mindfulness
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Working with the Gaps
Our practice of mindfulness, especially our formal meditation practice leads us to eventually work with two gaps. The first is the gap between stimulus and response and the second is the gap between our beliefs and our actions. Committing to a formal mindfulness meditation practice and practicing moments of mindfulness as we go through our Continue reading
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Quieting to Transform
Someone recently said to me that they were ready to have some shift, change, or other transformation in their life. They went on to say that they would be attending a weekend retreat for the first time and hoped something would arise from that. My first thought was, “Of course it will!” Diving a little Continue reading
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Cultivating the 3Cs: Care, Compassion, Connection
Each and everyone of us are or will struggle and suffer due to events often beyond our control. These may be personal in the form of death, illness, accident, and misfortune. Or it could be related to the state of affairs in the communities within which we live and operate. We may feel especially affected Continue reading
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The Power of Mindfulness: Aligning Aspirational and Actual Self
Many of us have this little personal representative that lives behind our forehead. This mirror image expresses our deepest wishes and aspirations as well as being our largest critic and judge. Our actual self is that part of us that goes about daily business out of habit and on automatic pilot. Between these two, our Continue reading
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Non-Striving
The practice of mindfulness meditation places us firmly in a paradoxical situation. Engaging in the practice requires setting an intention, as all activity requires intention. And yet, sustaining the practice works when we release that intention. This paradox describes an attitude or state that students of mindfulness meditation are encouraged to adopt – an attitude Continue reading
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Formal and Informal Meditation
Many students talk about not really “sitting” for meditation practice, but rather checking in throughout the day to become mindful or take a breath awareness pause. Many students say, “I am mindful during my day, and I don’t sit for practice.” These students are describing informal mediation practices. Many types of informal practices range from Continue reading
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How Can I Keep My Meditation Going?
I like to think in terms of supporting my practice. There are so many ways we can build a structure around our mediation practices to hold and support the building of the habit. Eventually we would like our practices to become second nature, a lot like brushing our teeth or getting dressed in the morning Continue reading
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Impatience
Impatience is a way of life in our culture. Looking for a quick fix is the default method of approaching most challenges we face. We are always looking for an immediate solution to make the discomfort go away, to get the thing we most desire, or to correct a health issue. Making discomfort disappear is Continue reading
Being Present 