Stories

Unconditional Love

This article on unconditional love is based on a talk I gave to the Mindfulness In Healing Sangha on June 8, 2022. It was inspired by two people, Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen and Anita Moorjani, author of Dying to Be Me: My Journey from Cancer, to Near Death, to True Healing. These days, we are […]

RAINS Meditation for Happiness

On October 21, 2021, I introduced this RAINS Meditation for Happiness to my colleagues in the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program (MMTCP) with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach and I am offering a version of it tonight for my class in How to Use Mindfulness to Be Happy. The acronym RAIN has been used by […]

“The Happiest Man in the World”

Last Thursday night, my wife and I attended a fund raising event for the American Himalayan Foundation with guest speaker, Matthieu Ricard, “The happiest man in the world!” Matthieu Ricard has a PhD in biochemistry and became a monk in the Tibetan tradition shortly after receiving it. He is also a humanitarian, advocating altruism and […]

Taking Care of Anger

At a recent meeting of our Mindfulness In Healing sangha (meditation group) we discussed the Mindfulness Training #6, Taking Care of Anger. This training reads, Aware that anger blocks communication and creates suffering, we are committed to taking care of the energy of anger when it arises, recognizing and transforming the seeds of anger that […]

Was 9/11 an Inside Job?

Many people ask, “Was 9/11 an inside job,” meaning, was it really a false flag attack by elite members of the US government. I didn’t think so until I saw the Zeitgeist Movie in 2006. Since then, I have watch and studied the scientific evidence for what looked like to me a controlled demolition of […]

The Importance of Gratitude

If you have been following this blog for very long, you know that one of the main teachings here is the importance of gratitude. You may recall that as my children were growing up, my wife used to say to them when they wanted something they couldn’t or shouldn’t have, “To desire what you don’t […]

The Zen Teachings of Bagger Vance

A few nights ago, we re-watched The Legend of Bagger Vance in which Rannulph Junuh, played by Matt Damon learns the Zen teachings of Bagger Vance, played by Will Smith. Junuh is in a golf tournament with two top players in Savannah, Georgia and has fallen 12 stokes behind. Bagger Vance gives Junuh the following […]

Practice Kindness

One of the many things that you can do for your happiness and the happiness of others is to practice kindness. Kindness has the capacity to spread like wildfire. If you are kind to the grocery clerk who checked you out, he or she will be kind to the rest of the people she serves […]

Happiness is the Normal State

One of the most memorable teachings of Father Eli is that, “Happiness is the normal state of a healthy, well-adjusted individual.” Another one of his interesting ideas about happiness is that “Happiness is a state of mind in which our thinking is pleasant a good share of the time.” He says that happiness is not […]

What is Said About Mindfulness Breaks™?

What is said about Mindfulness Breaks™? Since 1973, I have been teaching people how to take a Mindfulness Break. In all these years, I have had wonderful verbal praise for the process. Here is what some people have said over the past several years. Spending time with Jerome on a mindfulness break was equivalent to […]