How To Make Positive Change
I recently read that out of the millions of Americans who set a New Year’s resolution for themselves only 8 percent are successful at achieving them. It’s not easy to intentionally effect change in your life, yet through setting an intention and building a lifestyle around that motivation it can get easier. Setting an Intention … Continue
A Day of Service
There were three UPS trucks parked on the sidewalk, rapidly filling up with donations. Cars were double-parked, quickly loading up with supplies and people. Volunteers moved fast, urging onlookers to keep the walkways clear. I stood on the edge of this sea of activity, reached into my bag, and pulled out a hastily scribbled sign: … Continue
On Boredom
Eventually, all meditators run into the same problem: boredom. Boredom usually arises in one of two ways—as a constant sense of sleepiness or as a kind of free floating anxiety and agitation. Yes, agitation. I would like to tell you right now that you do not have ADD. If I had a dollar for everyone … Continue
Sanity Amid the Storms
Facing uncertainty is guaranteed to come up abundantly in our lives. The practice of meditation prepares us for the unlikely breezes, as well as the times that are superstorms of uncertainty; times like now, with Sandy behind us, another storm ahead of us, the election today, and then all the personal times in each of … Continue
All. In. This. Together. Sandy, The Elections, and Everything After
Last month, my dear friend, author, and generally awesome lady Susan Piver asked me to write something before Tuesday’s US elections about overcoming “Us vs Them” mentality. She wrote a great, thoughtful post here. If there was ever a collision of events to force a needed discussion of how to overcome “Us Vs Them” mentality, … Continue
Feeling Inside: the Ordinary Experience of Being Alive
At a recent seminar, Sakyong Mipham, asked our group of meditators why we were sitting there thinking … about sitting there? What, he asked, were we feeling? Wasn’t that more to the point? It was an eye opening experience for me. I realized that as a student of meditation for twenty five years, perhaps I had … Continue
Positive Aging
When the Olympic torch passed through London early in the morning, the seniors I teach welcomed it with a public performance of Tai Chi – and got the locals to join in. It was a startling reminder of “positive aging”! Meditation aging and tai chi Working with older people in this way very much helps … Continue
Learning to Be
I was walking through a park with a friend. It was a beautiful summer day in Baltimore. She looked at me and asked, why did you become Buddhist? Buddhist meditation pain and emotions I was in a lot of pain, I guess. I was an angry young man looking for a way out. She smiled … Continue
The Magic of Qi Gong
Why practice qigong? Qigong is a wonderful way to integrate the body in our spiritual journey. Without a healthy body, working on the mind can be challenging. Qigong is more than exercise; it’s a healing discipline for the body and mind, both gentle and profound, and accessible to everyone. Even people who have physical challenges … Continue
A Meditation for the Fall
I always consider the Fall to be a more pragmatic and realistic New Year’s occasion than whatever happens in January. In fact, many people who question our Gregorian calendar point to the fact that New Year’s in January simply makes no sense considering the rhythm of the seasons or the way our cultural and economic … Continue
