Patrick Hinchcliff

A visual tour of gratitude…

We were honored at the 2012 Wake Up Festival to have with us film maker Louie Schwartzberg, to introduce and show us his short piece on gratitude. While this life has so many challenges, uncertainties and, as the Buddha has taught, will inevitably involve suffering and the breaking-open of our hearts, there is an underlying preciousness here. Just by looking up into the sky or into the eyes of someone we love, or listening to the birds, or watching a flower bloom, we enter into timelessness and eternity. Something more than meets the eye is happening here… the miracle that is this life is waiting around every corner, is part of every conversation, and is unfolding throughout every minute of every day.

Enjoy this lovely short film on the power of gratitude and the preciousness of this one sweet life, narrated by our dear friend, Brother David Steindl-Rast:

Free to be the fearless wildness that you are

In your willingness to take the risk of love, to feel it all, to truly allow another to matter, and to expose yourself to the joy and heartbreak of this life, you come face to face with the most devastating fear that you’ve ever known, but have never been able to articulate: that you are loved.

For when you are truly loved, when you are entirely seen, when you are fully held, it is the end of your world as you know it. Things will never be the same. You will never again be able to pretend that you are other than precious and whole as you are. The implications of this are dizzying if you let them all the way in.

It is so exhilarating to be seen and held in this way, but it is also terrifying as you are fully naked now, utterly raw, and achingly wide open. Your life is no longer your own in a sense, and it has been given to your raw, shaky tenderness. This is your refuge now, the golden bridge through which you will connect with hearts everywhere. Give everything to know this bridge!

Even the soft spring breeze feels as if it might be too much, for it goes right through your skin to touch your heart. A sunrise, the longing of a little baby to be held, the spring wildflowers, the honey-infused ice coffee you just spilled on your laptop, the blue eyes of your sweet lover—you may never be protected again. Ah, that’s fine—it isn’t what you really wanted anyway.

The particles of love are interpenetrating your entire sensory world and you are just not sure your heart and nervous system can take it. Oh, friend, you are on the right track.

You are free to be who and what you are now—no longer tied to a past you thought you wanted, no longer bound by the limited and that which is less than whole—willing to risk it all for love, and free to be the fearless wildness that you are.

Gorgeous photography by Robert Maschke - http://www.robertmaschke.de/

Gorgeous photography by Robert Maschke – http://www.robertmaschke.de/

2014 Wake Up Festival! – early-bird discount through 5/8 only!

EARLY BIRD PRICING EXTENDED!!!

$200 OFF until May 8th
http://bit.ly/1dumEVN

#WakeUp2014

Join Sounds True authors & teachers for a 5-Day Experience of Transformation at the 2014 Wake Up Festival, August 20 – 24th.

www.WakeUpFestival.com

Watch the latest videos here:
Tami’s Invitation: http://bit.ly/1fauJyN
Presenters http://bit.ly/1eYqvve
Testimonial 1 http://bit.ly/1g9kYqW
Testimonial 2 http://bit.ly/1e1GP0t
Testimonial 3 http://bit.ly/1jKmgH3

Featuring:
k.d. lang
Jack Kornfield
Elizabeth Gilbert
Jill Bolte Taylor
Snatam Kaur
Rick Hanson
Seane Corn
Mark Nepo
Joseph Marshall III
Malidoma Somé
Robert Peng
Tami Simon
And many more!

wufearlybird

The Compassionate Brain – a free online video series!

Dear friends, we want to make sure you are aware of a truly wonderful free, online video series that we’ve put together here at Sounds True, in cooperation with our dear friend Dr. Rick Hanson, who serves as the host for the series. In each episode, Dr. Hanson is joined by a world-class scholar/teacher, including Richie Davidson, Dan Siegel, Tara Brach, Dacher Keltner, Kelly McGonigal, Kristin Neff, and Jean Houston, where they discuss different ways to use the power of neuroplasticity—how the mind can change the brain to transform the mind—to open the heart, build courage, find compassion, forgive oneself and others, and heal the world.

Watch or download the entire series here.

Here, Dr. Rick Hanson introduces the series and what you can expect. Over 30,000 people from around the world have registered for this groundbreaking series; we look forward to sharing these profound discoveries with you.

The Meditation Experience – a free online course

Have you been curious about meditation and how it helps to reduce stress and anxiety? Or how it might help you to relax, sleep better, or improve your relationships? Or how it has been shown to stimulate healing of mind and body, and bring about profound new levels of joy, peace, and well-being?

Though you may have often heard of the many benefits of meditation, perhaps you’ve not had the time or resources to learn more and to actually start a meditation practice of your own. Or even if you’ve dabbled a bit in meditation, perhaps you did not have the support to continue or to find a meditation practice suitable for you and your unique approach to life?

If any of this sounds familiar, we’d like to welcome you to The Meditation Experiencea free, eight-part online course designed for those new to meditation, as well as for those with some experience who are looking to deepen their practice or learn about other kinds of meditation. The goal of our course is to help you start meditating right away and to teach you a variety of meditation practices, so that you may experience for yourself the profound benefits of meditation in your daily life.

In addition to written material, questions for reflection, and weekly homework, each session of our course will include one or more guided meditations on audio or video, allowing the course material to come alive in your own personal experience.

*Access The Meditation Experience, a free online course, here*

The Meditation Experience was created to help you learn to meditate right now, and you can join the many millions around the planet whose lives have been radically transformed through learning the inner art of meditation.

The practice of meditation has been used for thousands of years by people in all cultures and of all religions (or no religious inclination at all) to reduce stress, to bring about relaxation, and to experience expanded states of consciousness and well-being. You need not have any background in spirituality, prayer, or religion to benefit from the practice of meditation, nor take on any new beliefs or ideologies. Meditation is a scientifically proven technique that can be applied by anyone, regardless of their religious or spiritual affiliations. Begin your own exploration of this revered art today, with The Meditation Experience.

medexp

Why attend the Wake Up Festival? – Shiva Rea responds…

We’re beginning our preparations for the Wake Up Festival, our five-day gathering of transformation, to be held this August in the glorious Rocky Mountains, and are looking forward to reconnecting and celebrating with our friends around the world.

For those of you still on the fence – or if this is the first you’re hearing about it – take a listen to Shiva Rea, as to why she thinks you might want to attend…

Learn more about the Wake Up Festival here.

>