Transform Depressive Thinking and Wake Up

“You are not the limited person you think you are. Any trained Buddhist teacher can tell you with all the conviction of personal experience that, really, you’re the very heart of compassion, completely aware, and fully capable of achieving the greatest good, not only for yourself, but for everyone and everything that you can imagine” Mingyur Rinpoche This week, our online programming looks at how we can work with difficult feelings like depression and sadness. Our usual impulse is to turn away from such feelings, but if we can acknowledge and turn towards them we will find that they are powerful allies in our cultivation of understanding and compassion – both for ourselves and for others. Join us for live teachings and group practice on this important theme. Due to unstable Internet connection in Nepal, Mingyur Rinpoche's teaching will be recorded in advance and published as a YouTube Premiere on Sunday on the Tergar Meditation Community channel. As the Buddha said, “Our lives are shaped by our minds; we become what we think.” In times of constant negative information about the pandemic situation, our minds tend to focus on negative ideas, chewing them over again and again, but we can learn to recognize that the thoughts and stories that appear in our minds do not necessarily match reality. Through awareness practice we can learn to make friends with our negative thoughts and find some relief from the anxiety and fear they provoke in us. Join us for a YouTube Premiere teaching with Mingyur Rinpoche on Sunday, May 17 at 6:00 AM EDT (12:00 Noon CEST). Simultaneous translation will be available in multiple languages. Visit streaming.tergar.org for the details. The loss of our familiar habits and routines can make us feel depressed, anxious, and insecure. But we don’t need to reject these painful feelings—if we turn towards them, they will support us in our journey. It is precisely through working with such challenging emotions that we are able to discover the depth of our natural capacity for awareness, compassion, and understanding. When we are willing to learn from them, difficult circumstances become a precious opportunity for transformation, healing, and growth. Join us for a live-streamed teaching with Tergar Instructor Edwin Kelley on Thursday, May 21 at 8:00 PM EDT (2:00 CEST, May 22). In challenging times, many of us react differently. Some of us shut down while others go into caretaking overdrive, caring for everyone and anybody except themselves. Noticing when we're caring for others out of fear and reactivity or from a place of wisdom and compassion steadies us and keeps us from becoming overwhelmed. In this live talk, Susan will look at our guiding teacher Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche's four-step process for meditating on emotions through the lens of family life. She'll talk about how Rinpoche's four steps help parents and other caregivers take care of themselves while taking care of others, and she'll offer child-friendly games and perspectives that support families even in the most stressful and uncertain situations.. Join us for a special live-streaming for Parents, Educators and Other Caregivers with Susan Kaiser Greenland on Saturday, May 23 at 2:00 PM EDT (20:00 CEST). Join us on YouTube Live for three group practice sessions each week with 20 minutes of guided meditation plus the opportunity to ask practice-related questions. The sessions are recorded so you can come back to practice at any time. Mondays, 10 AM EDT (4 PM CEST) Tuesdays, 8 PM EDT (Wednesdays, 2 AM CEST) Fridays, 2 PM EDT (8 PM CEST) Remember that you can always watch past talks and sessions from Mingyur Rinpoche, Instructors, and Facilitators on the Tergar Meditation Community YouTube channel. Be sure to subscribe to the channel, and click the bell icon to receive notifications when new streams and practice sessions are added. Please visit the Tergar Covid-19 resources page for news and resources for practice during this time. May you, your loved ones, and your communities be safe and healthy. Sincerely, Tergar Meditation Community