Hafiz, the beloved Sufi poet, reminds us in the poem below that loneliness is, indeed, a gift. Unlike depression and lethargy, which want us to stagnate and to sink in darkness, loneliness encourages us to move.
Loneliness is a desire, a physical feeling, something missing in the heart that inspires us to seek. Without loneliness, Hafiz suggests, how would you find yourself?
Part of being human is feeling the desire to connect and share with others. […]
Mindfulness
Your Inner Compass
Male musk deer are one of the most endangered species on Earth. They are also called melanistic deer because of the large amount of melanin they produce, which explains why their fur is so dark and shiny. Their bodies also create the most expensive scent in the world known as Kasturi.
There is a legend that tells the story of a musk deer that was roaming the Himalayan ranges in India when he smelt a mysterious and beautiful scent in the air. […]
Live Like The Roar In A Lion’s Throat
Do you live in your days like a forgotten ticket stub in someone’s jacket? As if the show were behind you? As if you went out one evening to watch your life, and decided halfway through that it wasn’t worth the price of admission.
Other things more interesting stole your attention, even though we’ve been told and told that all that glitters is not gold, we are so easily seduced by sparkle and the kind of food that fills our mouths but not our stomachs and never our souls. […]
Dealing with Our Own Difficult Emotions
The end of June wrapped Annapolis with a blanket of deep sadness as we could feel so close to us, what the seed of hatred, resentment and violence could be capable of. This was right in our neighborhood. It happened to people whose names were familiar to the Capital Gazette readers. We feel deep compassion for them and their families, and even for the perpetrator who is obviously seriously sick to commit such a horrendous act. […]
Laziness as a Personal Teacher
Also in Spanish ~
Rather than feeling discouraged by laziness, we could get to know laziness profoundly. This very moment of laziness becomes our personal teacher.
Traditionally, laziness is taught as one of the obstacles to awakening. There are different kinds of laziness. First, there’s the laziness of comfort orientation, we just try to stay comfortable and cozy. Then there’s the laziness of loss of heart, a kind of deep discouragement, a feeling of giving up on ourselves, […]
Falling below and rising above thought
When you are very tired, you may become more peaceful, more relaxed, than in your usual state. This is because thinking is subsiding, and so you can’t remember your mind-made problematic self anymore. You are moving toward sleep. You are moving below thought.
When you drink alcohol or take certain drugs (provided they don’t trigger your pain-body), you may also feel more relaxed, more carefree, and perhaps more alive for a while. You may start singing and dancing, […]
How to Practice Mindfulness Over a Cup of Coffee
Also in Spanish
Mindfulness is a way of being in the world. It is stepping out of our business, our autopilot tendencies, our propensity to worry about what is coming next or what has already happened, and bring deliberate awareness to the present moment.
It is a way of relating to our experience with curiosity, attention and non-judgment.
Life offers so many opportunities in our daily routine to develop our mindfulness practice! Here is one great way to start to meditate if you just have a few minutes: I invite you to consider bringing mindfulness to your next cup of coffee. […]
Relationships Exist to Make us Conscious not Happy
“Every crisis represents not only danger but also opportunity. As the egoic mode of consciousness and all the social, political, and economic structures that it created enter the final stage of collapse, the relationships between men and women reflect the deep state of crisis in which humanity now finds itself. As humans have become increasingly identified with their mind, most relationships are not rooted in Being and so turn into a source of pain and become dominated by problems and conflict. […]
Pema Chodron – The Diamond Thief
This is a 3+ minute excerpt from Pema Chödrön’s online course called “Freedom to Love.” In this short talk, Pema tells the story of The Diamond Thief, and reflects on the need to become aware of our own inner richness that is always already within us. […]
A Simple Way to Break a Bad Habit
Psychiatrist and addiction expert Judson Brewer shares groundbreaking research on the mechanism of mindfulness techniques that effectively help quell cravings of all kinds. […]