“Do not think that love must be extraordinary to be genuine. What we need is to love without getting tired. Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.” –Mother Teresa There is a Tibetan saying popular in mindfulness circles these days: “If …
Mindfulness meditation leaves the self-help mindset in the dust by challenging the existence of the very thing we are setting out to improve, the self. In an article on the self-help movement in New York Magazine back in 2013, Kathryn Shultz observed she knows people who “wouldn’t so …
While everyone is wishing their co-workers, friends and family a fantastic new year full of creativity, self-improvement, and relationship-hacking bravado, I would settle for an ordinary new year. — Nothing special. Wishing others an entire year of monumental experiences or events, is curious to me. I am not …
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. The meditation teacher Larry Rosenberg, in one of his talks, recalls seeing a …
No matter how nice our home is, it is still “of the of world,” as my Buddhist teachers in Asia would say. We are settling in to a new house. As I get older, moving feels more emotional, more gut-wrenching. Witnessing our old home slowly coming apart, with carefully …
We bring a gentle, loving awareness to this body. We treat it softly, and with respect. It knows; our body feels respected. One little peek at my phone yesterday and bam, my screen screamed out: “Trump freaks out after the Midterms and ousts Sessions.” I think we are …
The contemplative life benefits from periodic self-reflection We meditate for many different reasons. Often, our original motivations morph as we move forward on this path. It’s juicy to reflect why we keep this up; and to be really honest with ourselves. Dorothy Figen offers us one answer — Why …