There is a way to live your ordinary life in pristine peace and joy just as it is right now. This is the way of everyday mysticism, yet it’s not about any “ism” at all. This year, I don’t think I’ll make any resolutions. Well, except for maybe one. I resolve to live a little
I would like to address a couple of misconceptions I often hear regarding meditation and one’s emotional life. The first is we meditate to either to get rid of negative emotions, such as anger, or to manufacture positive ones, such as joy. The second is meditation erases our emotions altogether, leaving us emotional flat-liners. nothing
The creator of a popular Mindfulness app was on Jimmy Fallon Live last Friday night talking about how boredom happens because we have lost the skill of paying attention, and that we are all distraction junkies. Andy Puddicombe guides Jimmy and the Tonight Show audience through a brief meditation that can be done anywhere.” Holy
The work of meditation is finding a home in the present moment and letting go of anything that tries to pull you away. The lychees didn’t fruit much this year. In fact, barely at all. I thought maybe it was something I said? Some freaky karma thing? Two years ago, our family was excited to
Meditation practice is about coming back to love and compassion, and celebrating the one who is doing it, AKA self-compassion. In one of Tara Brach’s online talks on self-compassion, she tells a story about the work of Dian Fossey with gorilla groups in Rwanda. Ms. Fossey was asked how her research group was able to obtain
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
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
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