Category: psychological issues
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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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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in praise of maladjustment
Who is maladjusted? It is someone who lost the ability to be surprised. We must re-learn how to be surprised. Alice Walker has good advice for all of us who practice mindfulness meditation: Expect nothing. Live…
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nurture your resilience
Realize that for many our negativity bias is on steroids right now, and that’s OK. Notice the lovely things that happen in your day. Just let these short sweet moments in, and nurture your resilience.…
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lucid dreaming and meditation
Just as in a moment of lucid dreaming we realize Wow, I’m dreaming, we can similarly realize while meditating Wow, I’m thinking. I had this dream the other night that allowed me to see similarities between…
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a moment of well-being
Despite all that is wrong, I can still take delight in a moment of well-being. News stories are not the conversation starters they used to be. In the day, I could fill an awkward gap by…
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a peaceful, uneasy feeling
I feel that I should be above it all, but mostly I’m not. I struggle with my emotions. Practicing mindfulness of emotions helps a lot, but sometimes I am just plain sad or overcome by all…
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suffering is natural
As a species we seem to have solidified a very real revulsion for the inevitable, as well as toward the smaller slights along the way. We hide death and suffering like some grand failing; we distract…
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savor the resistance
Do we feel we are missing out on some better, or more spiritual, experience by being stuck with a mountain of laundry, a sink overflowing with dishes, or a yard full of leaves to rake? Karen…
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no self help
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…
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everyday mysticism
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…
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emotions
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…
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boredom
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.…
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the lychees, or letting go of thinking
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…
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drink deep
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…
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mindfulness: unfolding into wholeness
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…
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the monkey pod tree in the beach park
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…
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wholeness and redemptive suffering
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…
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