Opening to Deeper Prayer

Opening to Deeper Prayer

Opening to Deeper Prayer – David Hoffmeister begins this 4-day Japan retreat by exploring the concept of undoing the self-concept—a conditioned expectation that obstructs our understanding of the world. The ego arises from the mind’s pursuit of self-improvement, crafting illusory goals that keep the mind preoccupied and detached from its boundless nature. The ego’s game is endless, as it neither begins nor concludes. The purpose of our practice is to abandon the pursuit of temporal goals and relinquish the false identity—the mask of the ego. In doing so, we experience the mind’s all-encompassing nature, recognizing that the world, society, and everything once perceived as external are within the mind. As the mind reaches a state of rest, the external world reflects this peace, becoming more harmonious.

Teaching the Holy Instant

Teaching the Holy Instant

Teaching the Holy Instant – At the beginning of this talk, David Hoffmeister discusses the concept of choice and the duality of life. We seem to live in a world of duality, where one of the primary goals is to find a life partner. We can see even that is dualistic because even a successful life match involves two, while reality involves only one.

A Prayer for Healing

A Prayer for Healing

A Prayer for Healing – David Hoffmeister reminds us the chapel, the monastery, the church, and religion all mean the same thing. It means experience. It is the state of our heart and the state of our mind. It is not a structure. It is not an institution. It is not a theology. It has no history and no future. This instant is the only time there is. We pray together for God to use our perception so that perception may disappear.

Going Beyond Sickness

Going Beyond Sickness

Going Beyond Sickness – David speaks about the need to release all false self-concepts and answers a set of questions in-depth about sickness and living an inspired life instead of one based on fear of consequences.

Living Without Expectations

Living Without Expectations

Living Without Expectations – David Hoffmeister explores in detail what it means to practice living every day without expectations. This means letting go of all outcomes and ideas of getting anything. In order to keep our heart open, we need to be vigilant for the beautiful gift that Jesus is offering us in every moment. When we let go of all expectations and all ideas of how things should appear and what should happen, this brings the mind into a sense of focus on the present, releasing fear of consequences and our past conditioning. Then we can rest in the trust that everything that happens is for one reason only: our present joy!

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