Shining a lamp in the darkness, Jack offers a heartwarming holiday story, guided meditation, angelic chant, and powerful intention setting ceremony for the New Year and beyond.

Transform your 2025 with Jack! Join “The Year of Awakening: A Monthly Journey with Jack Kornfield” a year-long online program beginning Jan 2025!

“May your holidays and the turning of the seasons bring new light, great love, wisdom, and understanding into your life, to all your touch, and across this beautiful blue-green globe.” – Jack Kornfield

In part 2 of this special holiday series, Jack merrily shares:

• A heartwarming Christmas Dharma story to relax the mind
• Learning the true and boundless joy of making others happy
• A powerful “Just Like Me” two-person guided meditation practice
• Transforming the world through seeing the beauty of those around us
• Setting the compass of your heart for our highest good and intention
• Creating your own New Year’s vow, and becoming a lamp in the darkness for those in need
• A special blessing-cord ceremony—an intention setting ritual for the turning of the seasons, the New Year, and the returning of the light
• The angelic, holy, chanting of the of the mantra, “Namoh”

“How do we respond to this world? You sit and you sweep the garden. You have the capacity as a human being incarnating in this life—with your measure of suffering and the beauty you have—to respond in extraordinary ways.” – Jack Kornfield

“I did a blessing cord ceremony 40 years ago together with Lama Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, and somebody raised their hand and said to him, ‘What exactly do these protect you from?’ And he said, ‘Why yourself, of course,’ which is a main protection that human beings need.” – Jack Kornfield

This episode was originally recorded for the Spirit Rock Meditation Center Monday Night Dharma Talk and Guided Meditation Livestream on 12/14/15. Learn more about Spirit Rock’s offerings. Join Jack’s next event.

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In this cozy holiday special, Jack sheds seasonal tidings on how to rediscover the secret beauty within you and share your special gifts with the world.

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“What you most deeply long for is who you are, is coming back to your own heart, to your own beauty, your own wellbeing that you were born with, to that secret beauty.” – Jack Kornfield

In part 1 of this special holiday video series, Jack merrily explores:

• The spiritual meaning of the Winter Solstice, the turning of the seasons, and the holidays
• How Jack’s teacher Ajahn Chah reacted when a Christmas Tree was put up in the Monastery
• Reconnecting with the great mystery of the world and with each other
• How to deal with your family with compassion, equanimity, and peace
• Seeing the secret beauty behind the eyes of everyone you meet
• Moving past the body of fear, the small sense of self
• The paradox of spiritual practice: you’re perfect and there’s room for improvement
• Rediscovering the love and secret beauty within you
• Cultivating dignity, presence, generosity, clarity, integrity, meaning, compassion, trust
• Bringing the mind and body together in the present
• Loving awareness and entering the wisdom stream
• Manifesting love and understanding into this world
• A Hawaiian story on how to bring your special gift
• Ram Dass, Mother Teresa, service, and allowing yourself to be taken care of
• Moving past fear politics and becoming a force of connection and love

“To meditate, more than anything, is an invitation to remember, to quiet ourselves, to touch back in to this truth, this reality beyond the busyness, fears, and confusion we have because we’re human.” – Jack Kornfield

“Meditation and spiritual practice is not meant to be a grim duty, it’s meant to be a rediscovery of the love and secret beauty that’s within you.” – Jack Kornfield

This episode was originally recorded for the Spirit Rock Meditation Center Monday Night Dharma Talk and Guided Meditation Livestream on 12/14/15. Learn more about Spirit Rock’s offerings at SpiritRock.org. Join Jack’s next livestream at JackKornfield.com/events

Transform your year with Jack! Join “The Year of Awakening: An Intimate Monthly Journey with Jack Kornfield” a year-long online journey! Sign up at bit.ly/Awakening2025

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Exploring how compassionate speech and mindful listening can transform our lives, Jack shares how we can navigate culture’s web of lies by using the energy of Wise Speech to truly awaken.

Transform your 2025 with Jack! Join “The Year of Awakening: An Intimate Monthly Journey with Jack Kornfield” a year-long online course beginning Jan 2025!

“[Wise Speech] is really about compassion—it’s being aware of the power of speech, and using it to express what is conscious and what brings freedom.” – Jack Kornfield

Exploring the third step of the Eightfold Path, Jack mindfully shares on:

• Wise Speech / Right Speech as a factor of awakening
• Compassion, non-harming, and embodying Buddha Nature
• Ram Dass’s “Hopi-Hippie Be-In” and what it means to ‘speak the truth’
• Navigating culture’s and advertising’s web of lies
• Speaking from your deepest truth and knowing
• Buddha and using the energy of speech to awaken
• What it means to truly listen to another human being
• Compassionate communication and listening
• Discerning your intention and motivation when talking to people
• Speaking like a Buddha and treasuring our speech
• The simple pleasure of talking and communication
• Using your words for justice, truth, love, and wisdom
• Letting go of pride and needing to be right
• A “Wise Speech” guided meditation
• Chanting the seed syllable “Ah”

“The key to listening and speaking wisely is the intention—our intention to learn, to discover, to hear something that we haven’t understood.” – Jack Kornfield

“The possibility, if we are to live an awakened life, is to foster that speech that comes from our deeper knowing.” – Jack Kornfield

This Dharma Talk recorded in 1992 at Spirit Rock Meditation Center was originally published on DharmaSeed.

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