When we start a session of meditation, there’s usually a cacophony of thinking going on. Dozens of thoughts may be competing for our attention and the noise alone is enough to distract us from our breathing, or whatever object we’ve chosen to focus on. That’s life. Our minds are incredibly agile and they usually keep
A friend of mine is the most helpful person I know. He enjoys helping so much that I once wondered what was in it for him. But after watching him over the years, I can’t see any ulterior motives, not even helping in order to make friends or to feel like he’s a ‘good person.’
Letting go is a mysterious process. It usually begins with our nurturing a feeling like anger, dislike, desire or fear. These feelings can be motivating, and among animals they can fuel a swift reaction. Humans usually respond through language, and it usually takes longer to choose the right words than it takes a cat to
The uncertainty about when we’ll be able to stop hiding from Covid-19 and move freely about the world again has given me the feeling I often get near the end of long retreats: ambivalence. As much as returning to ‘normal’ life appeals to me, it feels a little alien to ponder during the timelessness and
In mid-March, while the general public was being urged to stay six feet apart, a misstep while gardening broke my ankle. I canceled a sangha meeting, suggesting we meditate at the usual time, wherever we were. Just as messages poured in expressing both compassion about the ankle and how good people felt meditating “together,” my
This is a time of fear for many people, fears that are economic, political, climatic and medical. Plus our usual lists of fears. When scary things happen or threaten, fear can be a helpful response if it motivates us to take effective action. When it fails to do that it can just make us suffer.
So many people live such busy lives. Existing commitments often mean we can’t do things that free the mind and rest the heart but hold a lower priority. Relationships come to depend on quick texts — like packaged snacks, low on nourishment and barely keeping the friendship alive. We treat sleep the way we’ve treated
I approach the new year after one of those times in life unusually filled with difficulties: endings, fears and losses, each striking before I could absorb the last. As daylight begins to stretch a bit longer every day, I get some time at last to let the blows take their tolls. It’s a wonderful time
Buddhist teachings offer an immense variety of practices. When we find one that seems “right” for us, we usually try it out for a while to see what its results are. Sometimes a practice is suggested by a teacher we respect so we try that out. It may not be a good fit at first,
The story goes that a son of one of Joseph Goldstein’s friends attended a retreat soon after Insight Meditation Society opened in Barre, Massachusetts. The father called Joseph to see how his son was doing, and Joseph said he was doing fine. On a second call, toward the end of the retreat, Joseph repeated that
