Wild Heart Meditation Center

08/21/2025

Nov. 13th-16th, 2025
Get Your Mind Right! A Young People’s Retreat with Mikey Livid and Rachael Tanner-Smith
Open to anyone 35 and younger! At Southern Dharma Retreat Center in Hot Springs, NC!

Learn more and sign up here:
https://southerndharma.org/retreat-schedule/1522/get-your-mind-right-a-young-peoples-retreat-on-the-four-great-efforts/

08/15/2025

WH Community Picnic! Sunday 8/17 from 12-4pm at Shelby Bottoms Park. Keep in mind this is a sober event and all dishes need to be vegetarian or vegan and clearly labeled.

We will see you right after our Sunday morning dharma and discussion at 10am! ❤️

08/14/2025

This Friday! Join us for a guided meditation, dharma talk, and discussion with Jennifer Wang! No experience required. All are welcome. No sign up. In person at WHMC. Bring a friend!

08/07/2025

WHMC Q***r Sangha is now meeting every Thursday night!

All self identifying LGBTQ+ humans are welcome to join for some meditation and discussion.

7-8:30pm. In person at WHMC. See you tonight🌈

07/21/2025

Saturday, August 9th join us for a very special ONLINE EVENT from 6-7:30 PM Central time with meditation pioneer, world-renowned teacher, and New York Times bestselling author SHARON SALZBERG! Register Here:
https://www.wildheartmeditationcenter.org

We are deeply honored to welcome Sharon Salzberg, a pivotal meditation teacher in the field of mindfulness and loving-kindness, for an evening of meditation and a Dharma talk on The Power of Loving Kindness. This offering is in support of Wild Heart Meditation Center, a Buddhist nonprofit that has been running solely on community generosity since 2012. As our sangha continues to grow, so does our need for financial support. Your presence at this event helps sustain our mission to offer accessible teachings rooted in wisdom and compassion. Please join us for this rare and heartfelt opportunity to practice together and hear from one of the leading voices in the modern meditation world.

THE POWER OF LOVINGKINDNESS
Even if it has not been the habit of a lifetime, we can cherish the ability to be kind to ourselves and others. Our lovingkindness practice has the ability to create an environment of openess and connection even if what we are looking at is something very difficult. In the presence of experiences like fear, anger, regret, as well as gratitude and appreciation, we can draw upon this power of lovingkindness to transform our daily lives. WE HOPE YOU JOIN US FOR THIS RARE OPPORTUNITY! ❤️

Join us Saturday, August 9th for a very special online event from 6-7:30 PM Central time. We are deeply honored to welcome Sharon Salzberg, world-renowned meditation teacher and pioneer in the field of mindfulness and loving-kindness, for an evening of meditation and a Dharma talk on The Power of L...

07/20/2025

We just finished the Loving Kindness Meditation Retreat in Sewanee, TN!!! It was beyond amazing! Deep bows and boundless gratitude to and for doing an amazing job hosting the retreat. We have so many great retreats coming up soon so keep an eye out! We got a good thing going. The Loving Kindness Revolution has begun! ❤️💪
.beer .maryssewanee

07/14/2025

SATURDAY, AUGUST 9th
A FUNDRAISER FOR WILD HEART MEDITATION CENTER
WITH SPECIAL GUEST SHARON SALZBERG
6-7:30PM CENTRAL
ON ZOOM

LEARN MORE & REGISTER HERE:
https://www.wildheartmeditationcenter.org

Join us Saturday, August 9th for a very special online event.
We are deeply honored to welcome Sharon Salzberg, world-renowned meditation teacher and pioneer in the field of mindfulness and loving-kindness, for an evening of meditation and a Dharma talk on The Power of Loving Kindness.
This offering is in support of Wild Heart Meditation Center, a Buddhist nonprofit that has been running solely on community generosity since 2012.
As our sangha continues to grow, so does our need for financial support. Your presence at this event helps sustain our mission to offer accessible teachings rooted in wisdom and compassion.
Please join us for this rare and heartfelt opportunity to practice together and hear from one of the leading voices in the modern meditation world.

The Power of Lovingkindness
Even if it has not been the habit of a lifetime, we can cherish the ability to be kind to ourselves and others. Our lovingkindness practice has the ability to create an environment of openess and connection even if what we are looking at is something very difficult. In the presence of experiences like fear, anger, regret, as well as gratitude and appreciation, we can draw upon this power of lovingkindness to transform our daily lives.

Sharon Salzberg is a meditation pioneer, world-renowned teacher, and New York Times bestselling author. She is among the first to bring mindfulness and lovingkindness meditation to mainstream American culture 50 years ago, inspiring generations of meditation teachers and wellness influencers. Sharon is co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA, and the author of thirteen books, including the New York Times bestseller Real Happiness, now in its second edition, and her seminal work, Lovingkindness. In 2023, Sharon released two books: Real Life, from Flatiron Books in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook formats, and Finding Your Way, a small gift book from Workman Publishing in hardcover , ebook and audiobook formats. Sharon’s podcast, The Metta Hour, has amassed seven million downloads and features interviews with thought leaders from the mindfulness movement and beyond. www.sharonsalzberg.com

06/05/2025

July 16th-20th
Loving Kindness Meditation Retreat
Sewanee, TN
W/ Andrew Chapman & Mikey Livid
https://www.floweringlotusmeditation.org/2025-tennesee-summer-loving-kindness-retreat

About the retreat: Our focus will center on the practice of Metta, a Pali term often translated as loving-kindness, friendship, or goodwill. Metta practice nurtures an open-hearted capacity for kindness toward ourselves and others, serving as an antidote to fear and reactivity. Over time, this practice fosters a sense of connection with all of life, grounded in acceptance and care.

The retreat will take place in noble silence, offering an environment conducive to deep practice. Daily activities will include meditation instructions, Dharma talks, mindful movement, silent sitting and walking meditation, and group interviews to support your practice.

This retreat is open to both beginners and experienced meditators.
Hosted by:

05/29/2025

Radical Responsibly with Dave Smith

05/20/2025

Wednesday 5/21
Mindfulness and the Addiction Economy
w/ Dave Smith
7-8:30pm at WHMC

Mindfulness is everywhere and has spread through countless domains of modern life. Without a doubt, mindfulness practice is effective in reducing stress, anxiety and impulse control and contributes to an overall sense of well-being. But mindfulness practice can be limited if it does not have a specific focus or aim. Returning to mindfulness’s deep roots in the Buddhist tradition, we can access its most relevant and transformative aspects.
Addiction comes in many forms. In current times, our devices have become weapons of mass distraction. Over the last decade, we have lost the attention economy and now we are living in the addiction economy. Everyone is addicted, we all know it, yet we all seem to accept it—or at least feel powerless to change it.
Turning inward, taking an honest look at our pain and dissatisfaction, and coming to terms with what fuels are addiction is our only hope. This can be accomplished through an understanding of the four noble truths—a teaching that points to the heart of suffering, its cause and release—as an active framework for recovery from addiction in every form.
During this event, Dave will offer some dialogue and discussion on how we can utilize basic Dharma frameworks within the context of mindfulness to give us a better sense of the task at hand.

04/22/2025

Saturday, May 3rd
10am-4pm
Sitting Like a Mountain: A Daylong Equanimity Retreat with Chris Benitez
SIGN UP & LEARN MORE HERE:
https://www.wildheartmeditationcenter.org/events/sitting-like-a-mountain-a-daylong-equanimity-retreat-with-chris-benitez

In Buddhism, Upekkha or Equanimity shows up at the end of a lot of lists: as the fourth of the Brahmaviharas, divine abodes, or immeasurable qualities; as the 7th factor of awakening; and as the 10th parami or perfection. Equanimity is both a quality that can be developed through meditation, and a natural fruit of meditation practice. Equanimity is a balance, peace, and wellbeing that is not dependent upon favorable conditions, or an absence of unfavorable conditions, and instead arises from the relinquishing of craving and reactivity, and a willingness to connect fully with our world of experience. It is both a balm for our weary hearts and minds in times of chaos and uncertainty, and a support for progress on the path to deep, penetrative insight.

In this daylong retreat we will explore the meditative cultivation of equanimity, the factors which support its arising, and its contribution to the development of the path to liberation.

This daylong retreat will mostly be held in silence, with periods of guided sitting meditation, walking meditation, dharma reflections, and opportunities for group discussion.

ABOUT CHRIS BENITEZ
Chris has been practicing meditation since 2012. He has participated in numerous meditation retreats in the Theravada and Zen traditions, including month-long retreats at Spirit Rock and the Forest Refuge at IMS. Chris is a co-founder and teacher at Misfit Sangha, a Buddhist Community in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Chris was previously a member of the Spiritual Friends Facilitators group at the Albuquerque Insight Meditation Community, and has taught at various dharma centers in the Southwest and the Southeast. Chris regularly leads daylong retreats and outdoor camping retreats in Colorado and Southern Utah. He is primarily interested in the intersection between nature and the dharma, and the ways that wilderness and seclusion in nature are both a teacher and a support for dharma practice.

04/03/2025

Wild Heart Benefit Show!
Wednesday, April 16, 2025,
7:00 PM - 10:00 PM
The East Room (3123 Gallatin Pk, Nashville, TN).
Featuring performances by The Rip Taylors (Mikey Livid), Bleary (Callan Dwan), and Lonely Hunter (Maddie Finn)—all bands of current Wild Heart teachers and facilitators! This special event is more than just great music; it’s about community coming together to support Wild Heart’s mission.

All funds raised will go toward purchasing a new building to expand our offerings and continue serving our community.

Tickets $15— https://www.wildheartmeditationcenter.org/events/wild-heart-benefit-concert

Come for the music, stay for the mission. See you there!