Meredith Hooke

03/04/2026

🙏 Caring for Others Without Losing Yourself—You’re Not Alone🙏

Talk, Meditation & Discussion: April 8th at 12 PM (PDT) on Insight Timer App - see link below.

Caring for a loved one has love at its core — but there are also moments when it can feel overwhelming, lonely, and far from perfect. This is a space to come together, to reconnect with compassion and kindness for ourselves and for those we’re caring for, and to remember that we don’t have to do this alone. We’ll begin with a short talk, open space for sharing, and close with a short meditation.

https://insig.ht/2oSKLSNF21b

14/03/2026

🙏 A Short Reflection to broaden our view of Peace is Not Chasing 🙏
Alan Watts once pointed out that the ego often disrupts what he called aesthetic participation by seeking ownership.��The musician begins to worry about applause.�The painter fears critique.��What was once an expression of life becomes a means to secure an identity.
This isn’t limited to art.
We see the same movement in our everyday lives.�We speak, but quietly wonder how we will be perceived.�We act, but hope the action will confirm something about who we are.�The simple participation in life becomes another way of building the story of “me.”
But something beautiful happens when that chasing relaxes.
Just as the most compelling art often arises when the artist disappears into the process, our lives begin to flow more naturally when the need to secure an identity loosens its grip. Action happens, words are spoken, creativity moves through us - not to prove anything, but simply as an expression of being alive.
In this way, the mantra “peace is not chasing” becomes very practical.
Peace is revealed when we stop trying to extract a self from what we are doing.��When we allow the moment to unfold without needing it to confirm who we are.
Life then begins to feel less like a performance, and more like participation.

10/03/2026

🙏 Contemplation Questions for last Sunday’s talk: The Two Rules of Spiritual Practice 🙏

1. Where might striving be quietly showing up in my spiritual practice?

2. When I meditate or practice mindfulness, am I trying to get somewhere - or simply allowing the practice to unfold?

3. What happens when I let practice be something that is happening, rather than something I am trying to control?

Spiritual practice is essential—but when we cling too tightly to it, we can reinforce the very obstacle we’re trying to see throu...

03/03/2026

🙏 Contemplation Questions 🙏

1. If you don’t know what your next thought will be, how can you claim it as yours?

2. If a thought is not claimed as “mine,” is there a mind that needs pacifying?

3. When identification with thought falls away, what remains?

A young monk asks Bodhidharma to pacify his mind — and is told to show it. In looking for the mind, we discover something unexpec...

26/02/2026

🙏 Contemplation Questions🙏
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Is awareness less present in boredom than in bliss?
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When a pleasant state fades, what story do I tell myself?
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When I stop trying to become something, what remains?

In this dharma talk, we explore one of the most misunderstood traps on the spiritual path: chasing peak experiences and mistaking...

18/02/2026

🙏 Contemplation Questions🙏

1. When I notice I’m talking to myself about myself, what am I trying to protect?

2. When I replay a conversation in my mind, what image of myself am I trying to maintain or repair?

3. In moments of simple presence - walking, washing dishes, breathing - who am I without the commentary?

In the last talk of this series, we explore the mantra Peace Is Not Narrating and the subtle, constant self-commentary th...

03/02/2026

🙏 Contemplation Questions 🙏

When I compare, at what moment does it stop being information and start becoming a story about me? (What do I start believing about myself in that moment?)

If I pause and stay with the feeling underneath comparison, what is actually here, right now, beneath the story?

What would it look like to live this week noticing comparison without trying to eliminate it - just seeing it clearly and meeting it with compassion and kindness?

In Class 5 of this series, we explore why comparison itself isn’t a problem — but when it turns into identity it becomes p...

27/01/2026

🙏 Contemplation Questions 🙏

What are the small, ordinary moments I tend to resist the most?
(Transitions, delays, disappointment, fatigue, repetition.)

How often am I using the future to reject the present moment? What does that feel like in real time?

If I weren’t trying to fix this moment, how might I meet it instead? (Kindness, compassion, warmth?)

We often think peace means getting rid of discomfort - fixing, changing, or resisting what’s happening. But what if ...

21/01/2026

Contemplation Questions for a deeper understanding:

What am I most often chasing in order to feel okay? (Food, drinks, experiences, praise, recognition, technology…)

What am I hoping to feel by getting any of these things - and is that feeling available right now?

When chasing is strong, what feeling am I avoiding or not wanting to feel?

What happens when I gently repeat the mantra “Peace is not chasing” during ordinary moments of my day?

In the 3rd class of this series, we explore one of the most common mind movements that pulls us out of the prese...

06/01/2026

Contemplation questions - beginner-friendly and deeper reflections.

🙏 Beginner-friendly:

When I feel stressed or anxious, what am I usually thinking about - the present moment, or an imagined future or past?

Can I feel the difference between being lost in a thought and being aware that a thought is happening?

What does it feel like in my body when I gently return to the breath?

What would it be like to trust this moment just a little more than my thoughts about it?

🙏 Deeper reflection:

If peace is already here beneath the movement of thoughts, what keeps my attention leaving it?

What does my mind believe would happen if I stopped striving for the next moment?

In moments of stress, what is the mind protecting? What does it fear might happen?

Why do we feel so stressed even when we're perfectly safe?In the first class of this Meditation & Mindfulness series, we e...

23/12/2025

This is a 7-part series, and you’re welcome to drop in and out as needed. While the classes are progressive, each session stands well on its own.

These classes are suitable for both beginners and more experienced meditators.

The first class is Thursday, January 1, followed by sessions each Sunday thereafter:
1/4, 1/11, 1/18, 1/25, 2/1, 2/8

Time: 9:00–10:00 am
Suggested donation: 100 pesos
Location: my home in El Sargento, Mexico

Please email me for directions:
[email protected]

This series will also be offered online at Insight Timer App at 12 pm MT: 1/1, 1/4, 1/11, 1/18, 1/25, 2/1, 2/8