By practicing inter-meditation we can delight in a state of true inter-being beyond words and concepts, named and forms, while realizing the very best in others and ourselves. The following is an excerpt from my latest book, "Make Me One with Everything: Buddhist Meditations To Awaken From The Illusion Of Separation".
The Keys to Inter-Meditation: What Oneness Feels Like
Authenticity—which arises from attention, honesty, and pure presence (of mind and heart)
Selflessness—a Big-Self-interest that goes beyond selfish, with a little bit of healthy individuation so we can take care of and be responsible...
Six Steps to Freedom and Intentional Responsiveness
I have found that fear, anger and irritation are like an affliction, and a serious impediment to open communication and healthy relationships of all kinds. Discovering methods to deal with these challenging emotions is essential in leading a healthy well-balanced, harmonious life. It is important to realize that anger has its own function, intelligence and logic and so we should not entirely try to eradicate it. After much trial and error, I have come up with my own practice for regulating strong emotions and being patient and more authentically...
Please open your heart and join me in sending loving thoughts and prayers to our brothers and sisters in Belgium as they try to navigate a path thru this hideous day.
We stand with you, we embrace you, we pray for peace in our troubled world.
Let peace begin with me.
“Information talk is one thing, transformation talk is another.
When the latter is uttered, something happens.” ~Bruno Lattour
"Dzogchen can’t be taught but can be caught, when you catch on; it can be transmitted and realized. Teaching is a sacred profession. The best teachers strive to produce students who surpass them. Especially in this Over-Information Age, genuine higher education must include wisdom for life education and learning to learn, including cultivation of character development and self-knowledge. Self-deception is one of the hidden pitfalls on the spiritual path, and hard...
What's The Secret?
I have just returned from ten blessed, restful, de-lightfull days with my dear old ashram friend and mentor, Baba Ram Dass, at his home on Maui, a truly magical and healing place. Spending time with RD is awe-inspiring. Every moment of enlightened conversation or carefree laughter, dinnertime meditation or sacred chanting, opens up new worlds. Memory-making, I cherished and filed away an abundant array of happiness data as well as stories and teaching tales from the Great Path.
Spending time with this realized spirit allows me an opportunity to “see” and be more...
Most of us seem to live at a little distance from our body, or at best in our head. What we seek is right here; the problem is that we are usually elsewhere, distracted and dissociated, wandering mindlessly in the past or future. However, I can assure you that if you’re not here now you won’t be There then. This is karmic law, and the very essence of habit and conditioning.”
May all awakening beings extend with true compassion
their luminous mirrorlike wisdom.
May the merit and virtue of these considerations
of the bodhisattvas,
both of the words herein and in the readers' hearts,
be extended to all beings,
that all may find their unique, sparkling place
in the awakening;
and may the practice of awakening go on endlessly.
Happy New Year!
Although written with Thanksgiving in mind, I try to "remember to remember" what I am thankful for everyday!
I give thanks for the miracle of daily life and breath,
And this gorgeous if endangered natural world,
And the treasure of Dharma friends and family surrounding me,
In this very moment.
I give thanks that I'm not a homeless refugee,
Bombed and hounded, unwelcome at borders,
Climbing concrete dividing walls,
Or an any other person fleeing civil unrest, discrimination, and warfare,
Not a Middle Eastern girl kept from school and modern civil rights,
Nor black Ameri-teen endangered...
One of my wonderful Twitter followers @scnitschke sent me this powerful poem in response a recent post. I loved it so much, I thought you might too!
"She Let Go"
Without a thought or a word, she let go.
She let go of fear.
She let go of judgments.
She let go of the confluence of opinions swarming around her head.
She let go of the committee of indecision within her.
She let go of all the ‘right’ reasons.
Wholly and completely, without hesitation or worry, she just let go.
She didn’t ask anyone for advice.
A meditation session can generally be thought of as having three stages:
* Stage One– Arriving and Centering:
Find a comfortable position and balance-begin to let go- relax and grip less tightly to your thoughts. Try to become more attentive, conscious, and mindful of your breathing
*Stage Two–Intensifying and Focusing:...
Focus more closely on your inhalation and exhalation. Try to let the scattered thoughts that pop into your head disappear into your breathing. With each thought interruption try to refocus on the simplicity of just breathing; remaining free and untangled.
*Stage...
