Growing up in the Western part of the world, we are socialized to be “climbers”- to be competitive, successful, and proud of the position and status of our pecking order. Competitiveness and aggressiveness are deeply conditioned into our Way of living. Committing acts of aggression in our Western society both actively and passively are commonplace […]

Do we see clearly our condition of mind- all the assumptions and judgments? Do we see how we label and categorize perceptions of mind- what is “good”, “bad”, and “neutral”? Do we notice our fixation and grasping tendencies of what is labeled “good”? How about our rejection, denial, and avoidance of what is labeled as […]

Our conscious mental activity is a flowing and energetic process of sensory perception, cognition, and emotion. A great deal of our sensory information is often missed as it arises and passes so quickly within the awareness of a busy and preoccupied mind. Much of our sensory data is also perceived as an abstract or mental […]

Awareness is the light… Attention is the lens… And compassion is our heartfelt intent underlying the motivation to ‘see’ openly, clearly, and to better understand the nature of our own experiences. To see things from a mindful perspective is to simply notice– to take note without judgment, assumption or opinion. It’s to ‘accept’ so that […]

In nature we discover simplicity and contentment… Springtime in New England provides a wonderful opportunity for us to simply get out and re-connect with nature. This can be a truly restorative experience- whether in the forest, an open meadow, a riverbank, seaside or lakeside, etc. The power of the natural world encourages us to let […]

In our formal meditation practice- as we sit in our ‘breathing space’, feeling the breath, feeling sensations in the body, we can be aware of different emotions as they arise in our direct observing experience. There might be the feeling of happiness or sadness; there might be the feeling of joy or anger. We might […]

Simple as it may sound, we are sometimes not very mindful of the way we eat; what we eat; and how much we eat. Slowing it down is a great way to transform the way we relate to our food, and the way we consume our food. Here are some mindful tips to help slow […]

Are we aware of the karmic impact of our thought patterns? Thoughts simply arise in our consciousness- sometimes they manifest with intention and on many occasions they stream into awareness out of the reactionary impulse of our automaticity– to be continually ‘charged’ and conditioned by a ‘thinking mind’. Although our meditation practice is not ‘thinking’, […]

“The Guesthouse”~ Jelaluddin Rumi This being human is a guest house.   A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor.   Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows, who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture, still, treat each guest honorably. He may […]

Early in our practice, we devote considerable focus and concentration on our attention training. It’s important to keep reinforcing our ‘aim & sustain‘ skills of concentration and attention throughout our practice- regardless of the chosen ‘object of focus’. For example, the breath, part of the body, a movement of the body, a tree, flower, etc. […]