The Great Bell Chant

This video of the Great Bell Chant featuring the voice of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh is one of the most moving videos I have ever watched. Brother Phap Niem’s lovely voice sings out through the cosmos in Vietnamese. Thay, as Thich Nhat Hanh is known by his followers, narrates his poem in English. The […]

Loving Kindness Blessings for 2015

These loving kindness blessings for 2015 came to me in an email from a friend. I altered them a bit to fit the spirit of the New Year and Meditation Practices. Enjoy and pass on! May you let go of all thoughts of limitation and stop settling for less than you are worth. May you […]

Happy Thanksgiving 2014

Dear Friends: These lovely words of wisdom and photographs came to me this morning from my dear friend, Judy D. I want to share them with you because they touched me so deeply. Happy Thanksgiving 2014! “Gratitude is the sign of noble souls.” – Aesop “Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having […]

Life is Available Only in the Present Moment

Dear Friends: Now that the world knows that Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) is in intensive care, it is important to remember one of his major teaching: “Life is available only in the present moment.” Tricycle also picked up on this theme with these words of wisdom from Thay. It is funny that things […]

Forest Bathing

Today is  November 7, 2014. I arrive at the Ben Lomond Quaker Center snuggled in the redwood forest of the Santa Cruz Mountains. I walk in the woods a bit and realize I am forest bathing. The joy I feel being there is enhanced by the early morning sunlight streaming through the trees. The canopy […]

Our True Home

Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh teaches us that our true home exists in the here and in the now. There is only the present moment, and if we are present, we are home. We sing a song that goes like this: I have arrived, I am home. In the here and in the now. I […]

Listening to Your Body

Last weekend, I spent a long weekend with my wife and eight other friends in beautiful Carmel, California. Most of us get together on a monthly basis to meditate and dine together for a shabbos celebration. One of the main topics we talked about was listening to your body because your body never lies. Your […]

A Buddha in Sitges

You read it right. There is a Buddha in Sitges, Spain! It was sitting in a window in a shop on the narrow street leading to the beach. I couldn’t resist taking the picture. This picture records a moment in time, according to David Butow. For me, it was a wonderful moment. For most of […]

Addicted to Beauty

I have always been attracted by beauty. You might even say that it is my principle habit and that I am addicted to beauty. When I see a beautiful women, man, child, flower, or sunset, I am definitely arrested. My attention goes directly to what is beautiful and attractive. Take, for example, the beautiful sunset […]

What Christianity is Missing

Today is my continuation day! I am celebrating with my wife, son, and daughter. We will spend some of the time in the lovely Napa Valley. Just eleven days ago, my wife and I returned from a wonderful gastronomic tour of the Catalan region of Spain. We spent ten nights in Barcelona, where my other […]