Program Description: What if we stopped seeing the demons in our lives - depression, overeating, illness, anger, the list goes on - as enemies to be conquered? Renowned American Buddhist leader, Lama Tsultrim Allione, offers us a powerful and transformative practice that may seem counter-intuitive - nurturing our demons and turning them into allies. She takes us on a fantastic journey of her life as a Buddhist nun, and teaches a gentle process we can use to heal the negativity in our lives. Allione suggests we, "Take the paradigm of feeding rather than fighting our own inner demons." She offers a step-by-step process adapted from the wisdom of Tibet's greatest female spiritual master, Machig Lapdrön, who lived in the 11th century. In the story of Machig, Allione tells us, "The demons were so moved by her fearlessness and by her generosity, compassion, and the stability of her meditation that they said to her, 'Not only will we not harm you, but we will become your protectors and we will protect all of those who follow you.' " (Hosted by Justine Willis Toms) 1 Hour
Lama Tsultrim Allione is widely respected as an authentic Buddhist teacher and former Buddhist nun who spent forty years studying with great Tibetan masters. She has appeared on panels with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and is also the author of the ground breaking book, Women of Wisdom (Snow Lion Publications, revised 2000). She is founder of Tara Mandala, a 700-acre Buddhist retreat center in Southwest Colorado, and a leading voice in emerging American Buddhism and contemporary spirituality. She was recognized in Tibet as an incarnation of Machig Lapdrön, the eleventh century yogini on whose teachings her book Feeding Your Demons: Ancient Wisdom for Resolving Inner Conflict (Little, Brown & Co. 2008) is based. To learn more about the work of Lama Tsultrim Allione go to www.taramandala.org
Topics explored in this dialogue:
What is the difference between an inner and outer demon
How does our ego keep our demons in place
How fighting our demons only produces more demons
How can our demons be transformed into allies
What is the transformative practice to nurture our demons and liberate ourselves
