Mindfulness Matters

I’ve been thinking a lot about interruptions lately. When I meditate in the mornings, I prefer to do it at a time when I won’t be interrupted by others. Yet, even in the most protected environment, interruptions are inevitable. My mind will interrupt me far more than any ambient noise or demands from my environment.…

I am pleased to announce the release of the Everything Essential Buddhism Book. This book is an abridgment of the popular Everything Guide to Buddhism, 2nd Edition. As the name implies, this book is a leaner, more essential, treatment of the topic and it can serve as an accessible introduction to the teachings, principles, and…

I was at Moss Glen Falls recently. These stunning little falls are on Route 100 in Warren, Vermont. I stopped and took photographs and video footage of them. When I was leaving and getting ready to get back onto my motorcycle, I saw a couple taking a selfie in front of the falls. I thought…

July 6 will be the 80th birthday of His Holiness (HH) the Dalai Lama. I first encountered the Dalai Lama when he would have been 49 (I was considerably younger then too!) I have had two “close encounters” with him and each event was seminal in my spiritual and professional development. The first occurred at…

Those of you who are familiar with my work know that I have a thing for metaphors. Those of you who have been to my workshops know that I have a thing for the brain. I have been delighted to read Giorgio Ascoli’s book, Trees of the Brain, Roots of the Mind (MIT Press). In…

The Buddha encouraged his monks to be “ardent, alert, & mindful” and to put “aside greed and distress in reference to the world.” I’ve been thinking a lot about these recommendation lately. What does it mean to set aside greed and distress? First, what is greed and what is distress? Greed is desire. It is…

The second part of my interview with Self-Promotion for Introverts author, Nancy Ancowitz, is now available on her Psychology Today blog or her . In case you missed the first part, here is the link to that. Here are the links to the interviews on her Self-Promotion for Introverts blog: Tame Your Sabotaging Self-Talk Part 1; Tame Your…

A recent column in Tricycle: The Buddhist Review discussed laughter. It was written by Bodhipaksa and debunks the quote that is attributed to the Buddha and something that he never actually said. “When you realize how perfect everything is, you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky.” The article discusses the role…

A friend of mine who is 70-years-old and very fit, talented, and successful has male pattern baldness–the hair line recedes until there is only a ring of hair left around the bottom of the head. One of my professors in graduate school had it and he would let his red hair grow long. I always…

I have just finished reading Jeff Wilson’s Mindful America: The Mutual Transformation of Buddhist Meditation and American Culture. Wilson is an associate professor of Religious Studies and East Asian Studies at Renison University College (University of Waterloo). It’s a thought provoking read and the first of its kind scholarly analysis of the rise of the…

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