What’s New

“Transformation and Transcendence” Conscious TV recently interviewed both Stephen and Tina, and has now published the interview with Stephen and announced it to their viewership, and will also be broadcasting it in several countries. It was filmed a few weeks ago while they were teaching in London. Some of you may know the program, in… Continue reading Stephen’s Conscious TV interview released

In this episode Tina and Stephen share the deeper purpose of concentration practice, which isn’t to attain any particular states, but rather is to serve as a purification of the mind stream, what they describe as the “thinning of the me.” They describe the 8 jhanas as states that progressively reach toward the unconditioned, with… Continue reading The Jedi Mind Training of Concentration: Buddhist Geeks Talk 160

In this episode Stephen and Tina share the progressive practice that they did with Pa Auk Sayadaw, which includes many traditional practices from the Pali Canon. They also make many traditional distinctions, including the distinction between three different types of concentration–momentary, access, and absorption–and the way that they distinguish between these types of concentration. They… Continue reading Mastering the Jhanas: Buddhist Geeks Talk 159

At the Request of Ven. Pa Auk Sayadaw.In November, 2009, Tine and Stephen were invited by Ven. Pa Auk Sayadaw to give a talk to the Theravada Dhamma Society, a Burmese Buddhist community in the San Francisco Bay Area. Below is a hotlink to the talk in two parts (as the talk was 2 hours… Continue reading Theravada Dhamma Society Talk

It is easy in these times to feel overwhelmed by the media’s skewed focus on sensationalized, negative news stories that capture our attention. However, the facts (as studied by historians and other impartial experts) show that we are living overall in the most peaceful, prosperous and progressive era in human history, for people across the… Continue reading Positive Global Trends Are Overlooked By Media

We taught our third retreat in Italy, a 2-week retreat, in March 2018. In London, we taught our first UK event, a daylong on March 17, 2018. Our Europe events have drawn people from many countries in Europe and beyond. Our 1-week retreat in 2016 included 35 retreatants from 11 countries, including Italy, Austria, Canada, England,… Continue reading Italy and London Events Held March 2018

Question from a student:Recently, I have begun a very emotionally stressful period in my life.  I have been called to my meditation practice more often to try and quiet my mind. I have often in the past turned to my practice in times of stress for clarity, guidance and divine connection. During a couple of… Continue reading Practice as a Balm in Difficult Times

Practicing the Jhanas is now available in Korean and Italian, as well as English. We appreciate the beauty of the Korean cover, shown here.

As part of our teaching in Italy in August 2015, an Italian newspaper ran the following interview of us about meditation and its benefits. Italian Newspaper article interview on meditation. We later recorded this 6-minute audio transcript of the article on Dharma Seed. This is a great introduction to meditation, available in an abbreviated format. Newspaper Interview… Continue reading Italian Newspaper Interview on Meditation

We held our first month-long (27-day) retreat from Sept. 6-Oct. 3,2014, at Cloud Mountain Retreat Center in Castle Rock, Washington. We had 37 participants from 8 countries around the world. It was a deep and profound experience, for us as well as the yogis who attended. One of our criteria was that all accommodations would be… Continue reading First Month-long Retreat Held at Cloud Mountain