
Jonathan Foust
Senior teacher at the Insight Meditation Community of Washington and co-founder of the Meditation Teacher Training Institute, Jonathan Foust share weekly talks, guided meditations and inquiries that explore how to cultivate an awakened heart and mind.
Latest episodes

Jul 15, 2025 • 46min
Am I Dreaming? Thoughts on Thinking Part 5: Love is the Highest Thought of All [archive talk]
This talk explores the power of streaming thoughts toward love, compassion, kindness, joy and equanimity. You’ll learn about the origin of the heart practices, how here love starts as a thought and moves into an experience, the system for loving kindness and what it means to be awake both in heart and mind.

Jul 8, 2025 • 44min
Am I Dreaming? Thoughts on Thinking Part 4: Bare Attention and Gratitude [archive talk]
This talk explores the practice of Bare Attention and how suffering ceases in the experience of gratitude. You’ll learn about the distinction of the linear mind and the intuitive mind, the practice Bare Attention and a technique for opening to gratitude as a way of shifting the mind to a more fluid and intuitive state.

Jul 8, 2025 • 46min
Am I Dreaming? Thoughts on Thinking Part 3: Investigating Beliefs [archive talk]
This talk explores how to deconstruct beliefs. You’ll learn about the origin of thoughts and beliefs, the art of interrupting the stream of thinking, the art of deconstructing beliefs and the importance, when you do this work, to err on the side of safety and self-care.

Jul 8, 2025 • 47min
Am I Dreaming? Thoughts on Thinking Part 2: The Power of Mental Noting [archive talk]
This talk explores the power of noting or labeling your inner experience. You’ll learn how you can cut through discursive thinking by training your attention to the sense fields, but also what it means to ‘take the seat of the witness’ and note or label what is happening inside.

Jul 8, 2025 • 46min
Am I Dreaming? Thoughts on Thinking Part 1: Embodied Awareness [archive talk]
This talk explores how to cut through the trance of thinking. You’ll learn how turning toward awareness itself reveals how much you rely on thinking and some practical strategies using embodied awareness for ‘remembering’ who and what you truly are.

Jun 15, 2025 • 57min
Do you REALLY want to Wake Up? Tracy Budd on his Journey of Intensive Practice
A few years back, Tracy retired and thought to himself, “What would happen if I practiced at home with the same intensity as I would on retreat?” He was inspired to practice the “Elephant Path,” a very disciplined approach that cultivated deepening concentration. His journey was powerful, traumatic and brought him to his knees, but opened up vistas he could only imagine. Here he shares his story, what he learned and what we might offer by way of encouragement and caution for those looking to intensive practice.

Jun 5, 2025 • 45min
Jeff Fajans on the Flow State and Creativity: Conversations with Depth Practitioners
This conversation is with Jeff Fajans—a creative momentum coach, seasoned musician, and PhD‑backed creative performance researcher—who helps creative people bring their biggest ideas to life. Whether you’re drafting a feature film script, launching a new business, or building a product from scratch, Jeff blends flow science, mindfulness, and creative productivity and leadership principles to move you past procrastination and into real, lasting creative momentum. Here are some links: More info about Jeff’s coaching: https://jefffajans.com/creative-performance-coaching-creative-coach-jeff-fajans/ To book a free 45-minute coaching session: https://calendly.com/jeff-fajans/45-min-intro-coaching 30 Day Creative Momentum Challenge: https://jefffajans.com/30-day-creative-momentum-challenge/

May 20, 2025 • 45min
Don't Believe All Your Thoughts
Discover the art of detaching from your thoughts through mindfulness and self-observation. Explore effective strategies to foster awareness, transform negative patterns, and embrace gratitude. The journey highlights personal growth and encourages active engagement in your own mental landscape. Unlock new possibilities by shifting your mental state and achieving inner peace.

May 20, 2025 • 45min
Why Practice?
Mindfulness can sometimes feel monotonous, but reconnecting with your motivations breathes new life into your practice. Understand the resistance many face when starting meditation and explore the emotional and creative benefits it brings. Self-observation plays a crucial role in building wisdom and self-awareness. Embracing pain can lead to personal growth and compassion, strengthened by community support. Through guided meditation, listeners are encouraged to cultivate kindness and connection, enhancing their spiritual journeys.

May 10, 2025 • 41min
Skillful Effort: Maintaining Wholesome States of Presence
This talk explores how to manage your energy as you pursue your aspirations. You’ll learn about four guidelines: How to prevent unwholesome states before they arise, how to let go of unwholesome states when they have arisen, how to cultivate wholesome states that have not yet arisen and how to maintain wholesome states that are already here.