Jonathan Foust

This talk explores the simple yet profound practice of using the breath as an anchor for awareness. In a world where distraction and stress pull us in countless directions, the breath is always available as a doorway back into presence. Drawing from the Buddha’s teachings on mindfulness of breathing and weaving in reflections from daily life, we’ll look at how one conscious breath at a time can ground us, reveal our inner state, help us transform reactivity, and open us to freedom in the present moment.   You’ll learn how to return to the breath as a reliable home base, how the breath mirrors both body and mind, and how conscious breathing can transform patterns of stress into calm awareness. We’ll also explore how the breath reveals impermanence and points us toward liberation. With stories, teachings, and reflections, this talk will offer practical ways to deepen your practice and remind you that awakening is as close as your next breath.

This talk explores the second step of the Eightfold Path, Wise Intention—the heart’s compass that points us toward freedom. Rooted in the Buddha’s teachings, Wise Intention asks us to orient our lives around letting go of what doesn’t serve, cultivating goodwill instead of ill will, and living with compassion that seeks to do no harm. Through stories, reflections, and practical examples, we’ll look at how our inner intentions quietly but powerfully shape our choices, our relationships, and ultimately, our destiny.   You’ll learn how to recognize the subtle intentions behind your daily actions, how to release clinging and cultivate generosity of spirit, and how to bring kindness and compassion into even the smallest moments of your life. With teachings drawn from Theravāda practice and contemporary experience, this talk offers both inspiration and practical tools for setting intentions that align with your deepest values and bring more freedom into your day-to-day life.

This talk explores the profound practice of coming home to the body—not as an object to fix or improve, but as sacred ground for awakening. Drawing on early Buddhist teachings and somatic insights, we’ll reflect on what it means to honor the body as a temple of presence. Through stor25ies, reflections, and practical guidance, we’ll explore how sensation itself can become a direct path to freedom.   You’ll learn how to ground attention in the felt sense, meet difficult sensations with compassion, and uncover insight through embodied awareness. Whether you’re dealing with physical discomfort, emotional turbulence, or simply longing to feel more alive, this talk offers a powerful invitation to inhabit your body with reverence and presence.

This talk explores how the Buddha’s Eightfold Path offers a clear, practical guide to living with greater wisdom, compassion, and inner freedom in everyday life. We’ll look at how each step on the path supports both personal transformation and the well-being of others.   Wise View, the first step, invites us to see life as it truly is—recognizing impermanence, the causes of suffering, and the possibility of liberation. It’s about shifting from a narrow, self-centered perspective to a broader understanding that our thoughts, actions, and attitudes shape our experience.

This talk explores how to begin a mindfulness practice by starting exactly where you are. Rather than striving for a particular state or trying to “do it right,” we look at how mindfulness arises through simple remembering—the act of returning to presence, again and again. We’ll reflect on how the breath can become a reliable ally, how intention can quietly shape our experience, and how there’s no wrong way to begin.   We’ll explore four key themes: (1) how mindfulness is the practice of remembering presence, (2) the power of starting just as you are, without needing to fix or change anything, (3) how setting intention deepens and sustains your practice, and (4) the breath as a steady anchor in the midst of life’s swirl. Through stories, guided reflection, and practical tools, you’ll learn how to plant the seeds of a lifelong practice.

This talk explores how to embrace impermanence.   You’ll learn about the inevitability of change and how understanding your reactivity and biases can help you access a quality of awareness that can help you move from reactivity to wisdom, compassion, creativity and enthusiasm. 

This talk explores the nature of ‘true nature.’   You’ll learn more about the nature of ‘true nature,’ what gets in the way of experiencing this primal quality of being and some doorways of practice that can bring you into an intimate, embodied sense of presence.

This talk explores the mechanics for entering the flow state.   You’ll learn the role mindfulness plays in setting up the flows state, a review of triggers that can be helpful, how applying the principles of flow to meditation can deepen your practice and some cautions and concerns about the practice.

This talk explores what it means to be in flow. You’ll learn about the magic of being in the flow state, some distinctions between mindfulness and flow and how to be more aware of how you consciously or unconsciously sabotage the flow state.  

This talk explores the power of willful attention inwardly as well as in the world.   You’ll learn some strategies for inner focus in your meditation as well as some outer focus to cultivate sustained attention on what is most important to you in your life right now.  

This talk explores the power of willful attention.   You’ll learn what the Buddha said about concentration and liberation, some essential practices for deepening focus and how skillfully applying concentration can open up new inner worlds.    

This talk explores the power of streaming thoughts toward love, compassion, kindness, joy and equanimity.   You’ll learn about the origin of the heart practices, how here love starts as a thought and moves into an experience, the system for loving kindness and what it means to be awake both in heart and mind.

This talk explores the practice of Bare Attention and how suffering ceases in the experience of gratitude. You’ll learn about the distinction of the linear mind and the intuitive mind, the practice Bare Attention and a technique for opening to gratitude as a way of shifting the mind to a more fluid and intuitive state.

This talk explores how to deconstruct beliefs. You’ll learn about the origin of thoughts and beliefs, the art of interrupting the stream of thinking, the art of deconstructing beliefs and the importance, when you do this work, to err on the side of safety and self-care.

This talk explores the power of noting or labeling your inner experience. You’ll learn how you can cut through discursive thinking by training your attention to the sense fields, but also what it means to ‘take the seat of the witness’ and note or label what is happening inside.

This talk explores how to cut through the trance of thinking. You’ll learn how turning toward awareness itself reveals how much you rely on thinking and some practical strategies using embodied awareness for ‘remembering’ who and what you truly are. 

A few years back, Tracy retired and thought to himself, “What would happen if I practiced at home with the same intensity as I would on retreat?”   He was inspired to practice the “Elephant Path,” a very disciplined approach that cultivated deepening concentration.   His journey was powerful, traumatic and brought him to his knees, but opened up vistas he could only imagine.    Here he shares his story, what he learned and what we might offer by way of encouragement and caution for those looking to intensive practice.

This conversation is with Jeff Fajans—a creative momentum coach, seasoned musician, and PhD‑backed creative performance researcher—who helps creative people bring their biggest ideas to life.    Whether you’re drafting a feature film script, launching a new business, or building a product from scratch, Jeff blends flow science, mindfulness, and creative productivity and leadership principles to move you past procrastination and into real, lasting creative momentum.   Here are some links: More info about Jeff’s coaching: https://jefffajans.com/creative-performance-coaching-creative-coach-jeff-fajans/   To book a free 45-minute coaching session: https://calendly.com/jeff-fajans/45-min-intro-coaching   30 Day Creative Momentum Challenge: https://jefffajans.com/30-day-creative-momentum-challenge/

As your practice deepens, you may begin to notice you are less identified with your thoughts.  'Observing without judgement' can open all kinds of new possibilities.     This talk explores some strategies for shifting your relationship to thinking.

Mindfulness practice can get dry and rote.  When you remember why you are practicing you'll reconnect with your passion and deepest intention.  When you can sustain your practice, you may notice a number of benefits.   Beyond the physiological and emotional boosts you'll feel, ultimately you'll notice the arising of two distinct faculties.  Wisdom is your capacity to recognize what is true.  Compassion is your capacity to allow and open to truth.