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
Can Meditation Help Your Running?
Silence fell over the room as the meditation instructor asked the group to lower their eyes. Shoulders dropped. Breath deepened. It’s what you’d expect from a meditation session—except for the thump and buzz of music and conversation on the other side of the curtain. There, thousands of runners picked up bib numbers and browsed the … Continue
Getting to the Heart of the Matter
“The Buddhist approach is not to use any reference points at all—none whatsover. Then we are not finding out whether we exist or not, but we are simply looking at ourselves directly, without any reference points—without even looking, we could say. That may be very demanding, but let it be so. Let us get to … Continue
Meditation… in Everyday Life?
I always hated horror movies as a kid. Meditation courses nyc I remember running out of the room screaming whenever a commercial for the latest Nightmare On Elm Street sequel would come on the TV. Those commercials were not just a surprise; they were a betrayal – a cruel joke. You’re watching an image of … Continue
10 Years And Counting…
Eleven years have past since 9/11. I had not been down to the site for almost that many. Last week I took my children, Max, 25, and Catherine, 21, for our first visit to the memorial, ground zero. I cried. The memorial – the footprints of the Towers – are are now enormous square pools, … Continue
Creativity, Spirituality & Making a Buck
In the Fall of 1970, I was attending Berklee College of Music in Boston when out of curiosity I attended a workshop led by Tibetan Buddhist Meditation Master Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche at the yoga studio I frequented. The workshop was called “Work, Sex and Money”, and Rinpoche spoke extensively about integrating spirituality with everyday life. … Continue
Before & After: Portraits from a Meditation Retreat
Photographer Peter Seidler completed a series of portaits taken before and after meditation practitioners participated in a month long meditation retreat. He wrote about his process and shares several of the images on the Shambhala Times website. While Seidler didn’t offer specifics as to what he believed his subjects experienced throughout their retreat, he lists … Continue
