The Power of Faith In Mindfulness Practice

This podcast includes silent and guided sitting meditation, a chance for sharing in the group, and a Dharma talk on faith as a spiritual power in Dharma practice. 

"It is a great turning point in our spiritual lives when we go from an intellectual appreciation of a path to the heartfelt confidence that says, “Yes, it is possible to awaken. I can, too.” A tremendous joy accompanies this confidence. When we place our hearts upon the practice, the teachings come alive. That turning point, which transforms an abstract concept of a spiritual path into our own personal path, is faith".  Sharon Salzberg

"Faith is not equivalent to mere belief.  Faith is the condition of ultimate confidence that we have the capacity to follow the path of doubt to its end.  Faith in the Buddhist understanding is not the opposite of doubt.  Faith is embracing doubt with mindfulness and wise reflection.  It is bringing doubt to wise counsel".   Stephen Batchelor,  

"Belief…is the insistence that the truth is what one would will or wish it to be…Faith is an unreserved opening of the mind to the truth, whatever it may turn out to be. Faith has no preconceptions; it is a plunge into the unknown. Belief clings, but faith let’s go…faith is the essential virtue of science, and likewise of any religion that is not self-deception" 
Alan Watts