Category: Everyday Spirit
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Yoga and Gardening
This past Saturday was spring cleanup day in the community where I live. I was appointed part of the gardening crew. We have some beautiful flow beds in the common areas. They always make me smile when I pass by them. I am not an expert gardener by any stretch. But when I am out…
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Contentment Everyday
“Dearly Beloved We are gathered here today To get through this thing called life” – Prince I am sure that by now you have seen these lyrics from Prince’s famous song posted everywhere. I was very sad to hear of his death. He wasn’t a friend, relative or someone I had ever spoken with. But…
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Plant the Seeds of Healing
Love and compassion are the only proven tools for transforming hatred. Looking deeply into the nature of the current wave of hatred sweeping our society, I find fear, craving and suffering as its foundation. Part of love involves restraining those intent on doing harm, of course, both for their sake and for the sake of…
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Yoga for Courage
It has been a long while since my last blog post. I apologize. I was wrapped up in the goings on of my own world and got out of the habit. Then the longer it went on, the more of a deal it became. I was worried about what you might think and also about…
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Help Us Out, Won’t You?
I’ve written before that what the world needs rather desperately isn’t more successful people, more powerful people, or more wealthy people. What the world needs — what humanity and the other beings with which we share a biosphere all need — are more genuinely happy people. If you’re reading this, I’ll assume that you agree…
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The Great Impasse
The things you hold as sacred Are those I find obscene; I know it works the other way, as well. Both of us contemptible In one another’s eyes, On the way to madness or to hell. Might the vice grip loosen On these strong, discrepant views? Or are we stranded at a great impasse? The…
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From the forthcoming book The Path of the Peace Practitioner: A Practical Guide to Enlightenment
The peace practitioner takes the time daily to generate a deep peace within herself. Using the tools of meditation and contemplative inquiry, she nurtures a deep sense of tranquility in her mind in preparation for the inevitable stresses of the day. She knows that her inward state will spill over onto every sentient being she…
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Boundless Freedom Meditation
I am the lotus flower, Blooming beautifully in the muck. I am the oak tree, Firmly rooted in the earth. I am the brilliant diamond, Stunning in its clarity. I am consciousness expanding, Boundless in its freedom Image courtesy of Cindy Zackowitz
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In the Garden of Mind…
Flowers of Consciousness Bloom Today I was meditating on abundance and satiety, and the ethical implications of both. Abundance is the opposite of scarcity; it simply implies that needs are met, and perhaps there’s a little left over afterwards. Satiety is defined as “fullness to the point of excess,” which most observers would probably consider…
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A Holiday Appeal for Peace
Throughout the holiday season, the phrase ”peace on earth” is an oft-repeated trope. We can choose to respond to it with an unconscious, “yeah, right;” alternatively, we can allow the phrase to serve as a bell of mindfulness. When you hear those words, imagine that someone has invited the Sangha mindfulness bell to sound; take…