year’s Lion’s Roar retreat at the Garrison Institute, July 29-31. Click here for info and to register. How do you know if you are prepared to handle the silence, the physical rigors, the discipline, and the mental intensity of a prolonged meditation retreat? Relax. You can’t know.…
How do you change a world culture that is, in many ways, going in the opposite direction of love at top speed? This is the question at the heart of a recent wide-ranging conversation between Garrison Institute co-founder Jonathan Rose and Garrison Institute Spiritual Advisor Father Thomas Keating. They begin their conversation by discussing contemplation in the schools, which can…
I first discovered Brian Eno’s music when I was a teenager, and his music has been a constant companion in my life ever since. I connected with both Eno’s music, which I found to be sublime, and his approach to making music, which was highly creative and experimental. I especially like the pastoral and meditative aspects of his composition Discreet…
The Ramayana describes Rama’s exile at his stepmother’s behest, so that her son Bharata would become king instead. Bharata, distraught, goes to Rama’s forest retreat and begs Rama to return and rule, but Rama refuses to disobey the decree. Bharata then takes Rama’s sandals saying, “I will put these on the throne, and every day I shall place the fruits…
In honor of National Poetry Month, we would like to share some of Krista Tippett’s On Being interviews with a few of our favorite poets. In her new book, Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living, Tippett writes, “The kind of conversation I spend my life in is, like poetry, a tribute to the human capacity…
One way to view the human mind is as a complex system made up of multiple sub-personalities, each with competing needs and agendas. This can make it difficult to make decisions, feel content, and, ultimately, relate to other people. In this conversation, Josh Korda and Jessica Morey explore techniques that can help us make sense of these sub-personalities.
Last night the Garrison Institute hosted a concert with Riyaaz Qawwali. Before the show, Sufi scholar and teacher Pir Zia Inayat-Khan gave an illuminating talk on music as a devotional practice in the Sufi tradition. Listen to his talk below.