Five Frightening Facts About Fracking

I just signed a petition to President Obama and Governor Brown urging them to stop “fracking” up our water supply. The petition reads: Attention: President Obama Petitioner: Dr. Jerome Freedman I urge you to protect the country’s drinking water by implementing a federal ban on hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) for oil and gas. The toxic results […]

Birthday Greetings For The Dalai Lama

 Open Letter to The Dalai Lama I sent these birthday greetings to The Dalai Lama yesterday. To Your Holiness the Dalai Lama,On the auspicious occasion of your birthday, I send best wishes from my heart to warm yours with the knowledge that you are loved, admired and respected by people the world over.As an active, […]

Is Global Warming Real?

Is climate change real? Is global warming something that humans are responsible for? I keep asking myself these questions, especially when friends suggest that climate change is a scientific hoax. Last week, I watched an amazing film by photographer James Balog called, “Chasing Ice“. This is an effort by an artist to show the world that climate […]

Foundations Of Buddhist Thought – The Eightfold Path

In the previous segment of the Foundations of Buddhist Thought, we learned about The Four Noble Truths and The Eightfold Path. The Eightfold Path is the fourth noble truth of the Buddha. The elements of The Eightfold Path can be characterized in three groups, which serve as the cornerstones of Buddhist practice. The first group is […]

Eight Ideas About Mindful Weight Loss

A few days ago, I wrote about how mindful consumption can help us rejoice in what we do have. In today’s article, I want to expand a bit on on mindful consumption and how it applies to mindful weight loss. Mindful consumption is one of the core teachings of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh and one of […]

Other People Are Like Us

The Dalai Lama teaches that other people are like us. They, too, want happiness and avoid suffering. Recognition of this is really important to inspire us to take effective altruistic actions such as feeding the homeless, relieving hunger, stopping global warming, eliminating malaria and other dreadful diseases, and so much more. Many other people are […]

Mindful Consumption Can Save Mother Earth

In 1985, I heard Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, “If the West stops drinking alcohol by 50%, there would be enough food to feed the world.” I never was a big drinker, and this statement made sense to me. After his lecture, I no longer shared wine of beer with my 49er or tennis buddies. […]

Mindful Eating Helps Lose Weight

A recent article on the Science Daily website indicated that mindful eating helps lose weight. A study at the Ohio State University showed that “mindful eating equals traditional education in lowering weight and blood sugar” for diabetes patients. The report states, Eating mindfully, or consuming food in response to physical cues of hunger and fullness, […]

Timeless Quotes from the Buddha

It is with great pleasure that I bring you another excellent video by Gerald Penilla from California on Timeless Quotes from the Buddha. This video was brought to my attention by Bhikkhu Samahita, to whom I offer gratitude as well. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQtXAiQzDSk Timeless Quotes from the Buddha Here are the timeless quotes from the Buddha excerpted […]

Mindful Consumption Helps Mother Earth

This quote from the Dalai Lama ties into what Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh had to say about human life on earth. Human use, population, and technology have reached that certain stage where mother Earth no longer accepts our presence with silence. — Dalai Lama XIV You may now begin to see how important it […]