Wild Heart Detroit

This week Olivia explores mindfulness of the body through the lens of the elements, inviting us to experience the body not as a fixed “thing,” but as living qualities of nature felt directly in sensation. She reflects on how recognizing these elemental experiences can soften the deeply rooted “I am” thinking that fuels comparison, attachment, and conceit. By widening our view to the impermanence of the elements within us and in the world around us, she connects this practice to the Buddha’s teachings on impermanence, not-self, and suffering.Prompt: What element do you feel connected to most and why? Elements being earth, fire, water, air.Talk segment that complements the sit portion on ElementsGroup Date: 1/20/2026

This week Olivia explores mindfulness of the body through the lens of the elements, inviting us to experience the body not as a fixed “thing,” but as living qualities of nature felt directly in sensation. She reflects on how recognizing these elemental experiences can soften the deeply rooted “I am” thinking that fuels comparison, attachment, and conceit. By widening our view to the impermanence of the elements within us and in the world around us, she connects this practice to the Buddha’s teachings on impermanence, not-self, and suffering.Prompt: What element do you feel connected to most and why? Elements being earth, fire, water, air.Sitting segment that complements the talk portion on ElementsGroup Date: 1/20/2026

Andrew explores Mindfulness of the Body through the lens of the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta, focusing on its grounding, calming, and stabilizing qualities. Drawing from early Buddhist teachings and lived experience, this talk highlights the body as a refuge, a place of return, and a powerful support for presence and collectedness in daily life.Through direct sutta readings and embodied reflection, listeners are invited to slow down, set things down, and reconnect with the simplicity of knowing the body as it is.Prompt: What is your earliest memory of an embodied experience? Playing? Falling? When do you remember feeling deeply present in your body for the first time?Talk segment that complements the sitportion on the Embodied MindfulnessGroup Date: 1/13/2026

Andrew explores Mindfulness of the Body through the lens of the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta, focusing on its grounding, calming, and stabilizing qualities. Drawing from early Buddhist teachings and lived experience, this talk highlights the body as a refuge, a place of return, and a powerful support for presence and collectedness in daily life.Through direct sutta readings and embodied reflection, listeners are invited to slow down, set things down, and reconnect with the simplicity of knowing the body as it is.Prompt: What is your earliest memory of an embodied experience? Playing? Falling? When do you remember feeling deeply present in your body for the first time?Sitting segment that complements the talk portion on the Embodied MindfulnessGroup Date: 1/13/2026

This week Olivia introduces a new series exploring mindfulness as a path to insight through Joseph Goldstein’s Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening, grounding the practice in the Buddha’s teachings on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness. It reframes mindfulness not as a relaxation technique, but as a systematic, ethical training of the mind that requires dedication, investigation, and clear knowing. Drawing from both modern science and ancient tradition, the talk highlights how mindfulness asks more of us than simple presence and leads beyond stress reduction toward wisdom and liberation. Ultimately, it reassures practitioners that their effort is not wasted, but is planting the conditions for greater clarity, freedom, and care in this very life.Prompt: When was the seed of mindfulness planted for you and what planted it?Talk segment that complements the sit portion on the Mindfulness as a Path to InsightGroup Date: 1/6/2026

This week Olivia introduces a new series exploring mindfulness as a path to insight through Joseph Goldstein’s Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening, grounding the practice in the Buddha’s teachings on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness. It reframes mindfulness not as a relaxation technique, but as a systematic, ethical training of the mind that requires dedication, investigation, and clear knowing. Drawing from both modern science and ancient tradition, the talk highlights how mindfulness asks more of us than simple presence and leads beyond stress reduction toward wisdom and liberation. Ultimately, it reassures practitioners that their effort is not wasted, but is planting the conditions for greater clarity, freedom, and care in this very life.Prompt: When was the seed of mindfulness planted for you and what planted it?Sitting segment that complements the talk portion on the Mindfulness as a Path to InsightGroup Date: 1/6/2026

This week, Andrew explores why life can feel like the same week repeating over and over, always telling ourselves, “After this, things will slow down.” Drawing on Buddhist teachings on samsara, he looks at how modern clock time fuels urgency, productivity, and endless becoming, keeping us caught in familiar cycles of stress and postponement. Rather than teaching us how to get more time, the Buddha pointed to a way of releasing the heart from time’s pressure and touching a freedom that is available here and now.Prompt: What is a pattern that you repeat often or a loop you are often stuck in?Talk segment that complements the sit portion on the second week of Not Enough TimeGroup Date: 12/16/2025

This week, Andrew explores why life can feel like the same week repeating over and over, always telling ourselves, “After this, things will slow down.” Drawing on Buddhist teachings on samsara, he looks at how modern clock time fuels urgency, productivity, and endless becoming, keeping us caught in familiar cycles of stress and postponement. Rather than teaching us how to get more time, the Buddha pointed to a way of releasing the heart from time’s pressure and touching a freedom that is available here and now.Prompt: What is a pattern that you repeat often or a loop you are often stuck in?Sitting segment that complements the talk portion on the second week of Not Enough TimeGroup Date: 12/16/2025

This week Olivia reflected on how much of our stress around time comes not from the hours we have, but from our desire for more and the self-judgment that follows. She explored dukkha dukkha and the second arrow, showing how craving, aversion, and unrealistic expectations layer extra suffering onto our days. By loosening our grip on plans, softening self-blame, and meeting ourselves with compassion, we can relate to time with more ease.Prompt: What do you wish you had more time for?Talk segment that complements the sit portion on the first week of Not Enough TimeGroup Date: 12/9/2025

​​This week Olivia reflected on how much of our stress around time comes not from the hours we have, but from our desire for more and the self-judgment that follows. She explored dukkha dukkha and the second arrow, showing how craving, aversion, and unrealistic expectations layer extra suffering onto our days. By loosening our grip on plans, softening self-blame, and meeting ourselves with compassion, we can relate to time with more ease.Prompt: What do you wish you had more time for?Sitting segment that complements the talk portion on the first week of Not Enough TimeGroup Date: 12/9/2025

In this concluding talk, we explore the two worldly winds at the heart of nearly every human experience: pleasure and pain. Drawing from the Lokavipatti Sutta (AN 8.6), we look at what the Buddha meant when he said the world “revolves around” these conditions, and how our constant chasing of pleasure and avoidance of pain keeps the cycle of saṃsāra spinning.Rather than rejecting these experiences, the Buddha invites us to step off the hedonic treadmill by transforming our relationship to them—recognizing their impermanence, feeling them fully, and not being pushed and pulled by every emotional gust. We examine how pleasure and pain drive all the other worldly winds, how they show up in daily life and relationships, and how equanimity offers a path to freedom right in the midst of it all.This talk closes our four-part series by bringing together early Buddhist teachings and modern psychological insight to show how a wiser relationship to pleasure and pain can steady the heart and open the possibility of a more liberated way of living.Prompt: What is something in your life that brings both pleasure and pain?Talk segment that complements the sit portion on Pleasure and PainGroup Date: 11/25/2025

In this concluding talk, we explore the two worldly winds at the heart of nearly every human experience: pleasure and pain. Drawing from the Lokavipatti Sutta (AN 8.6), we look at what the Buddha meant when he said the world “revolves around” these conditions, and how our constant chasing of pleasure and avoidance of pain keeps the cycle of saṃsāra spinning.Rather than rejecting these experiences, the Buddha invites us to step off the hedonic treadmill by transforming our relationship to them—recognizing their impermanence, feeling them fully, and not being pushed and pulled by every emotional gust. We examine how pleasure and pain drive all the other worldly winds, how they show up in daily life and relationships, and how equanimity offers a path to freedom right in the midst of it all.This talk closes our four-part series by bringing together early Buddhist teachings and modern psychological insight to show how a wiser relationship to pleasure and pain can steady the heart and open the possibility of a more liberated way of living.Prompt: What is something in your life that brings both pleasure and pain?Sitting segment that complements the talk portion on Pleasure and PainGroup Date: 11/25/202500:0110:1116:30

This week Olivia discusses the worldly winds of praise and blame, exploring how these forces shape our inner world, how clinging to them deepens suffering, and how grounding in humility and integrity can offer steady footing when approval or criticism arise.Prompt: If you had a angel (praise) and devil (blame) on your shoulder, what do they say to you?Talk segment that complements the sit portion on Praise and BlameGroup Date: 11/18/2025

This week Olivia discusses the worldly winds of praise and blame, exploring how these forces shape our inner world, how clinging to them deepens suffering, and how grounding in humility and integrity can offer steady footing when approval or criticism arise.Prompt: If you had a angel (praise) and devil (blame) on your shoulder, what do they say to you?Sitting segment that complements the talk portion on Praise and BlameGroup Date: 11/18/2025

In this talk, Andrew explores two of the Eight Worldly Winds — fame and disrepute, reframed for modern life as Influence and Insignificance. he reflects on how our craving to be seen, paired with our fear of being forgotten, shapes identity, relationships, and the world of social media. Drawing from personal experience and Buddhist teachings, he examines how these winds create restlessness and how practice supports steadiness through awareness, equanimity, and genuine connection.Prompt: What is a moment in your life where you've experienced Influence or Insignificance?Talk segment that complements the sit portion on Influence and InsignificanceGroup Date: 11/11/2025

In this talk, Andrew explores two of the Eight Worldly Winds — fame and disrepute, reframed for modern life as Influence and Insignificance. he reflects on how our craving to be seen, paired with our fear of being forgotten, shapes identity, relationships, and the world of social media. Drawing from personal experience and Buddhist teachings, he examines how these winds create restlessness and how practice supports steadiness through awareness, equanimity, and genuine connection.Prompt: What is a moment in your life where you've experienced Influence or Insignificance?Sitting segment that complements the talk portion on Influence and InsignificanceGroup Date: 11/11/2025

This week Olivia explores the first of the Eight Worldly Winds — gain and loss — and how these natural shifts shape our relationships and sense of self during the holiday season. As gatherings pull us into shared spaces, we’re often met with the winds of change: connection and distance, abundance and absence. Drawing from the Buddha’s teaching on impermanence, Olivia invites reflection on how clinging and aversion keep us unsteady when life moves in ways we can’t control. Through grounded examples and practice, we’ll look at how equanimity helps us meet gain and loss with balance — staying intimate with life without being swept away by it.Prompt: What is one thing you've lost and one thing you've gained recently? Sitting segment that complements the talk portion on Gain and LossGroup Date: 11/04/2025

This week Olivia explores the first of the Eight Worldly Winds — gain and loss — and how these natural shifts shape our relationships and sense of self during the holiday season. As gatherings pull us into shared spaces, we’re often met with the winds of change: connection and distance, abundance and absence. Drawing from the Buddha’s teaching on impermanence, Olivia invites reflection on how clinging and aversion keep us unsteady when life moves in ways we can’t control. Through grounded examples and practice, we’ll look at how equanimity helps us meet gain and loss with balance — staying intimate with life without being swept away by it.Prompt: What is one thing you've lost and one thing you've gained recently? Sitting segment that complements the talk portion on Gain and LossGroup Date: 11/04/2025

In this final talk of the Multiplicity Within series, Andrew explores the ghosts, demons, and bandits that haunt the landscapes of the mind — and how awareness transforms them into teachers. Through three ancient Buddhist stories — the monks in the haunted forest, Angulimāla the bandit, and the Buddha’s night under attack by Māra — we see how even fear, violence, and illusion can become doorways to freedom when met with compassion.Drawing from Buddhist psychology and Internal Family Systems, this talk invites us to meet our own “hungry ghosts” — the restless parts within that crave, grasp, and defend — not with fear or control, but with calm, curiosity, and love.In the end, the path isn’t about destroying our demons, but discovering that they, too, long to rest in awareness.Prompt: What is a craving or hungry ghost in your life?Talk segment that complements the sit portion on Ghosts, Bandits, and BodhiGroup Date: 10/28/2025

In this final talk of the Multiplicity Within series, Andrew explores the ghosts, demons, and bandits that haunt the landscapes of the mind — and how awareness transforms them into teachers. Through three ancient Buddhist stories — the monks in the haunted forest, Angulimāla the bandit, and the Buddha’s night under attack by Māra — we see how even fear, violence, and illusion can become doorways to freedom when met with compassion.Drawing from Buddhist psychology and Internal Family Systems, this talk invites us to meet our own “hungry ghosts” — the restless parts within that crave, grasp, and defend — not with fear or control, but with calm, curiosity, and love.In the end, the path isn’t about destroying our demons, but discovering that they, too, long to rest in awareness.Prompt: What is a craving or hungry ghost in your life?Sitting segment that complements the talk portion on Ghosts, Bandits, and BodhiGroup Date: 10/28/2025