How “letting go” helps us get things done
Joe, a student in my online class, was worried that meditation would hurt his career. He works in a very competitive business where everyone is single-mindedly pushing and driving hard all the time. The whole idea of "letting go" seemed absurd in that context. But at...
Meditating dogs
This one's for all you dog lovers out there -- and it's only a minute long. They're such natural meditators! OWN Original Shorts: Dogs/MeditationAward-winning photographer Robin Layton brings her eye for beauty and serenity to OWN with a short meant to inspire peace...
Replacing Urban Anonymity with Affection
In the traditional Metta Bhavana (Lovingkindness) meditation, there's a stage where we bring to mind someone we don't know very well and imaginatively offer our well wishing to him. I always thought this practice was perfectly suited for us modern citydwellers. We...
Laura Trice suggests we all say thank you
Why are we so reluctant to show our appreciation to others? And why do we feel it's not OK to ask for appreciation from others? This is a short (only 3 minutes!) lovely TED talk about the power of saying thank you. Why not?
Sampajañña: unraveling lifelong habits with mindfulness
It’s discouraging, isn’t it, to watch ourselves fall repeatedly into our same old habitual traps. We try to practice mindfulness, but it can be frustrating. Do you ever have days where you’re so caught up that you realize only at night, despite your best intentions,...
Negotiating with heart
I really appreciated this perspective from Locana, who wrote about a recent negotiation she was in over buying a new car. Negotiation doesn't have to be a hard-ball, combative situation. By treating the salesman with empathy and understanding, she ended up getting...
A murmuration of starlings
Sometimes nature is just too beautiful for words. This is a chance encounter with a flock of birds who put on an amazing dance of flight. Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.
Mindfulness in daily life as paint-by-numbers
I love this description by Jan Chozen Bays on how mindfulness gradually grows into our daily lives. It's an excerpt from her latest book, How to Train a Wild Elephant. People often say to me, “I’d love to practice mindfulness, but I’m so busy I can’t seem to find the...
STOP and be mindful
People often come to my meditation courses because they want to learn how to slow down their crazy busy lives. So you start sitting for 10, 20, or maybe even 30 minutes a day. But after some weeks of this, you still feel like things are crazy busy and all over the...
Occupy Wall Street: Where Everybody Has A Say In Everything
I was really pleased to hear this story on NPR this morning. It's about how the participants of the Occupy Wall Street movement are organizing themselves. Everyone gathers together every night at what's called a General Assembly, where everybody has a say in every...
When metta doesn’t mean “love”
I remember feeling very frustrated - and frankly a little baffled - when I was first learning the metta bhavana practice. Especially around the fourth stage, the difficult person. How was I supposed to feel warmth and affection for somebody I admitted not getting...
Motivating myself to start a healthy new habit
I've been working on getting a daily yoga practice going. I thought it might improve my overall energy levels, and help with the chronic tension in my back and shoulders. But it's been a "two steps forward, one step backward" sort of path. It's especially on those...
Jon Kabat-Zinn on Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
This past spring, I attended professional training in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) -- a program started by Jon Kabat-Zinn at the UMass Medical Center. Basically, MBSR is a way of presenting meditation in a secular context -- for health, wellness, and...
Why the metta bhavana practice makes sense
In the metta bhavana meditation practice, we imagine that we're connected to all humanity and all life – and send our lovingkindness out to them. Here's a graphic that offers a mathematical perspective on why this makes sense. Originally from...
Dalai Lama judges on Australian cooking show!
When the Dalai Lama was in Australia this past month, he sat on the panel of judges for a reality cooking show. My favorite moment starts at 2:40.
Mindfully navigating out of depression
I have a long history of depression. And though it’s thankfully not a constant companion anymore, it still drops by for a visit now and then. This past week was one of them. Being in it again gave me another opportunity for practice. But it also showed me how far I’ve...
The power of the human spirit
I recently came across two true stories about the amazing power of the human spirit shining through in adversity. I found them both so moving I wanted to share them with you. The first is a full-length documentary that aired on PBS, called Freedom Riders. This tells...
Meditating on anxiety
One of my clients — I’ll call him Mark — took up meditation to help with his lifelong anxiety. He was all too aware of his tendency to over-analyze and worry about everything. He’d been meditating on and off for two years, gone on retreats, read tons of dharma books,...
The Second Noble Truth (Canine edition, with maple bacon)
Maybe you've seen this video already. But I find it so funny I had to post it. Especially since it has a good dharma lesson behind it too! How could I resist? Video: The Second Noble Truth (Canine edition, with maple bacon.) From Shambhala Sun Posted by Melvin McLeod...
For a few good laughs
Continuing my tradition of posting things that have nothing to do with anything other than a good laugh -- here are a couple of my recent favorite short videos. What do you suppose a bear does in the woods when he thinks nobody's looking? And here's the trailer for...