Jonathan Foust

How has your meditation practice shifted and changed since you first took it up? Please join this conversation with Stephen Josephs, who shares how his mediation has evolved over 60 years of daily practice. As one of the leaders in the Kundalini Yoga tradition at it's peak in the west, Stephen was a devoted practitioner in what he calls the 'fire practices,' willful and powerful practices that can dramatically change one's state. But after many years of dedicated effort, the fire started to go out. His practice evolved into what he calls the 'water practices' - techniques and attentional strategies that are more about dissolving the sense of a separate self. In this conversation he shares some of the essential elements of the water practices and we explore that gnarly question: What it is that is actually dissolving? You'll come away with some key insights from a depth practitioner and a taste of how the dissolving practices might be of benefit to you. With over 60 years of daily meditation practice, Stephen Josephs, Ed.D., brings a wealth of wisdom to his work. His expertise spans a diverse array of mind-body systems—including yoga, tai chi, and qigong—as well as specialized training in NLP, psychodrama, and body-centered psychotherapy. This breadth of experience fosters an open-hearted approach that helps students quickly realize the benefits of mindfulness. For the past 40 years, Stephen has focused on leadership development, integrating meditation as a core pillar for executive growth. He is also the co-author of Leadership Agility, a definitive study on how leaders mature and expand their capacity to lead. For more information and to reach out to Stephen: https://www.stephenjosephs.com/ Teachers and Resources: Connierae Andreas and Core Transformation: https://conniraeandreas.com/ Dr. Les Fehmi and Open Focus: https://openfocus.com/home/ Bruce Frantzis https://www.energyarts.com/about/

This talk explores the movement from doing to being—from the disciplined application of effort to the natural ease of presence. After training attention, stabilizing the mind, and refining investigation, there comes a threshold where practice no longer adds anything, but begins to let go of itself. Through stories, humor, and classical teachings, we'll examine how effort serves us and how clinging to it can quietly become another form of tension. We'll explore how investigation matures into direct seeing, how awareness can rest without collapsing into dullness, and how the deepest freedom emerges not from control, but from trusting the field of awareness itself. You'll learn how to recognize when effort is skillful and when it's simply habitual, how to allow investigation to complete itself without turning it into a project, and how to rest in open awareness with clarity and balance. You'll explore the shift from trying to manage experience to allowing it to unfold, sensing how awareness is already present and functioning without your help. We'll also point toward a deeper trust—how to relax into awareness without drifting, and how to live from this understanding in a responsive, engaged way. By the end, you'll have a felt sense of when to apply effort, when to release it, and how to let practice reveal the freedom that has been here all along.

This talk explores listening as a radical act of compassion at moments of loss, when words often rush in to ease our own discomfort rather than meet another's pain. We examine how common responses to grief—reassurance, advice, spiritual framing, or positivity—can unintentionally distance us, and how the impulse to fix subtly reinforces separation. Drawing on mindfulness and embodied awareness, the talk invites a shift from doing something helpful to being with what is most tender and real. You'll learn how to recognize the fixing reflex as it arises, listen from the body rather than the mind, and rest in not-knowing without withdrawing or collapsing. Through practical guidance and reflection, you'll discover how simple, grounded presence communicates safety, dignity, and care—offering a form of support that does not try to resolve grief, but allows it to unfold and be held with wisdom and compassion.

This talk explores how you might cultivate greater steadiness in turbulent times. You'll learn some practical tools for finding refuge in present-moment awareness, in cultivating Witness Consciousness and in watching the flow of phenomena with awake awareness and an open heart.

This talk explores the liberating power of clear seeing — vipassanā, or insight — the capacity to recognize things as they truly are rather than as we wish them to be. Through the practice of mindful attention, we begin to see through the illusions that shape our experience: the illusion that things are solid, that the self is fixed, that craving can bring satisfaction, and that suffering is personal. Each moment of genuine insight loosens the grip of confusion and reveals the luminous awareness that is already free. You'll learn how insight unfolds through the deep investigation of perception, self, desire, and suffering; how mindfulness and compassion work together to transform pain into wisdom; and how to bring these realizations into the immediacy of daily life. Through stories, reflection, and direct practice, you'll discover how to live from the natural clarity that sees through delusion and rests in the heart of liberation.

This talk explores the heart of the Fourth Noble Eightfold Path factor—Right Action—as a living expression of mindfulness and compassion. We look at how ethical conduct arises not from rigid rule-following but from moment-to-moment awareness, attunement to the body's signals, and a sincere intention to do no harm. Through stories, classical teachings, humor, and direct reflection, we explore non-harming, integrity, embodied wisdom, and the courage it takes to act wisely in a complex world. You'll learn how to sense alignment in your actions, recognize the body as your most honest ethical compass, and translate presence into choices that support clarity, kindness, and inner freedom. You'll explore practical exercises to listen more deeply, cultivate integrity, stay grounded in challenging situations, and bring compassionate, courageous action into your relationships, work, and daily life.

This talk explores the radical simplicity and depth of awakening to the present moment. Drawing on early Buddhist teachings and modern somatic inquiry, we'll investigate the building blocks of experience — sensation, feeling tone, perception, and awareness — to understand how the mind creates "now" and how freedom is discovered in direct experience. You'll learn how to discern between sensation and story, how to recognize the birth of reactivity, and how to rest in awareness itself. Through reflection, humor, and practical meditative guidance, you'll discover that the present moment is not a passing instant but an infinite field of awakening — waiting to be noticed.

This talk explores how every word we speak carries the power to create harmony or division, awakening or confusion. Drawing from the Buddha's teaching on Right Speech—truthful, kind, useful, and timely communication—you'll discover how mindfulness transforms the way we express ourselves and listen to others. Words become more than sound; they become expressions of presence, integrity, and care. Through stories, reflection, and a few moments of silence, we'll explore how conscious speech can become a profound practice of awakening in daily life. You'll learn how to pause before speaking, feel into your intention, and sense whether your words arise from love or from fear. You'll explore the liberating clarity of truthfulness, the warmth of kindness, the power of words that serve, and the wisdom of silence. These simple but radical principles—rooted in the Buddha's Eightfold Path—can transform your relationships, deepen your meditation, and turn everyday conversation into an expression of compassion and freedom.