I just finished a 5-day contemplative care training at our local Zen center. Some people refer to this as death doula training. It was moving, poignant, and heart-wrenching in the best way. And needless to say, I shed more than a few tears as we confronted some of the more fragile parts of ourselves. Directly […]
The Way of the Wise Woman
It is not the perfect but the imperfect that is most in need of our love. – Oscar Wilde Over the last 28 years, I’ve done tens of thousands of hours of spiritual practice. I’ve sat in long silent retreats without moving a muscle. In those times, I’ve felt grace and light flood my mind […]
The Guest House by Rumi
Do you ever have one of those moments when a poem, a song, or a piece or writing just pierces your heart and hits you square? Recently I was taking a meditation training and someone shared a remarkable poem. Somehow, it seemed to encapsulate our entire retreat. Yes, it’s about mindfulness, and about being kind […]
The Three Miracles of Meditation
Part 1: The Art of Conscious Contentment I teach a form of meditation that I call The Art of Conscious Contentment and that practice offers a powerful path to spiritual awakening. In this essay you’ll see how practicing meditation in this way leads you through three miraculous insights into an open, receptive, and expansive state […]
How Meditation Will Shape Your New Year
I love this powerful time when we transition from one year into the next. In my country, whether or not you celebrate the end-of-year holidays, the unmistakable essence of a kind of finality fills the air. And in a similar way, whatever your beliefs or background, experiencing some sense of uncharted possibility at the New Year seems unavoidable. For a mundane but ubiquitous example, […]