Author: Tom Davidson-Marx
the simplicity of mindfulness
One clear thread weaves through our practice: the simplicity of mindfulness. We are acquainted with complication. We know the feeling of being tangled, knee-deep in old resentments or lost in anxiety, listening to the compelling arguments…
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where the quiet joy lives
It’s in the naked ordinariness of our life where the quiet joy lives. Life for me right now is good. I returned from two months of intensive practice in Sri Lanka and Malaysia. My health is…
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walking each other home
In meditation, we patiently cultivate two qualities of the heart that are so comforting and life-changing, some call them “refuges.” Now, while loving-kindness and compassion might sound like these grand ideas, they’re actually really practical meditation…
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7 rough spots on the meditative path
Here are some common rough spots on the meditative path and how to deal with them. What makes it so hard to stick with a simple meditation we do every day? What gets in our way,…
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shine on, you crazy diamond
Wellbeing, peace and happiness are hidden in plain sight, in the ever-present flow of experience itself, always right here and right now. I recently completed an intensive, 30 day silent meditation retreat in California following a…
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sit quietly and observe your thoughts
This simple practice helps release unhelpful preoccupations that creep into your mind space as you sit quietly and observe your thoughts. As we release these unhelpful preoccupations, we find less craving for distraction hits like the…
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living into what cannot be solved
Mindfulness allows us to live into all that cannot be solved. It’s also a gateway to equanimity, the peace of the present moment. The other day, I listened to a podcast of an interview with Frank…
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this is why we meditate
In the present moment we discover a spontaneity beyond time, where there is no aging, no measuring, no comparing to what was, and no worry about what will be. Perhaps I get a little carried away…
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meeting your edge
The mind throws up resistance to the process of liberation- but we can metabolize this, allowing deep change and a graceful opening into a timeless presence. The American Buddhist nun Pema Chödrön tells a story about…
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Compassion in Buddhism: Why does Kuan Yin have so many hands?
Kuan Yin is an archetype of compassion in Buddhism. Sometimes portrayed as female, or male, or androgynously, they manifest the impulse to help suffering beings. In his celebrated Four Quartets, T. S. Eliot observed: Human kind…
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a gentle rain in the garden of the heart
I was initially turned off by Buddhist metta meditation. I felt it was silly. But slowly, things changed. Now I hold this practice most dearly. I was initially turned off by metta, or loving-kindness, meditation. I…
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Buddhist insight in our day to day life
We can experience deep Buddhist insight by examining our present moment experience of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching, and thinking. This mind of our is pretty amazing. Our cognitive power propels us to the top of…
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the essence of mindfulness practice
What a marvel, what a special thing it is to be conscious, to be aware, and to know that we’re aware- this is the essence of mindfulness practice. The other day I read this haiku by…
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a keener love of simplicity
Meditation helps us put down the baggage we carry around. Traveling lightly, we feel airborne. We move into a keener love of simplicity. There is a story by Mark Twain about someone who dies and goes…
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you can’t win if you don’t play
Experiment infusing your meditation time with playful qualities The comedy improv teacher Jimmy Carrane mentioned in a blog post that the Illinois State Lottery once had a slogan that went: You can’t win if you don’t…
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to live wisely, and able to love
This is our work: to live wisely, not in contention with anything, and able to love. What does it mean to practice Dharma in the home stretch of 2023, with all the wars, hate crimes, refugee…
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basic human sanity
We breathe, and open our hearts no matter how difficult it feels, bringing some peace to our minds as we ask what is compassion? The ongoing events in Gaza are hard to take in. I am…
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meditation in a time of war
As I contemplate the latest news about the the situation in Gaza, I wonder how is meditation in a time of war relevant. As I write this, the world seems even more precarious than last week.…
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hello darkness my old friend
When I think about the Israel-Hamas war, I struggle for some time, before finally sighing to myself hello darkness my old friend. The other day I came across a very short poem by the 11th century…
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what if I don’t feel compassion?
When you don’t feel compassion as you scroll through the daily newsfeed horror show- just be aware of not feeling particularly compassionate. I have received emails from readers asking whether we can cultivate a mature mindfulness…
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knee pain nirvana
If we get uptight about feeling uncomfortabe in meditation, just remember this simple instruction- give careful and kind attention to whatever arises. Do you ever find yourself feeling uncomfortable in meditation after just settling in? If…
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it’s now or never
Mindfulness loosens the “interminable chain of longing” as Robert Frost puts it, so I have half a chance of living this moment now. One of my first meditation teachers, Sharon Salzberg, often talks about her early…
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the most important thing
This meditation is a self-discovery of the treasure of our very own being. Someone once asked Suzuki Roshi, the pioneering Zen teacher from Japan who founded the Zen Center of San Francisco in 1969: “Roshi, what’s…
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not a caravan of despair
Do you have a fear of missing out on a more spiritual experience doing a mountain of laundry, washing a sinkful of dishes, or raking leaves till kingdom come? The meditation teacher Karen Maezen Miller, in…
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don’t let the mind become a lonely hunter
You have all you need. The bounty is already laid out at your doorstep. The title here steals from Carson McCuller’s remarkable debut novel The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, published in 1940 when she was…
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be happy, meditate
Mindfulness meditation is not just another way to fix what we feel might be broken in our lives. It really helps us be happy. Maybe you struggle with low moods, motivation, or existential malaise. Maybe you…
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chocolate comes, chocolate goes
Impermanence is the fragrance of my life just as it is. This notion brings a subtle joy to these old bones and bare scalp. A New Yorker magazine cartoon depicts a couple strolling down the street,…
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Buddhist death meditation: letting go of regrets
Buddhist death meditation encourages a gradual letting go of regrets. In her most recent book, Alive Until You’re Dead: Notes on the Home Stretch, the 81-year-old Zen teacher, editor and writer Susan Moon relates an ordeal…
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no non-judgemental zombies here
One of the most frequent misunderstandings I hear about meditation practice is it will turn us into non-judgemental zombies. It’s easy to see why one would think this, since mindfulness teaches us to pay attention to…
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the courage to grieve, and to sing
We realize everyone is experiencing the same impermanence that we are. This is one Buddhist insight I hang on to. It feels comforting. These are not my words. They were written by Kathryn Schulz, a staff…
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softly, as in a morning sunrise
Meditation shows me my burdens were mostly imagined. But even imaginary ones can carry real emotional weight. I remember this cartoon I saw perhaps 20 years ago while waiting at a doctor’s office. A woman and…
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monkey mind, crabby mind
Lately, I’ve been dealing with a relative of monkey mind I am calling crabby mind. They may be far apart on the biologic tree of life, but they are kissing cousins on my meditation mat. I’ve…
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a contemplative life
What makes the difference in the contemplative life are the qualities of heart we bring to our everyday experiences. When asked the value of contemplative life, the 13th century Japanese monk Dogen said it allowed him…
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to love the world just as it is
Good poetry can show intricacies of meaning and feeling easily lost. This is why I trust the vision of poets and consider good poetry as mindfulness. The Zen teacher Sobun Katherine Thanas in a book which…
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on aging and humility
If I’m going to explore aging and humility I need to remember we older ones are no longer as energetic, or slim, or good looking. The other day I received an interesting catalog in the mail.…
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everything is a mess and it’s fine
Yes, we are all in a mess, with suffering and despair everywhere-yet one lonely channel broadcasts the remarkable message that despite it all, everything is fine. In a web-series from a few years ago hosted by…
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a slow, simple life
Perhaps we need to chill a little, and settle into the slow simple life that’s already here. And embrace this moment, without trying to improve or tweak anything. I read a story the other day, attributed…
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curiosity, mindfulness and anxiety
Mindfulness meditation helps us develop a mental-emotional “check engine light” that flashes in our awareness when we get reactive or anxious. There’s a song that’s been banging around in my head for a couple of weeks.…
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not knowing is most intimate
Relaxing into not-knowing is a key to the present moment. When you don’t know, all possibilities are open. How do we live our life knowing that it’s temporary? We have this opportunity to live this life,…
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the universe marinating itself
As we marinate in the present moment, we let go of the urgencies of the self, the agendas of the ego. Our marvelous mindfulness is a kind of marinating in the present moment. Seemingly solid things,…
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