When the mindfulness of a samurai swordsman fails, he loses his life. When we lose mindfulness in daily life, something similar happens. We become so entangled in our own thoughts and emotions that we lose contact with the bigger picture. Our perspective narrows, we lose our way, and we end up doing and saying things that bring suffering and regret. On the other hand, being mindful allows us to recognize our options, choose our responses, and take control over the direction of our lives. It also gives us the power to alter our past conditioning and become the person we want to be. And, most importantly, mindfulness also leads to Insight, Wisdom and Awakening. Upasaka Culadasa has practiced Buddhist meditation for over four decades and is the director of Dharma Treasure Buddhist Sangha in Tucson, Arizona. He has studied both the Theravadin and Tibetan traditions. This dual lineage allows him to provide a broad and in-depth perspective on the Buddha Dharma. He has combined age-old teachings with an emerging, scientific understanding of the mind to give students a rich and rare opportunity for rapid progress and profound insight. As a former university professor, Culadasa taught neuroscience for many years, and in the 70’s worked at the forefront of the new fields of complementary healthcare education, physical medicine, and therapeutic massage. He retired in 1996 to live a contemplative life in Arizona. This is a collection of 10 talks given at a weekend retreat in Tucson, Arizona, October 14-16, 2011. In order to prevent any alteration of the author’s meaning, the transcriptions are verbatim, and have not been edited. Please visit DharmaTreasure.Org for free access to audio copies of these talks and to download the handout distributed during the talk. All proceeds from this digital book will be donated to Dharma Treasure Buddhist Sangha, which is registered a tax exempt not-for-profit corporation under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.