Bring Your Mind Back to the Present Moment

Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh is well known for saying things like, “Bring your mind back to the present moment.” Thay, as he is called by his followers, consistently tells us to say hello to our thoughts and feelings, embrace them with compassion, and let them go to return to the present moment. He teaches […]

Mindfulness in Daily Life

These words of wisdom for Zen Master Eihei Dogen teach us about mindfulness in daily life. This is actually quite a universal teaching these days by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Phillip Moffitt, and many others. The idea is to take your mindfulness into your life in order to enrich your everyday experience. […]

Words Lose Their Meaning

Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) has been recovering from the stroke he had last November in San Francisco at the UCSF Medical Center. It must be the best place in the world for stroke rehabilitation, or he would not be there. Words lose their meaning when you try to describe how well his treatment […]

Meditating with Emotions

These words of wisdom from Pema Chodron teach us about meditating with emotions from her book, How to Meditate: A Practical Guide to Making Friends with Your Mind. Read this quote and then see what Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh (known as Thay by his followers) has to say about meditating with emotions. Get Dirty […]

In Memory of Wayne Dyer

These words of wisdom today are in memory of Wayne Dyer. He was an international hero to many and beloved by most. I recently wrote about him just last week in The Value of Diligence. Who would have thought this would happen? The funny thing is that after years of knowing about him and his […]

The Art of Mini-transitions

I just received an email from Jennifer Louden on the art of mini-transitions. I wrote the following to her: In 1971 I had the pleasure of meeting and hanging out with Swami Rama of the Himalayas and his successor Dr. Arya, who became Swami Veda Bharati. The first discourse Dr. Arya taught was about celebrating […]

The Value of Diligence

One of the six paramitas, as Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh teaches them is diligence. Other translations of the six paramitas call this one effort. The other paramitas are generosity, ethics, patience, concentration, and wisdom. The value of diligence is demonstrated when we commit to daily practice. We can also demonstrate the value of diligence […]

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 […]

Words of Wisdom from Lao Tzu Part 2

Here is part 2 of the 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 being soft and slow: “The soft overcomes […]

Develop Your Own Path

The Buddha provided us with a wonderful eightfold path for us to discover our true nature and become enlightened. While this path worked for the Buddha and it would work for you, provided that you are diligent, you may still have to develop your own path. Michael Ray has an interesting idea about developing your […]