Amana Brembry Johnson has been a student and practitioner of multiple spiritual traditions throughout her life. Her journey of Vipassana practice and study began over 10 years ago as a result of the early People of Color Retreats offered at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. She completed the Community Dharma Leaders Program at Spirit Rock in 2017 and is currently a participant in the groundbreaking Spirit Rock Teacher Training Program (SRTT). Amana leads meditation and teaches contemplative yoga that interweaves the wisdom of the Dharma with movement. She mentors and coaches practitioners who wish to deepen their practice and understanding of the ancient wisdom teachings. An accomplished visual artist, Amana creates imagery that exposes emotional and spiritual barriers of the heart as gateways into kindness, compassion and self-love.
Recognizing and observing the hindrances with interest and curiosity, we are placed before the movie theater of our life and are offered a magnified view of our habits and tendencies.
Compassion is the great circuit that connects our interrelationships and allows us to turn toward the difficulties of life and respond with skillful care. In truth It is a kind of fearlessness. A protector. A strength in itself. But it also has impostors.
The mind is limitless in its power and often misunderstood. Left untrained, it clings, distorts, and generates suffering. When met with awareness, it becomes a gateway to clarity, compassion, and liberation.
Grief is a powerful, transformative gift that is often overlooked and relegated to the recesses of the heart/mind. This talk speaks to some of the transformative gifts that arise when we journey through the portal of grief.
