Archive - Sean Feit Oakeshttps://www.seanfeitoakes.com/archive/Mon, 25 May 2026 21:27:45 +0000en-USSite-Server v@build.version@ (http://www.squarespace.com)Joy to the Fishes in the Deep Blue SeaaudiotalkvideoSean OakesWed, 20 May 2026 03:00:06 +0000https://www.seanfeitoakes.com/archive/joy-to-the-fishes-in-the-deep-blue-sea677ef541008f8d092faa5bdc:677efe7208cacd61bf007211:6a14b5fe5f1ef3437619c1dcMuditā! The undersung hero/ine/x of the brahmavihāras. Joy at the wellbeing of others. The most radically anti-capitalist thing to cultivate—maybe even more than compassion. It's easy to see how it makes the world a better place to want folks' suffering to end, but to actively celebrate their good fortune??

Before we can do this, we have to overcome negativity bias and actually admit that good fortune even exists.

Do you focus so much on suffering and oppression that you minimize people's experience of things going well?

Muditā is outward-focused gratitude. The kinky folks call it "compersion" (delighting in someone else's pleasure). It's the actual opposite of jealousy.

Not. Easy.

But divine! Let's explore the strange world of positivity tonight, people. (You know it's my weak suit... but I'll do my best.)

Joy to the Fishes in the Deep Blue Sea Sean Oakes

Recorded at Insight Meditation Satsang
Online, May 19, 2026

]]>Joy to the Fishes in the Deep Blue SeaMeditation: Muditā: Celebrating the GoodaudiomeditationvideoSean OakesWed, 20 May 2026 02:00:44 +0000https://www.seanfeitoakes.com/archive/meditation-mudit-celebrating-the-good677ef541008f8d092faa5bdc:677efe7208cacd61bf007211:6a14b5ac19da0313f52626e4 Meditation: Muditā: Celebrating the Good Sean Oakes

Recorded at Insight Meditation Satsang
Online, May 19, 2026

]]>Meditation: Muditā: Celebrating the GoodTranspersonal CompassionaudiotalkvideoSean OakesWed, 13 May 2026 03:00:58 +0000https://www.seanfeitoakes.com/archive/transpersonal-compassion677ef541008f8d092faa5bdc:677efe7208cacd61bf007211:6a14b506f69f200b553f2445Continuing with the exploration of the transpersonal aspect of the brahmavihāras, we'll look at compassion (karuṇā), the natural expression of mettā when we encounter suffering in ourselves or others.

Transpersonal Compassion Sean Oakes

Recorded at Insight Meditation Satsang
Online, May 12, 2026

]]>Transpersonal CompassionMeditation: Mettā Becomes CompassionaudiomeditationvideoSean OakesWed, 13 May 2026 02:00:19 +0000https://www.seanfeitoakes.com/archive/mett-becomes-compassion677ef541008f8d092faa5bdc:677efe7208cacd61bf007211:6a14b42b9b0ea301a8d22fc4 Meditation: Mettā Becomes Compassion Sean Oakes

Recorded at Insight Meditation Satsang
Online, May 12, 2026

]]>Meditation: Mettā Becomes CompassionMoving from Personal to Transpersonal LoveaudiotalkvideoSean OakesWed, 06 May 2026 00:00:25 +0000https://www.seanfeitoakes.com/archive/moving-from-personal-to-transpersonal-love677ef541008f8d092faa5bdc:677efe7208cacd61bf007211:6a04982125c5d539184af177Let's think of the brahmavihāras (the divine abodes of friendliness, compassion, joy, and equanimity) as aspects of "unconditional positive regard"—the phrase coined by psychologist Carl Rogers to describe the judgement-free supportive environment most conducive for healing.

The heart of the brahmavihāras is to make this feeling universal, beyond liking and disliking, personal or group relatedness, or other affinities. So let's call it "transpersonal."

Seen in this way, the BVs are less about healing our individual attachment patterns or our preferential ego states as regards other people, but transcending our ego preferences and states entirely. In a not-spiritually-bypassing way, of course.

How do we do this?

Moving from Personal to Transpersonal Love Sean Oakes

Recorded at Insight Meditation Satsang
Online, May 5, 2026

]]>Moving from Personal to Transpersonal LoveMeditation: Breathe the Ember of Mettā into FlameaudiomeditationvideoSean OakesTue, 05 May 2026 23:00:00 +0000https://www.seanfeitoakes.com/archive/meditation-breathe-the-ember-of-mett-into-flame677ef541008f8d092faa5bdc:677efe7208cacd61bf007211:6a01f1489d0f1216d2ffc550 Meditation: Breathe the Ember of Mettā into Flame Sean Oakes

Recorded at Insight Meditation Satsang
Online, May 5, 2026

]]>Meditation: Breathe the Ember of Mettā into FlameExpressions of the Wise Heart: Intro to the BrahmavihārasaudiotalkvideoSean OakesWed, 22 Apr 2026 03:00:57 +0000https://www.seanfeitoakes.com/archive/expressions-of-the-wise-heart-intro-to-the-brahmaviharas677ef541008f8d092faa5bdc:677efe7208cacd61bf007211:69ec297df0125302cb8bf587Intro to the four divine abodes, or brahmavihāras: friendliness (mettā), compassion (karuṇā), empathic joy (muditā), and equanimity (upekkhā). Talked about how they're all expressions of the basic quality of mettā, and how they all point toward a transpersonal or boundless love, which is by its nature an expression of wisdom.

Expressions of the Wise Heart: Intro to the Brahmavihāras Sean Oakes

Recorded at Insight Meditation Satsang
Online, April 21, 2026

]]>Expressions of the Wise Heart: Intro to the BrahmavihārasMeditation: Simple Mettā Without PhrasesaudiomeditationvideoSean OakesWed, 22 Apr 2026 02:00:48 +0000https://www.seanfeitoakes.com/archive/meditation-simple-metta-without-phrases677ef541008f8d092faa5bdc:677efe7208cacd61bf007211:69ec2884bbad736f063bf140 Meditation: Simple Mettā Without Phrases Sean Oakes

Recorded at Insight Meditation Satsang
Online, April 21, 2026

]]>Meditation: Simple Mettā Without PhrasesHealing Cultural Saṇkhāras: Part 3, short reviewaudiotalkvideoSean OakesWed, 15 Apr 2026 03:00:42 +0000https://www.seanfeitoakes.com/archive/healing-cultural-sakhras-part-3-short-review677ef541008f8d092faa5bdc:677efe7208cacd61bf007211:69ec2752c793c279a2c4173aI review the idea of fractal selves or entities: body, family, community, culture, species, ecosystem.

Healing Cultural Saṇkhāras: Part 3, short review Sean Oakes

Recorded at Insight Meditation Satsang
Online, April 14, 2026

]]>Healing Cultural Saṇkhāras: Part 3, short reviewMeditation: Discernment in Open AwarenessaudiomeditationvideoSean OakesWed, 15 Apr 2026 02:00:53 +0000https://www.seanfeitoakes.com/archive/meditation-discernment-in-open-awareness677ef541008f8d092faa5bdc:677efe7208cacd61bf007211:69ec1f2992659f6f8a0763ae Meditation: Discernment in Open Awareness Sean Oakes

Recorded at Insight Meditation Satsang
Online, April 14, 2026

]]>Meditation: Discernment in Open AwarenessHealing Cultural Saṇkhāras: Part 2, the Collective BodyaudiotalkvideoSean OakesWed, 01 Apr 2026 03:00:30 +0000https://www.seanfeitoakes.com/archive/healing-cultural-sakhras-part-2-the-collective-body677ef541008f8d092faa5bdc:677efe7208cacd61bf007211:69d5988260195a5a2bf35d4eMore on recognizing Dhamma practice in the cultural body, and fleshing out the parallel between individual practice and culture-level practice, particularly inshaping our understanding of authoritarian and fascistic impulses in the current moment.

Healing Cultural Saṇkhāras: Part 2, the Collective Body Sean Oakes

Recorded at Insight Meditation Satsang
Online, March 31, 2026

]]>Healing Cultural Saṇkhāras: Part 2, the Collective BodyMeditation: Breath as Gentle Anchor for Open AwarenessaudiomeditationvideoSean OakesWed, 01 Apr 2026 02:00:48 +0000https://www.seanfeitoakes.com/archive/meditation-breath-as-gentle-anchor-for-open-awareness677ef541008f8d092faa5bdc:677efe7208cacd61bf007211:69d597e0ab3d8260e8024086 Meditation: Breath as Gentle Anchor for Open Awareness Sean Oakes

Recorded at Insight Meditation Satsang
Online, March 31, 2026

]]>Meditation: Breath as Gentle Anchor for Open AwarenessHealing Cultural Saṇkhāras: Tyranny, Oppression... Fascism, part 1audiotalkvideoSean OakesWed, 25 Mar 2026 03:00:47 +0000https://www.seanfeitoakes.com/archive/healing-cultural-sakhras-tyranny-oppression-fascism-part-1677ef541008f8d092faa5bdc:677efe7208cacd61bf007211:69c97de745cfcd291de37aa0We've been talking about healing unhealthy patterns (saṇkhāra) as the meaning of "letting go." But how do we think about letting go of craving and changing old unhealthy patterns when the unhealthy pattern is sociopolitical? (Or anything "outside" of our felt individuality, like rooted in family, community, cultural, or species history.) We'll think tonight about these larger systems as behaving in similar ways to our seemingly individual ones, and so look at how the guidelines of the Noble Truths might support us in thinking about strategies for responding to the intense dukkha of our larger world and communities at the moment.

Healing Cultural Saṇkhāras: Tyranny, Oppression... Fascism, part 1 Sean Oakes

Recorded at Insight Meditation Satsang
Online, March 24, 2026

]]>Healing Cultural Saṇkhāras: Tyranny, Oppression... Fascism, part 1Meditation: Awareness of the Senses Through the Whole BodyaudiomeditationvideoSean OakesWed, 25 Mar 2026 02:00:56 +0000https://www.seanfeitoakes.com/archive/meditation-awareness-of-the-senses-through-the-whole-body677ef541008f8d092faa5bdc:677efe7208cacd61bf007211:69c97c4cbcefc343fb1f39a1 Meditation: Awareness of the Senses Through the Whole Body Sean Oakes

Recorded at Insight Meditation Satsang
Online, March 24, 2026

]]>Meditation: Awareness of the Senses Through the Whole BodyMoment to Moment Letting GoaudiotalkvideoSean OakesSat, 14 Mar 2026 01:52:17 +0000https://www.seanfeitoakes.com/archive/just-stop-already-3rd-noble-truth-cessation-drb7a677ef541008f8d092faa5bdc:677efe7208cacd61bf007211:69b4be6cd90c774547d9ff5eContinuing with the 3rd Noble Truth, and looking at letting go as the process of mindfully coming into intimacy with unhealthy patterns—in the musculature, the heart, the mind—and deepening the intention for release, relaxing, letting go.

Moment to Moment Letting Go Sean Oakes

Recorded at Insight Meditation Satsang
Online, March 10, 2026

]]>Moment to Moment Letting GoMeditation: Letting Go is EverythingaudiomeditationvideoSean OakesWed, 11 Mar 2026 02:00:58 +0000https://www.seanfeitoakes.com/archive/meditation-letting-go-is-everything677ef541008f8d092faa5bdc:677efe7208cacd61bf007211:69b4bd2230fde47f7311fcc0 Meditation: Letting Go is Everything Sean Oakes

Recorded at Insight Meditation Satsang
Online, March 10, 2026

]]>Meditation: Letting Go is EverythingJust Stop, Already! (3rd Noble Truth: Cessation)audiotalkvideoSean OakesWed, 04 Mar 2026 04:00:50 +0000https://www.seanfeitoakes.com/archive/just-stop-already-3rd-noble-truth-cessation677ef541008f8d092faa5bdc:677efe7208cacd61bf007211:69aa538ec550c663028f2ac7The relationship between the first and second noble truths—craving causes suffering—is about how we relate to our emotions. The Dhamma describes the natural reactions we have to life, in which some things are pleasant, some painful, and many neutral, and how those natural reactions habitually, but not inevitably, lead to unpleasant complex emotional experience. Things are painful, we fear them and get angry at them. Things are pleasant, we want more, and do whatever we can to keep what we have. Things are boring, and we desperately fill ourselves with stimulation and entertainment.

In modern versions of the Buddha's prescription, we can wrestle with the dissonance between the Stoic-seeming meditative practice (notice feeling without reactivity) and our impulse for the healing that comes with embracing and processing strong emotion. How do we make sense of this difference?

Just Stop, Already! (3rd Noble Truth: Cessation) Sean Oakes

Recorded at Insight Meditation Satsang
Online, March 3, 2026

]]>Just Stop, Already! (3rd Noble Truth: Cessation)Meditation: Still Body, Still MindaudiomeditationvideoSean OakesWed, 04 Mar 2026 03:01:42 +0000https://www.seanfeitoakes.com/archive/meditation-still-body-still-mind-2677ef541008f8d092faa5bdc:677efe7208cacd61bf007211:69aa51a68b8fca7c9b249682 Meditation: Still Body, Still Mind Sean Oakes

Recorded at Insight Meditation Satsang
Online, March 3, 2026

]]>Meditation: Still Body, Still MindDo We Crave On Purpose? Agency, Karma, and Intending the GoodaudiotalkvideoSean OakesWed, 25 Feb 2026 04:00:20 +0000https://www.seanfeitoakes.com/archive/do-we-crave-on-purpose-agency-karma-and-intending-the-good677ef541008f8d092faa5bdc:677efe7208cacd61bf007211:699fac042864f063803aeaf7The relationship between the first and second noble truths—craving causes suffering—is about how we relate to our emotions. The Dhamma describes the natural reactions we have to life, in which some things are pleasant, some painful, and many neutral, and how those natural reactions habitually, but not inevitably, lead to unpleasant complex emotional experience. Things are painful, we fear them and get angry at them. Things are pleasant, we want more, and do whatever we can to keep what we have. Things are boring, and we desperately fill ourselves with stimulation and entertainment.

In modern versions of the Buddha's prescription, we can wrestle with the dissonance between the Stoic-seeming meditative practice (notice feeling without reactivity) and our impulse for the healing that comes with embracing and processing strong emotion. How do we make sense of this difference?

How to Feel (Better) Sean Oakes

Recorded at Insight Meditation Satsang
Online, February 24, 2026

]]>How to Feel (Better)Meditation: Spacious Open Awareness audiomeditationvideoSean OakesWed, 25 Feb 2026 03:00:44 +0000https://www.seanfeitoakes.com/archive/meditation-spacious-open-awareness677ef541008f8d092faa5bdc:677efe7208cacd61bf007211:699fa82ae847614956ae40ae Meditation: Spacious Open Awareness Sean Oakes

Recorded at Insight Meditation Satsang
Online, February 24, 2026

]]>Meditation: Spacious Open Awareness