At the Interdependence Project, we support all types of mindfulness—mindfulness of mind, mindfulness of breath, mindfulness of emotions, mindfulness of eating tacos, and, yes, mindfulness of poop.
Pooping is an age-old art that almost all humans...
My post this week will take a brief look at a traditional Buddhist presentation of the three kinds of compassion. These teachings provide a model of how the trainings in compassion can evolve, take on more and more genuine forms, and work in...
Lately I’ve been considering what next steps to take in my life. I've been asking those big, annoying questions that I only half believe are valid, but that half is really loud and convincing. “What should I do (with my life)?” I never...
Financially speaking, I'm quite poor by many standards. I'm not ungrateful for many extraordinary experiences I've had and some of the unearned privileges I've benefited from (for example, attending top notch public school, being male, White,...
I'm looking forward to the new class series that begins at the Interdependence Project, as well as an online course, tonight. I really enjoy talking about the tantric path in particular, primarily because it contains practices and...
"Preserving the biodiversity and the ecosystems of our region should be like the effortless practice of dharma for us. Our basic motivation to protect the environment should come from the pure desire to benefit all sentient beings on earth since...
Membership month at IDP is winding down -- although, really, you can join at any time during the year -- so I wanted to take advantage of the space that I get on the blog every week to share why I'm a member and encourage you to join up.
"Peace is an internal process that begins with our own heart and hands in the way we touch other and interact with the community around us." -- Urban Zen website
"Sometimes I think I'm a real Buddhist follower or a real Buddhist student, because I was born in a Buddhist family and raised in a Buddhist environment, in a monastery. ... But if you really think carefully about it and discover, 'Oh, maybe...
One of my favorite embodied memories is of holding my son in the days after his birth, his legs still drawn up, his bottom cupped in one of my hands and my other hand resting on his back as his head snuggled at the space where my neck and shoulder...
When things are going well it’s easy for me to extend loving-kindness to friends and “enemies” alike. Simply defined, loving-kindness is a sincere wish for another person or group of people to be happy..recognizing that all beings share the same...
Two weeks ago I wrote a post about Dharma Art, the practice of making art from a clear and vibrant mind, that may or may not reflect Buddhist concepts or experience.
I spend a lot of time thinking about what people need from each other in order to feel connected, cohesive, and resilient. Buddhism, historically, has not taken a developmental view of how we reach a healthy baseline of functioning in work,...
Buddhist monks in Burma are accused of inciting violence against ethnic Muslims that has killed 43 people, destroyed or damaged 992 buildings, including five mosques, and displaced 12,000 people in a town of 100,000.
Ordinarily when we can't handle powerful feelings such as pain or fear we avoid them because they overwhelm us or make us feel bad. This creates a self-reinforcing cycle of anxiety and avoidance, guilt and shame. What I call Behavioral Buddhism is...
What what! Isn't sports all about passion, aggression, and achieving a goal (to defeat the other team)?
Not just. How about equanimity -- holding your (metaphorical) center in the most chaotic environment imaginable?
Recently my partner and fiancee of five years told me that he’d met someone else and was therefore ending our relationship. This was a complete shock to me as there’d been no signs of discord or discontent as far as I could tell, and while I may...
We all have people in our lives who have profoundly harmed us. Sometimes the situation with the other person has changed. You may have forgiven them and they may even have taken ownership and expressed remorse for their harmful actions. Other times...
In the class I am co-teaching with Ethan Nichtern and Miles Neale on Buddhism and Psychology: Spiritual Awakening NOT Spiritual Bypassing at the Interdependence Project, there has been a good deal of discussion — and...
THE NOW - It Shows Up Uninvited
But don't worry, we can shield ourselves from "The Now" by watching Channel 4 news! Or at least that's what is implied by this ad.
