yada There is nothing extraordinary or mysterious about Zen. I raise my hand; I take a book from the other side of the desk; I hear the boys playing ball outside my window; I see the clouds blown away beyond the neighboring wood…. In all these I am practicing Zen, I am living Zen. No […]
Focusing and Meditation
August 28, 2017 by
These words of wisdom on Focusing and Meditation from David Rome, are an excellent introduction for meditation practitioners. Focusing is a psychological process invented by Dr. Eugene Gendlin, a philosopher and psychotherapist who was very influential in my life. He was a protege of Carl Rogers and was known for his development of a phenomenological […]
Emotional Blind Spots
August 18, 2017 by Leave a Comment
yada Denial is far trickier than simple ignorance. It isn’t the inability to perceive information but the astonishing ability to perceive information while automatically refusing to allow it into consciousness. Our minds don’t perform this magical trick without reason. We only “go blind” to information that is so troubling, so frightening, or so opposed to […]
Gratitude Teachings by The Buddha
August 17, 2017 by
In the Netflix series on Buddha, there was an interesting conversation with a householder couple that presented the gratitude teachings of the Buddha. I have reproduced the English translations here, along with a snap shot of the couple. Buddha: It is important to have harmony in a married life. If the husband and wife share […]
Walk With Me
August 15, 2017 by
Last Friday, I attended the world theatrical premier of a new film by Max Pugh and Marc J. Francis called, “Walk With Me.” It is tagged as “A journey in mindfulness featuring Thich Nhat Hanh.” The movie was narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch and featured monks and nuns from Plum Village. Sister Dinh Nghiem was present […]
Gratitude and Desire
August 8, 2017 by
In my new book, Mindfulness Breaks: The path to inner peace and happiness (under construction,) I have a whole chapter on gratitude and offer a Gratitude Mindfulness Break. Gratitude is an important practice if we want to get beyond being self-centered and progress in spiritual development. This is something I have learned from personal experience. […]
Self-Forgiveness
August 3, 2017 by
Self-forgiveness, like self-compassion can often be very difficult. If we remember what Jack Kornfield said, “Forgiveness is giving up all hope of a better past,” we can begin to forgive ourselves and other people in our lives. In my way of thinking, forgiveness, like gratitude and loving kindness, are clear paths to inner peace and […]
The Buddha
July 26, 2017 by
For the past five or six weeks, I have been watching episodes of The Buddha on Netflix. The series was produced by the famous Indian producer B. K. Modi. In truth, it is a Bollywood movie in 54 episodes. The costumes and jewelry are extraordinarily beautiful, but I can’t same the same thing about the […]
Happiness is the Normal State
June 30, 2017 by
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 […]
Interbeing with All Life
June 8, 2017 by
When I discussed interbeing with all life with Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson several years ago, he said, I would say in modern times, (I need to define modern as in the last century). What you said recent times was 25 years. In modern times, we have come to learn about ecology. I’ll use a single […]
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