This is a story about J. Krishnamurti, the great Indian philosopher and spiritual teacher. For over 50 years he travelled all over the world, speaking, teaching trying to explain in words concepts and ideas that are beyond words. I read a story about him once surprising his audience by saying he was going to reveal his secret “Do you want to know my secret?”
So, as you can imagine, everyone was listening attentively. Everyone wanted to hear the secret of his wisdom. […]
Mindfulness
Life is Like a Cup of Coffee
Stories can move us and change our state of mind. That’s how powerful stories can be.
Not long ago, on a day when I had started to feel overwhelmed by too many deadlines, I came across this anonymous lovely story. As soon as I read it, I saw the wisdom in it. I could immediately come back to my center, see things more clearly, from a different perspective and reconnect to what really matters.
“A group of alumni, […]
The Tigers & The Strawberry
Someone I know brought up his fear of old age and death. It made me think of a Zen Parable I had read a long time ago. I always carry it close to my heart and it has been a source of inspiration for me.
Have you ever heard about the Zen Parables? They are called a Koans, a Japanese term that dates from the 7th century. These parables were used to produce doubt, […]
How to Create New Emotional & Spiritual Energy for 2023
The beginning of a new year can start a new chapter in our lives
Why is it so difficult to follow through with our New Year’s resolutions despite our best intentions?
From a therapeutic perspective, for a resolution to work, it is crucial to bring self-awareness and honest self-reflection into the process.
We can design real and permanent change if we take some time to look back, assess and reflect on what worked and what did not work in our lives. […]
Three Tools for a Stress-Free Holiday Season
While this time of the year is for some a source of joy and pleasure, for others it can be the biggest trigger of anxiety
We are bombarded with expectations of being happy and generous, and sometimes we may feel inadequate and alone by feeling just the opposite. Such is the case with a client I have been mentoring lately who was going through moments of intense worry as the end of the year is approaching. […]
The Art of Acceptance
Sometimes, the only choice we have is to surrender, to stop fighting the inevitable, and to accept our lack of control. How we inhabit our vulnerability will determine the quality of our experience.
On Friday, August 31, 2015, I woke up at 4:00 am to my cell phone ringing on my nightstand. Distressing news from Argentina. My mom had just had a stroke, had been rushed to the hospital and was in the Intensive Care Unit. […]
What impermanence can teach us
When we realize that the nature of things is change, our appreciation, our gratitude and our ability to value what we have when we have it increases exponentially.
Like nothing else, impermanence can teach us how to treasure every aspect of life and how to live fully. Let’s not wait. Life is as fragile as a sand castle. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. In the face of impermanence, only love can exist, […]
How to work with anger
Monica explores how to meet anger with conscious awareness
This article was first published on Lion’s Roar on June 28, 2022.
While I don’t consider myself an angry person, I have always had an open curiosity about anger. As a child, I remember experiencing deep fear in the chaotic moments of my mother’s angry spells. I felt helpless and anxious, but I suppressed these emotions because of my fear of adding more intensity to my mom’s outbursts, […]
Como trabajar con la ira
Monica Jordan explora como relacionarnos con la ira de una manera consciente
Este artículo fue publicado en Lion’s Roar el 28 de junio de 2022
Aunque no me considero una persona que se enoja fácilmente, siempre he tenido mucha curiosidad con respecto a la ira. Cuando era niña, recuerdo haber experimentado un miedo profundo en los momentos caóticos de ira de mi madre. Me sentía impotente y ansiosa, […]
Two Components to Freedom
Indispensable elements for our Self-liberation
In the Buddhist tradition, there are two essential components to our freedom. The first one is awareness. It is the wisdom that comes from training your mind to see clearly and the second one is compassion for yourself and for others.
These components are compared to the two wings of a bird, without which the bird would be unable to fly and be free.
Awareness
The first wing is our conscious awareness that allows us to recognize what is really happening in our moment-to-moment experience. […]