Teaching of Impermanence

This teaching of impermanence comes from the Daily Flame of Dr. Lissa Rankin, author of The Anatomy of a Calling: A Doctor’s Journey from the Head to the Heart and a Prescription for Finding Your Life’s Purpose. She doesn’t call it that, but the teaching of impermanence is just as effective. I remember that Reb […]

The Path of Awakening…

The path of awakening is not an easy path, as I have been finding out over the past 40 years. Truly, there have been wonderful moments of awakening, but then I would fall back into the pursuit of money for the support of myself and my family. After a while, I caught myself and began […]

Choose the Life We Want

These words of wisdom teach us how to choose the life we want. The funny thing is we often don’t have the courage to do so. We normally just let life roll on just like “the lazy old son that has nothing to do but roll around heaven all day.” Some people define insanity as […]

The Upside of Stress

Kelly McGonigal gave a talk on How to Turn Stress into an Advantage from her new book, The Upside of Stress: Why Stress Is Good for You, and How to Get Good at It. The talk took place at the 2015 99U conference at Lincoln Center in New York City. In Kelly’s research, she learned […]

Pema Chodron Turned 79!

A lot is happening in the world of Buddhism and yoga these days! With the Dalai Lama turning 80, Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh being treated for his stroke at UCSF (near my home), and Swami Veda Bharati passing away I think it is high time to launch the Indiegogo campaign! Just a couple of […]

Words of Wisdom from Lao Tzu Part 1

These words of wisdom from Lao Tzu are from his famous book, Tao Te Ching. We are taught that “The tao that can be told of is not the absolute tao,” so please take this to heart as you explore these teachings. On letting go: “By letting it go it all gets done. The world […]

A Song for the Winter Garden

[Editor’s note: John Snyder is another one of my dharma brothers in the Order of Interbeing (OI) of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. He posted this on our OI Yahoo group and gave me permission to publish it here. This poem teaches us how impermanence rules the winter and all of life. Enjoy!] A Song […]

Highest Kind of Happiness

These words of wisdom from Shaila Catherine express the highest kind of happiness – the happiness equanimity. Shaila Catherine is the founder and guiding teacher of Insight Meditation South Bay and author of Focused and Fearless: A Meditator’s Guide to States of Deep Joy, Calm, and Clarity. What she says about the highest kind of […]

Pema Chodron Demonstrates the Fundamental Ambiguity of Being Human

These words of wisdom from Pema Chodron demonstrates the fundamental ambiguity of being human. To experience our true nature, we must let go and not struggle or resist change. Change is one of the most fundamental physical laws of the universe. We live in an emerging universe where nothing is static. Under the influence of […]

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 […]