Dear Friends: Many of you have asked me how practice progresses once you have the basics of meditation and mindfulness. Practice deepens when we bring mindful, loving awareness into the rest of our lives, including our work, relationships, family, play, and more. The Buddha’s framework for this life of practice is the Noble Eightfold Path. […]

Dear Friends: Words Lose Their Meaning “In Master Linji’s time [9th-century China], some Buddhist terms were used so often they became meaningless. People chewed on terms like ‘liberation’ and ‘enlightenment’ until they lost their power. It’s no different today.” – Thich Nhat Hanh, “Simply Stop “ Read More Mini Mindfulness Breaks Click here to offer […]

Dear Friends: Creating Space These days we have so many things to think about: our health, our family, our work, our dharma practice. When we don’t know how to deal with them, these worries can make our minds start to slowly shrink, becoming more and more narrow, and as a consequence more and more negative. […]

Dear Friends: I vow to awaken…or fall asleep trying. – Martha Beck Read More Mini Mindfulness Breaks Click here to offer what you can for eBooks and Guided Mediations! Mindfulness Mentoring <!

Dear Friends: Embrace Impermanence with Mindfulness When the winds of change reach hurricane force, our inner refuge of mindfulness, concentration, and discernment is the only thing that will keep us from getting blown away. – Thanissaro Bhikkhu, “What We”™ve Been Practicing For” Read More Mini Mindfulness Breaks Click here to offer what you can for […]

Dear Friends: Those who regard worldly affairs as a hindrance to buddha dharma think only that there is no buddha dharma in the secular world; they do not understand that there is no “secular world” in buddha dharma. – Zen Master Dogen Read More Mini Mindfulness Breaks Click here to offer what you can for […]

Dear Friends: Each of us is both a small, vulnerable critter and a vast, powerful Creator. When we stop feeling victimized or abandoned and resolve to design and build stuff, we align our identity with our Creator-selves. Instead of persecuted critters, we become heroes on a quest. A difficult quest, to be sure, but that’s […]

Dear Friends: “May the sun bring you energy by day, May the moon softly restore you by night, May the rain wash away your worries, May the breeze blow new strength into your being. May you walk gently through the world and know its beauty and harmony all the days of your life. ” – […]

Dear Friends: We Are Boundless At the core of Buddhist teaching is the awakened mind””the knowing that we are not this body but consciousness itself, a boundless, luminous, loving, peaceful, intelligent presence. – Nina Wise, “Sudden Awakening” Read More Mini Mindfulness Breaks Click here to offer what you can for eBooks and Guided Mediations! Mindfulness […]

Dear Friends: Our inherent kindness and wisdom can close down when we are judgmental and blaming, when emotions like fear or anger are present, and generally when there are differences and conflicts. How do we stay present and engage in skillful speech, including empathy for the other (which doesn’t necessarily mean agreement), in such situations? […]