Eugene Insight Meditation, on Zoom, Eugene, OR (2025)

10/31/2025

When we observe through this lens, we begin to see that all the various parts of us are actually on the same team. Even the thoughts and emotions that seem actively opposed to us—or to our best interests—would rather not struggle and fight. They are, in truth, often exhausted from constant conflict.

Once these parts are truly heard and understood, they can remember their deeper desire to work together as one unit—which is immeasurably easier. Over time, each of our patterns
has developed its own isolated momentum. It forgets not only why it began, but also how its actions affect the whole.

Through mindfulness and compassion, we remind ourselves of our wholeness and our intention for healing. Our steady, compassionate presence acts as a catalyst for renewed
internal coherence. This perspective has the power to effectively resolve the conflicts within us.

We stop saying, “Why are you doing this to me?” and begin to ask, “How are you doing?” We listen, and then gently inquire: “I know you’re hurting—but is there a way I can help you
fulfill your deeper intention to connect?” Eventually, we begin to witness harmony unfolding naturally within us.

What in you is ready to work together instead of maintaining conflict?

10/29/2025

Seeing this reveals what I call the first of the Five Forces of Healing: everything within us is trying to help.
When we look at ourselves through this lens, we begin to notice that our distressed patterns are either trying to protect us somehow or to show us something important—perhaps both. Consequently, we soften and lean in. We become curious, grateful, and kind.

Of course, even though everything is based in care or love, the thoughts and emotions swirling within us may be objectively unhelpful in a given moment—but they’re trying in
the only way they know how to. Even the most maladaptive patterns are born of good intentions; their expressions just become distorted through our insecurity and disconnection.

This perspective is powerful because it has the capacity to uproot and transform all the latent self-aversion within us. When applied to our troubled emotions or thoughts, we start
to say, “Thank you for trying to help,” or “Thank you for caring so much,” instead of “Why are you here?” or “Why are you doing that?”

What in you can you offer this generous perspective to—and how does it respond?

10/27/2025

This may sound romantic or dramatic, but it can actually be described quite logically. On the human level, we are evolutionarily designed to benefit ourselves—otherwise, we wouldn’t have made it this far. Even though there’s been reluctance to see ourselves this way in the psychological sciences (as opposed to the biological), the same truth applies there: our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are designed to help us. In fact, they are designed to heal—given the appropriate conditions.

On the more-than-human level, interconnection is the governing principle of our reality. Because healing is essentially a multilayered psychospiritual process of reintegration, the
force of interconnection is always pulling beneath the surface of our heart and mind—like a magnet drawing us back together and back home. It’s built into our nervous systems and
our DNA.

This is why we all contain a longing for reunion, and why healing and insight feel so good—at least afterward! It’s also why, when we relax, we feel more connected, not less. We
are getting closer to the truth. In this way, the whole universe is on our side. But we do need to help ourselves along—and
others when we can. By leveraging our psyche’s evolutionary design to care and connect, we will always have a natural advantage over aversion and separation. When we devote
ourselves to the beneficial forces within us, they will always prevail—at some point down the causal line.

What in you is waiting to come back together again?

10/25/2025

Thank you to our readers who reach out to tell us how the book has impacted their journey.

10/23/2025

Miraculously, there is support available to each of us if we simply reach out. Of course, there are books, friends, therapists, and podcasts—but more fundamentally, there is nature, the
elements, memories of joy, images of those we love, inspiring spiritual figures, and even the ineffable essence of life itself.

Just as we each hold a constellation of patterns within us, we are also part of a larger constellation of life in this universe. By opening ourselves to receive—from whatever truly feels supportive—we affirm the basic spiritual and physical reality that we are interconnected.

This beneficial vulnerability strengthens our sense of safety and trust in the healing process, allowing deeper growth to unfold.

At many times on the path, I’ve reached a point where I simply can’t do it alone. Trying to push through only makes things worse. Yet when I remember to pause and reach out—to
the benevolence within myself and the world—I’m always pleasantly surprised to be met with grace.

When have you made yourself vulnerable and been met with open arms?

10/21/2025

In healing, we are often best served by holding a paradoxical view. What happened to us in the past was not our fault—or at the very least, we did the best we could and are therefore
forgivable. At the same time, the pain and conditioning we carry now are our responsibility to address.

While we can—and often should—seek support in our healing, in the end, only we can see it through. This is the principle of blame and responsibility. If we blame ourselves for what happened, we add a heavy personal weight to our wounds,
freezing them in place and preventing transformation. Yet when we relieve ourselves of blame for the past, it can be tempting to also abdicate responsibility in the present. That,
too, leaves us handicapped in healing.

Taking responsibility allows us to stop perpetuating the harm that was done to us. Likewise, if we blame others for what we’ve been through, we often block full internal healing and
liberation. Waiting for others to do, say, or learn something first will only prolong—or even forfeit—our resolution.

Though it can be hard, reclaiming responsibility restores our power and agency from the grip of the past and from those who hurt us. What are you blaming yourself for? What are you blaming others for? What can you do to truly resolve the internal situation right now?

10/19/2025

Instead of operating within a window of tolerance, we can choose to operate within a window of care. While tolerating may be better than panicking, it’s limited in its healing
capacity—our pain truly needs our full embrace.

As an instruction for meditation or therapy, the window of care prevents us from stalling our progress through internal resistance. It prioritizes the cultivation of care first, creating a
refuge of well-being within us that we can use to expand into greater challenges. Staying within the window of care ensures that our heart’s capacities actually develop before we attempt to address deeper pain or more challenging circumstances.

Starting with what’s easy and gradually growing our confidence, we naturally find the window expanding.
Our sense of inner safety becomes more resilient—eventually growing into the realization that our external circumstances don’t have to dictate our internal well-being.

What is something within you that you can care for right now?

10/17/2025

With journal prompts and guided meditation, the Dharma of Healing is perfect for small group exploration. To support this, for a limited time, the first 10 study groups (of 5 or less people) from around the country will receive free copies of the Dharma of Healing AND a Q/A session with Justin - in exchange for sharing photos and testimonials online, as well as feedback on the process.

If you've already gathered a group locally, comment group and we will reach out to provide a free facilitation guide and books. If you're solo and you'd like to join a group, comment solo and we'll connect you with others looking for the same.

10/15/2025

In healing, fully surrendering to our moment-by-moment process—without knowing if orwhen it will end—can be deeply challenging. One of the key sticking points is the worry that if we fully feel our wounding, we might be stuck inside it forever. We fear we’ll have to resign ourselves to situations or relationships that are hurting us.

These protective anxieties are valid. We certainly don’t want to make things worse. But tragically, that’s often exactly what our habitual aversive approach does. By fearing the pain,
we amplify it and lock it in place—effectively trapping ourselves in the very situations that created it.

Conversely, surrendering to our pain can allow it to move, shift, and free us to take appropriate action. When we surrender as an act of compassion instead of resignation, we end up caring for ourselves even more deeply. We begin to stand up for ourselves and for the authentic needs and desires we carry.
Knowing our own preciousness, we’re no longer afraid to take the necessary actions to ensure our safety and well-being. This kind of surrender also unlocks beneficial qualities of
heart—like curiosity, creativity, and joy—that further support our courage.

What is waiting for you to surrender, so you can approach it once again with a creative heart?

10/11/2025

To enact transformative healing, we need to reflect critically on our view. Impatience doesn’t heal. When a child falls and scrapes their knee, they don’t need pressure or baiting to “get over it” quicker. They don’t need to be told how they could have done it better. For a while, they often don’t even need a band-aid. They just need to be held. A wise and compassionate
parent knows this intuitively. And when it happens, soon enough the child is back out playfully pushing their edges again.

It’s no different for us as adults. Ninety percent of what our wounds need is simply our sincere, caring presence. Through this, our patterns learn that our bodies, hearts, and minds—and by extension, life itself—can actually be a safe place, even though it’s painful sometimes.

We don’t need the pain to end, because that’s not how life works. We just need a healing refuge to return to when it comes. Unlike a scraped knee, however, some of our deeper
traumas require significant time to heal. In fact, they might need all the time in the world. And only you can give them that space.

Paradoxically, the healing journey can only be sustained when we shift our focus from the destination to the timeless heartfelt embrace—from the ends we seek to the means themselves. This is the principle of connection over resolution. We sustain compassionate presence no matter what happens—even if a painful pattern stays forever.

What part of you are you ready to connect with, instead of trying to change or resolve?

10/09/2025

There are two types of practice: those that attempt to purge us of pain, and those that transform the energy of our pain into its highest expression. I’ve practiced various methods of clearing or releasing stuck energy. I’ve appreciated them, but on their own I haven’t found them to transform the root cause. The disturbed emotional pain quickly re-emerges and must be cleared again and again.

Transformative healing, on the other hand, rewires painful patterns into supportive forms and liberates their true nature—often goodness and wisdom—through insight. The intention here is not to remove the pain, but to gradually transform its character so it becomes softer, more open, and eventually a force for healing itself.

The key difference between the two approaches lies in our attention and intention. In the first, we act from aversion, wanting pain out so we can move on. Understandably so. But this often creates more inner fractures, as one part of us is pitted against another. The underlying narratives and beliefs—including the deep perception of separation—remain
untouched. Transformative healing, however, is like the first law of thermodynamics: energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed. Just as there is no true “away” when we throw our trash away, there is no way to destroy negative energy. We’d be better off recycling it into beneficial forms, reusing this precious life force for living well.

In transformative healing, we unfuse from our inner processes and maintain compassionate presence as the energy moves through at its own pace and in its own way. For example: we
might feel angry at ourselves or another for a mistake. Instead of trying to release the anger temporarily—only for it to build back again—we bring compassionate attention that allows
it to transform into the sadness underneath, then into forgiveness and kindness, and further still into awakened action. The energy of anger is not destroyed but reborn into its most beneficial expression.

What energy in you is waiting for this transformation?

10/07/2025

Thank you Rochelle, for offering your thoughts on how The Dharma of Healing contributes to the spiritual landscape of our time.

Eugene Insight Meditation

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