How Do We Return to Society?
In Zen training we start with The Search for Ox, the Ox being our true nature. With diligent practice over time, we move through stages that lead to an enlightened return. Examining the evolution of Zen training is essential when we think about how a commitment to mindfulness meditation can positively influence society and encourage […]
Refuge and Crafting Space
I’m staying at another house. Moving from place to place seems to mark my current reality. In this wandering, my awareness of space increases and also my perception of home and refuge. Displacement elicits all kinds of emotion and there is insight into adapting and tolerating ambiguity. When you’re faced with a gap in life […]
Seeing the Forest
While the stock market tumults, I study things up close like the black and orange caterpillar that crosses my path. How does a caterpillar survive this uneven terrain I wonder? The war and torture in Ukraine continue while I step out firmly on wet soil. I listen to the tall pines sway and watch the […]
Mindfulness, Nature and Time
“There are times in life when we experience a time space warp such that you shift into another dimension that reveals the totality of our existence and immortality.” Ríos, 2017, TS+EF=SC It’s morning and I see the full moon setting over my balcony. I’m watching this happen on the same balcony that I watched the […]
Listening To Your Body
Tips for Coaching and Self-Mastery On my morning run, I noticed my knee hurt every time I thought about a specific memory. Granted, I’ve been pushing myself to run further for almost a month now and my knee has been sensitive but this was something else. This was a jab that steadily increased. It happened […]
It’s Time
Breathe in this forced pause. Breathe out the smell of death, grief and sunken family. Look around and see it’s so much less but more. Feel the hot turmoil under your skin. Think, my brother died and say aloud, “Again.” Such great tenderness unveiled in moments. A rush of love begins. “You’re hurting me,” I […]
Resurrection Sunday: On Tolstoy’s Law of Love and Violence
When I was young, we dipped and colored Easter eggs. I remember how my mother dropped the tiny tablets into plastic cups turning the clear water into yellow, green, red, blue. There were stickers, too. I remember years later preparing the same cups for my son and daughter and I remember my aunt who is […]
Our Light World
For John Think of yourself as a lightbulb, a vessel, a generator of light. You’re round, fragile and require electricity. The amount of light you have depends on wattage, voltage and frequency. In human speak, we’re talking about presence and your capacity to illuminate reality. The human light bulb is a clever device indeed! We […]
Dear Ukraine
My heart bursts in flames for your suffering. It’s impossible for those of you on the front lines of war to see how the world is recoiled in pain. We cry even while we recognize that your suffering is greatest of all. Ukraine is a vital organ in our body and the injury is burning. […]
Another Virus Weakens Solidarity
The invasion of Ukraine by Putin is a virus that will injure and kill countless human beings and continue to debilitate our sense of agency and unity. This attack is particularly egregious because it comes on the heels of COVID which has weakened tolerance, trust and energy globally. It is incumbent on us to address […]