A valentine’s day thought on loving ourselves
Sujatin has a lovely post on self-metta: The practice of metta (lovingkindness), uncovering the force of love that can uproot fear, anger, and guilt, begins with befriending ourselves. The foundation...
View ArticleBack to the Present: How to Live in the Moment
There’s a nice article (or was) in Psychology Today on the topic of mindfulness. It contains a lot of useful tips for bringing your awareness back into your present-moment experience. Here are some...
View ArticleKind advance comments on my forthcoming book
"Forthcoming" in this case means you might be able to get it as a Christmas present in 2010! However, I’m hard at work on my book on the Six Elements, to be published by Sounds True, and I’m most of...
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The art of erotic deconstruction
This image from an EIZO medical imaging “pinup” calendar reminds me of an ancient Buddhist deconstructive technique that aims to remind us of impermanence and to lessen sexual craving. Here’s a late...
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“Spiritual” versus “secular” meditation
A recent discussion on the mechanisms by which the Medicine Buddha mantra might actually promote health reminded me of an article I read a few years ago in New Scientist, comparing the effects of...
View ArticleCreative daydreaming
I’ve long advocated the usefulness of “creative daydreaming.” In fact I wrote a piece on Wildmind several years ago that touched on the subject, which I suspects is a bit taboo with some meditation...
View ArticleCalmness, Contentment, Concentration: Part 1
I’ve been teaching an intermediate meditation course at Aryaloka Buddhist Center in Newmarket, NH, to 13 very enthusiastic participants. My approach is to take the traditional “five dhyana factors,”...
View ArticleCalmness, Contentment, Concentration: Part 2
I’ve just finished teaching a three week intermediate meditation course at Aryaloka, which is my home Dharma center. It was a course exploring how to take your meditation deeper in order to cultivate...
View ArticleCalmness, Contentment, Concentration: Part 3
I’ve just finished teaching a three week intermediate meditation course at Aryaloka, which is my home Dharma center. It was a course exploring how to take your meditation deeper in order to cultivate...
View ArticleTake me higher
Perhaps this is why I often imagine I’m doing my lovingkindness practice on a mountain-top: Higher ground Everyone assumes that heaven is high above the ground somewhere, while hell is down below. But...
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