I want to take this opportunity to remind you that where you sit (or stand) is holy ground. And this moment, right now, is a holy moment. Imagine never forgetting it! Imagine awakening to this [...]
Here are some practices essential to adopt for your everyday self-care for a beautiful and sweet New Year …… Sit in silence and meditate for at least 30 minutes each day. (All at once, or two [...]
A student recently asked, “I am truly concerned about all the pain and suffering humans and animals are experiencing due to war, floods, and hurricanes. For some reason, and I don’t know why, but [...]
“With the past, I have nothing to do; nor with the future. I live now.” That was what Ralph Waldo Emerson practiced. Sounds good, living in the now. But how can we keep our focus on [...]
Have you ever been forest bathing? You’ve likely spent time in the woods, but perhaps you’ve never called it bathing. Forest bathing is a popular practice that has had its resurgence. [...]
About 25 years ago I was a resident in a Zen Buddhist training center. For two years, each morning and evening, I would meditate in the zendo alongside fellow priests, monks, and trainees, and we [...]
No one can legislate peace, it’s been tried for centuries. But what each one of us can do, is to be committed to our own internal peace. That’s my aim these days. When you feel pain [...]
What are you doing right now? I imagine you are sitting down somewhere, reading this. But what else are you doing? Eating? Listening to music? Hanging out with your family? Planning the rest of [...]
I love being alone, I love my solitude. I know not everybody feels the same way. Recently (May 2023), the U.S. Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy, warned of another serious health threat to Americans [...]
After meditation, we talked more about the power of attention. You’ve likely heard the phrase, “Where your attention goes, energy flows.” It’s true. You only have so much attention to [...]
Novelist Tom Robbins wrote that there are really only two mantras in life: “yum” and “yuck”. Either something is yummy or it isn’t. Listening to your own yums and yucks – and taking action based [...]
The Lockdown It’s been just about a year now, give or take a day or two, since my visiting European friends, Sue and Suzi, left Santa Barbara. The U.S. was locking down and they flew home. That’s [...]
