I read online somewhere that before they enter kindergarten kids are exposed to thousands of commercials. I remember when our son was just four he told me most emphatically “Daddy we need to buy that toothpaste — next time, tell Mommy.” Popular and social media mesmerize many with 24/7 slogans, sound bites and odd notions
The other night my wife and kids threw me a 60th birthday party where, after the usual social stuff, folks started dancing to 60’s music. Great songs from the Beatle’s White Album segued into the Rolling Stones, the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Starship, and Van Morrison, for a deliciously long time, with Jose Feliciano’s Light My Fire
I was recently reading a very inspiring book by Mary O’Malley, the title of which I love: What is in the Way is the Way. In the bio blurp on inside back cover Mary writes that she “barely survived childhood.” The compact bio continues: “Throughout her youth, she experienced an ever-deepening descent into darkness, culminating
Acknowledging the inevitable sorrows in our lives with mindfulness opens the heart to kindness and joy as a moral obligation. I recently read a passage from a book by the Franciscan priest and author Richard Rohr which resonated deeply. He writes in Eager to Love: The Alternative Way of Francis of Assisi: Christianity is not
We already have what we need – “your brain and your heart are your temples, and your philosophy, kindness.” It seems many of us get hooked by trying to get somewhere in our mindfulness meditation practice. We evaluate where we are now and feel there is some ultra-cool place, where meditation, if done correctly, will
Meditation changes your brain. The you meditate, the more you respond to life from the place of calm, compassion, and awareness. I often hear folks, when in a conversation about how they wish to improve their lives, but are struggling, or when receiving feedback from others, lament “well, that just the way I am.”
Life just as it is, is eloquent. The world is its own magic. We need to need to stop seeking some additional meaning and just let things come forward and enlighten us to their magic in their own time. Have you ever had the experience of being irritated with someone or about something, like a
I was driving somewhere the other day with my son Kupai in the car. It was late afternoon and I had just gotten up from bed (I work nights). I wasn’t paying a lot of attention, just trying to get to where we were going. Kupai suddenly said, “Look Dad, that license plate says ‘Be
Redemptive suffering suggests that even in pain, there’s potential for positive change. Redemptive suffering is the idea that suffering can lead to growth. It can bring about a positive transformation. Theology sees suffering as a path to atonement. Philosophy views it as an opportunity for self-discovery. Psychology suggests it can build resilience. For Buddhism, this
The practice of meditation in daily life allows us to become present in all aspects of our life, leading to anive integration of body and mind. There’s an old Zen story that I like very much. A monk comes to the monastery of the master Zhaozhou and asks for teaching. The master asks him, “Have