The greatest gift is the
Dawn Neal's Dharma Talks
at Insight Santa Cruz
Dawn Neal
I love supporting practitioners to deepen and broaden their wisdom, meditative stability, kindness, compassion, and integration. My aim is to support greater love, liberation, and peace in each of our hearts and the world.
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Select from Dawn Neal's
292
talks
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VIEW ALL
2026-04-05
Actions Cultivate Wholesome Qualities
2025-11-02
An Ancient Body Scan
2026-01-06
Aspiration and Inspiration to End Suffering
2026-01-28
Attending to This Moment
2026-09-29
Aware of Body and Vedana
2026-11-01
Awareness, Generosity, and Emptiness
2026-11-04
Beginning Again in the Moment (a sangha-sourced Dharma talk)
2024-05-04
Breath as a Barometer and the Wisdom of Vedana
2023-10-25
Class 1: Intro to Mindfulness Meditation-Breathing
2023-11-01
Class 2: Intro to Mindfulness Meditation-Body and Feeling Tone
2023-11-08
Class 3: Intro to Mindfulness Meditation- Emotions
2023-11-15
Class 4: Intro to Mindfulness Meditation -Thinking
2024-09-07
Closing Reflection and Guided Mettā
2026-04-01
Compassion
2024-11-09
Compassion (Karuṇā) Practice
2025-12-30
Composting the Challenging to Grow What’s Good
2024-12-04
Conditionality and Contentment
2026-10-11
Conditionality, Karma, and an Open Heart (a sangha sourced dharma talk)
2024-10-02
Confidence and Energy (Spiritual Faculties 1 & 2)
2026-01-10
Cultivating Beneficial Growth
2026-03-08
Cultivating Practical Wisdom
2024-10-16
Cultivating Wisdom
2024-04-27
Daylong Dharmette 1: Mindfulness and Settling
2024-04-27
Daylong Dharmette 2: Investigation in Meditation
2024-04-27
Daylong Dharmette 3: Trust and Conditionality
2026-01-11
Dharma Beauty and Inspiration
2024-10-29
Dharma Talk: Ask Me Anything
2024-11-05
Dharma Talk: Equanimity in Your Natural Homeland
2024-06-26
Dharma Talk: Full Awareness in Daily Life and Meditation
2024-10-30
Dharma Talk: The First 2 Ennobling Truths: Kitten Simile
2024-07-03
Dharma Talk: The Four Foundations in Relationship
2024-06-20
Dharma Talk: We are Nature: Elemental Meditation
2024-10-23
Dharma talk:The Seven Factors of Awakening
2024-09-03
Dharmette
2024-10-27
Dharmette and Refuges: Shelter from the Storm
2024-06-26
Dharmette: A Good Spiritual Friend
2025-11-11
Dharmette: Attention Builds Capacity
2025-02-25
Dharmette: Beautiful Action
2026-06-09
Dharmette: Concept & Process, with Kitten simile
2026-05-12
Dharmette: Concept, Attention, & Intention
2025-11-25
Dharmette: Connection and Elevation
2024-12-10
Dharmette: Contentment as Condition and Resource
2024-08-24
Dharmette: Dharma is Nature
2025-01-21
Dharmette: Don't Make Things Worse
2024-04-16
Dharmette: Energy (Spiritual Faculties, 2 of 5)
2024-07-23
Dharmette: Ethical Behavior and Consistency Support Harmony
2024-10-15
Dharmette: Everything is Inviting Awareness
2025-01-28
Dharmette: Get Curious and Stay Interested
2024-04-24
Dharmette: Mindfulness (Spiritual Faculties, 3 of 5)
2024-06-18
Dharmette: Nature Reveals Anicca
2024-03-19
Dharmette: Notice! The Awakening Factors in Daily Life
2024-11-12
Dharmette: On Monkeys and Mindfulness (Be Kind To Your Heart And Mind)
2024-10-22
Dharmette: Practicing with Emotions
2024-04-28
Dharmette: Refuge and Precepts as Joy (includes chanting refuges and precepts)
2024-03-24
Dharmette: Refuge and the one Overarching Precept
2025-02-11
Dharmette: Respect and Strength
2024-09-07
Dharmette: Rhythms and Seasons of Practice
2024-04-30
Dharmette: Settledness and Concentration (Spiritual Faculties, 4 of 5)
2024-03-26
Dharmette: The Acrobats (On Mindfulness and Wise Boundaries)
2025-11-02
Dharmette: The Journey of Embodied Awareness
2024-08-27
Dharmette: The Mind's Magic Show
2024-07-30
Dharmette: The Zen Master and the Psychic
2024-04-09
Dharmette: Trust, Confidence, and Faith (Spiritual Faculties, 1 of 5)
2026-01-27
Dharmette: Violence and Non-Harming
2024-05-07
Dharmette: Wisdom (Spiritual Faculties, 5 of 5).
2025-03-18
Dharmette: Working with Worry
2026-04-14
Dharmette: Your body is a Dharma Door
2025-07-15
Don't Postpone the Good
2025-02-01
Embodying Peace Part 1
2025-02-01
Embodying Peace part 2
2024-11-09
Empathetic Joy (Muditā) Practice
2026-04-15
Equanimity
2024-11-09
Equanimity (Upekkhā) Practice
2024-05-04
Every Glimpse Is Onward Leading
2024-11-09
Exploring the Four Immeasurables and Mindfulness Guided Meditation
2025-08-20
Finding Your Own Wisdom
2026-07-28
Food for Thought
2026-09-29
Four Alternatives to Mental Suffering
2025-06-04
From Identification to Interest: Working with the Five Hindrances
2024-07-31
Full Awareness: Purpose and Suitability
2025-07-02
Gardening Your Practice
2025-01-01
Generosity and Virtue Increase Happiness
2026-08-18
Gifts of Practice
2024-09-03
Guided Meditation
2025-01-22
Guided Meditation
2025-12-30
Guided meditation
2024-05-04
Guided Meditation and Dharmette: Anapanasati, a Movement Towards Letting Go, Si…
2023-11-07
Guided Meditation and Dharmette: Are you Aware?
2024-01-16
Guided meditation and Dharmette: Attention!
2023-11-21
Guided Meditation and Dharmette: Coming Home to the Breath
2026-01-10
Guided Meditation and Dharmette: Connect, Sustain, Discern, Let Go
2023-10-31
Guided Meditation and Dharmette: Getting Unstuck
2023-12-12
Guided Meditation and Dharmette: Inner Wellbeing
2023-11-14
Guided Meditation and Dharmette: Interest is a Superpower
2023-10-17
Guided Meditation and Dharmette: Levels of Anicca
2023-12-19
Guided Meditation and Dharmette: Mindfulness of the Body
2024-01-30
Guided Meditation and Dharmette: Practicing with the Elements
2024-01-09
Guided Meditation and Dharmette: Trusting the Path
2023-10-24
Guided Meditation and Dharmette: Wise Attention to Views
2024-02-13
Guided Meditation and Dharmette: Wise Effort in Meditation
2024-10-29
Guided meditation: All of Embodied Awareness
2025-11-12
Guided Meditation: Allow Awareness to Fill You
2025-01-29
Guided Meditation: Allowing
2025-01-07
Guided Meditation: Allowing Everything to Flow Through
2024-08-24
Guided Meditation: Allowing Simple Presence
2024-11-26
Guided Meditation: Appreciating Awareness
2025-02-05
Guided Meditation: Aware from the Inside Out
2024-11-05
Guided Meditation: Balance
2024-06-18
Guided Meditation: Being with Change in the Breath
2024-12-04
Guided Meditation: Being with the Breath
2025-03-25
Guided Meditation: Breathing for Energy or Relaxation
2024-10-23
Guided Meditation: Embodied Experience of This
2024-04-16
Guided Meditation: Embodied Vibrancy
2025-03-26
Guided Meditation: Everything Included
2025-10-22
Guided Meditation: Flow of the Present
2024-07-03
Guided Meditation: Full Awareness
2024-08-07
Guided Meditation: Full Awareness
2025-01-01
Guided Meditation: Gathering Attention Here
2025-11-11
Guided Meditation: Gathering In Awareness
2025-12-06
Guided Meditation: Gathering in Lovingkindness
2024-06-26
Guided Meditation: Grounded in the Body and Internal Posture
2025-11-25
Guided Meditation: Grounding in Appreciation
2025-02-12
Guided Meditation: Including All of Experience
2024-07-23
Guided Meditation: Integrity of the Body
2026-01-10
Guided Meditation: Intention
2024-07-31
Guided Meditation: Intention and Awareness
2024-09-07
Guided Meditation: Intention and Interest
2025-08-19
Guided Meditation: Internal and External Mindfulness
2024-10-30
Guided Meditation: Just This
2024-06-26
Guided Meditation: Kind Awareness
2024-04-24
Guided Meditation: Kind Mindfulness
2025-01-08
Guided Meditation: Letting Go Into This
2025-07-23
Guided Meditation: Listening with all your Senses
2025-11-23
Guided Meditation: Making Refuge your Heart's Home
2024-11-06
Guided Meditation: Mindfulness and Compassion
2024-06-20
Guided meditation: Mindfulness of the Body
2025-03-04
Guided Meditation: Noticing Balance or Leaning
2024-10-08
Guided Meditation: Noticing the Silence Between
2024-03-19
Guided Meditation: Noticing the Skillful
2025-12-23
Guided Meditation: Offering and Receiving
2024-08-27
Guided Meditation: Opening to All that Arises
2024-10-16
Guided meditation: Opening up to Awareness
2024-12-24
Guided Meditation: Relaxation and Ease
2025-03-05
Guided Meditation: Relaxation and Softening
2025-11-05
Guided Meditation: Releasing the Breath
2024-10-09
Guided Meditation: Returning to Awareness
2024-10-22
Guided Meditation: Returning to the Center Point
2024-07-30
Guided Meditation: Returning to, Resting in, Awareness
2025-01-28
Guided Meditation: Returning with Interest
2024-07-24
Guided Meditation: Riding the Flow of Sensory Experience
2024-04-30
Guided Meditation: Settling into Mindfulness
2025-02-25
Guided Meditation: Sitting in Integrity
2025-01-26
Guided Meditation: Sitting in Your Integrity
2024-08-24
Guided Meditation: Spacious, Kind Awareness
2025-01-21
Guided Meditation: Stabilizing Here
2024-12-10
Guided Meditation: Staying with the Breath
2024-10-02
Guided Meditation: Taking Your Place
2025-03-23
Guided Meditation: Taking Your Seat
2025-05-13
Guided Meditation: The Texture of This Moment
2024-04-09
Guided Meditation: Trust
2026-01-06
Guided meditation: Turning Towards
2024-11-12
Guided Meditation: Welcoming All Experience
2024-09-07
Guided Meditation: Welcoming the Moment
2024-09-04
Guided Meditation: Welcoming Yourself Here
2024-10-27
Guided Meditation: Welcoming Yourself to the Moment
2024-09-07
Guided Meditation: Wholehearted Engagement and Relaxation
2025-02-11
Guided Meditation: With Kindness
2024-11-13
Guided Meditation: Your Internal Posture
2026-08-19
Heartwood of your Practice
2024-05-14
How the Buddha’s Story relates to our Lives (Vesak talk)
2026-03-31
In This Very Moment
2025-04-15
Inner Wealth that Can't be Taken
2026-01-28
Interest and Attention are Mutually Reinforcing
2026-02-04
Interest that is Onward Leading
2025-02-26
Internal and External Beauty (part 1)
2025-03-05
Internal and External Beauty (part 2)
2025-12-23
Internal and External Cultivation of Goodness
2025-02-20
Intro to Lovingkindness class 1
2025-02-28
Intro to Lovingkindness class 2
2025-03-06
Intro to Lovingkindness class 3
2025-03-13
Intro to Lovingkindness class 4: Metta Can Transform Difficulty
2026-01-22
Intro to Mindfulness 1: Overview and Breathing
2026-01-30
Intro to Mindfulness 2: Body
2026-02-08
Intro to Mindfulness 3: Emotions
2026-02-12
Intro to Mindfulness Meditation 4: Thinking
2026-02-19
Intro to Mindfulness Meditation 5: Open/Receptive Awareness and Daily Life Prac…
2025-01-17
Intro to Mindfulness Week 1: Breathing
2025-01-30
Intro to Mindfulness Week 3: Emotions
2025-02-06
Intro to Mindfulness Week 4: Thinking
2025-02-06
Intro to Mindfulness, week 4: Thinking
2025-08-13
Inviting Interest
2026-02-10
Just This
2025-12-06
Kind Awareness is Protective and Contagious
2025-01-29
Kindness and Equanimity
2026-05-24
Knowing Your World: Practicing with the 6 Senses
2025-03-25
Learning from Lethargy, Resistance & Freeze (Sloth & Torpor)
2025-12-06
Lightly Guided Meditation
2025-07-23
Listening as Love
2025-07-22
Listening as Mindfulness Practice
2024-11-09
Loving Kindness (Mettā) Practice
2025-11-23
Making Refuge your Heart's Home
2025-03-04
Meeting Hindrances with Wisdom
2025-08-19
Meeting the Moment with Clear Comprehension
2025-11-02
Metta Meditation
2024-10-08
Mind the Gap!
2024-10-09
Mindful Awareness and Samadhi (Spiritual Faculties 3 & 4)
2025-02-05
Mindful Awareness the Threefold Way
2025-06-10
Mindfulness in Daily Life
2026-02-14
Mindfulness of Breathing and Body
2026-02-14
Mindfulness of Breathing and Body
2026-02-14
Mindfulness of Emotions
2024-09-04
Mindfulness of Mind: The Core of Practice is How We Relate to Experience
2026-04-19
Mindfulness of Stories
2025-05-27
Mindfulness of the Body
2025-10-22
Mindfulness of the Body Grows Inner Stability
2025-11-05
Mindfulness of the Body: Death
2025-10-29
Mindfulness of the Body: Fear
2025-10-08
Mindfulness of the Body: Internal Ecology
2026-02-14
Mindfulness of Thinking and Open Receptive Awareness
2025-03-23
More Beautiful Than Beautiful (includes Refuges and Precepts)
2026-10-07
More reflections on working with Anxiety
2026-04-08
Mudita & Other Forms of Joy
2025-08-06
Natural Unfolding: Anicca & Anatta
2026-06-10
Non-Contention
2026-02-18
Noticing the Return
2026-03-04
Open Awareness, Directed Attention, and Samadhi
2025-08-06
Open Spacious Awareness
2024-10-15
Opening to the Flow of Now
2026-03-04
Opening to the How
2025-11-02
Orienting and settling into sensations
2025-03-26
Our Filters and Emotions (3rd & 4th Foundations of Mindfulness)
2026-02-11
Peace and Calm
2026-06-29
Planting Seeds - The Five Faculties (pt 1)
2026-07-19
Planting the seeds: The Five Faculties of Mind, Pt 2
2026-02-18
Practicing with Emotions
2025-06-11
Practicing with Emotions and the Six Senses
2026-06-14
Practicing with the Cycles of Samsara
2025-05-21
Practicing with the Four Noble Truths
2025-08-05
Process not Perfectionism
2025-08-12
Process, not Perfection
2025-07-08
Putting Your House in Order
2026-08-18
Receiving What's Here
2026-10-06
Relating to Impermanence (3 Characteristics part 1)
2025-03-29
Relaxation and Attitudes of Mind (Guided Meditation and Dharmette)
2025-07-09
Releasing Heaps & Burdens
2024-11-09
Self-Compassion Practice
2026-02-11
Settling
2026-10-27
Short Talk: The Chicken, the Duck, the Quail and the Flock
2026-10-13
Short Talk: Wellbeing and Dukkha (3 Characteristics part 2)
2025-01-08
Simplicity and Wisdom
2026-02-10
Simplicity that Leads to Choice (Bahiya part 1)
2025-04-08
Skillful and Unskillful Doubt
2026-01-13
Speak and Act with a Peaceful Mind
2026-02-17
Spiritual Friendship Supports Freedom
2025-06-25
Surfing the Senses
2025-01-26
Taking Refuge in Beauty
2024-12-24
Talk: A Sacred Pause
2024-11-06
Talk: Refuge, Balance, and Resilience
2025-04-09
The 4 Foundations and Why They Matter
2025-05-14
The Buddha's Deep Story
2024-07-24
The Buddha’s teachings on the 6 Senses
2026-10-28
The Eightfold Path, Thinking, and Doubt (a sangha-sourced Dharma Talk)
2026-10-04
The Forest and the Mind
2026-06-21
The Four Faces of Buddhist Love
2024-01-13
The Four Noble Truths: First Noble Truth -- Suffering Exists
2024-04-13
The Four Noble Truths: Fourth Noble Truth -- The Path to the End of Suffering
2024-02-10
The Four Noble Truths: Second Truth - Origin/Arising of Suffering
2024-03-09
The Four Noble Truths: Third Noble Truth -- The Cessation of Suffering
2025-01-07
The Obstacles are the Path
2026-07-29
The Power of Renunciation
2024-08-07
The Quail and the Hawk: Fields of Full Awareness
2026-09-30
The Thicket
2025-03-19
The Third Foundation of Mindfulness: Seeing Our Own Filters
2025-02-12
The Threefold way of Wisdom includes Kindness and Ethical Action
2026-04-26
The Value of Noticing Absences
2026-11-08
The Wake We Leave Behind
2024-01-03
Three Roots of Wellbeing: Class 1 (non-greed)
2024-01-10
Three Roots of Wellbeing: Class 2 (non-hatred)
2024-01-17
Three Roots of Wellbeing: Class 3 (non-delusion)
2026-08-23
Tracking the Elephant
2025-01-22
Truthfulness and Resolve
2026-02-04
Watching the Waves
2024-11-26
What Supports Gratitude & What Gratitude Supports
2025-05-13
Wisdom
2025-10-01
Wisdom of the Body, part 1
2025-12-03
Wisdom of the Body: Benefits (part 1)
2026-01-07
Wisdom of the Body: Liberation
2025-11-12
Wisdom of the Body: Similes
2025-05-28
Wise View in Relational Practice
2024-11-13
Wisely Attention to Stories and Thoughts
2026-10-14
Working with Fear and Sadness to Cultivate Peace and Joy (a sangha sourced dhar…
2026-01-14
Working with Hindrances
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Select one of Dawn Neal's 13 retreats
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2023-10-25
Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation (four part series)
2024-01-13
Buddhism in a Nutshell: A Series on the Four Noble Truths
2024-10-02
Five Spiritual Faculties Supporting Freedom (A 3-part Series)
2024-11-09
Cultivating a Loving and Courageous Heart
2025-01-17
Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation
2025-02-01
Embodying Peace: A Daylong Retreat on the 6 Principles of Cordiality
2025-02-19
Introduction to Mettā (lovingkindness) meditation
2025-03-29
Open and Relaxed Awareness Daylong Retreat
2025-11-02
Mindfulness of the Body daylong retreat
2025-12-06
Gathering In Kindness
2026-01-10
Connecting and Sustaining Aspiration
2026-01-22
Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation
2026-02-14
Intro To Mindfulness Meditation Daylong
