To be mindful of the self, in various states,is quite the challenge in a circulation of distractions.
Taming the vicious velocity of rabid reactions is apersonal, private, & partially shaming experience,for the struck individual &/or...
The teachers in the ether are sending me a message, it seems.
Three things from three sources have caught my attention and stuck, asking to be contemplated, in the last 12 hours:
Buddhism is not a belief; it's a practice. It's something to do. --...
Many years ago, after several years of experiencing a long chronic illness, I attended a six-week Vipassana meditation retreat. Given my struggles with sickness, I looked forward to this time entirely dedicated to sitting and walking...
Starting a new piece of writing is a fantastic opportunity to practice.
A few weeks ago I wrote about how to tackle the smushy blob of too much work. But often when you’re beginning a piece of creative writing, there is no clear path from
Every year, I attend the last church service of the year. At the end of December, the minister asks us to write down all the things we want for the coming year. We then draft a letter to ourselves that we will receive a year later (sent back to us...
Romantic love is a myth, perpetuated by Hollywood and a fascination with the idea that someone else will come along and save us from our suffering. Acharya Judith Simmer-Brown from Naropa University says romantic love has become like a...
The controversy surrounding whether meditation practice should be accessible to those suffering from PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) brings up a lot of interesting and important questions.
Daily Sit invites you to practice meditation with a live online community. Inspired by "Sitting Project," a daily meditation piece, Kim Brown and I thought it would be supportive to the community to offer an online interactive presence for...
I am definitely a person who came to meditation because I felt 'too stressed out' and saw it as a problem in my life. But what if stress isn't inherently as bad as we commonly think? What if we just need to change our relationship to stress?
"Being with the out-breath cultivates the precision of your mind, and when you label, that too brings out the precision of your mind. Your mind becomes more clear and stabilized. As you sit, you might want to be aware of this"-Pema Chodron(The...
After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, as many people feared an ongoing and vicious spiral of retaliation and global violence, a wonderful and well-known Cherokee legend went viral on the Internet: An old grandfather is...
In addition to being the first Latino and openly gay (and the youngest) poet to read at a US President’s inauguration, Richard Blanco’s poem, “One Today,” was also a beautiful example of the themes of compassion and interdependence expressed...
Mindfulness meditation helped reduce stress-induced inflammation in people who have chronic inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, and Irritable Bowel Syndrome, neuroscientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Center...
Martin Luther King Jr. changed this world by simply asserting his dream of a society where the boundaries of division and duality would be nonexistent. His was a vision that resonated with the true nature of reality and called into question...
When Buddhist teachers talk about sitting with intense emotions, they're generally speaking about ones we'd characterize as negative: loneliness, anger, sadness, grief, insecurity. I've never heard a teacher talk about sitting with happiness.
Each week there will be an opportunity for anyone who wants to participate online in a community sit. This weekend I will be practicing with IDP Sangha on a mindfulness retreat. There is still room to join us in person or you can practice from home...
I'm not gonna lie: I love award shows. Often I haven't even seen half of the shows or movies being honored, but there is a part of me that loves seeing the drama of celebrity play out in a completely constructed environment.
If I said all experience is my experience, would you shy away?
Right before Part II of his book, “Thoughts Without a Thinker,” Mark Epstein presents a poem written in “the seventh century A.D.” by “the third Zen patriarch,”
When the mind exists...
Often, near the end of our sit at IDP Seattle Meditation Headquarters (it’s not called that), our teacher, Meredith, will sometimes suggest that we “let go of our practice” for the last minute before the bell is rung. My experience...
The conversation went something like this:
My friend: Emily, I need some writing advice.
Me: Okay…
Friend: How do I make myself just do my work?
Me: What work do you have to do?
Friend: SO MUCH.
Me: What is the work, specifically?
Friend: I have...
