The gift…

This past week I had the opportunity to travel to Ontario to participate in a five-day retreat with Zen Buddhist Master Thich Nhat Hanh, affectionately called Thay. It was my first retreat in 15 years and my first retreat with Thay. In this week’s blog, I thought I...

Naming it…

I was visiting this past week with my dear friend Venerable Puntsok Chodron, from the Gawa Ling Mindfulness Meditation Center, and we were discussing sections from the book I have been reading, The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh. I had asked Ven....

Life’s unfolding…

Have you ever noticed that life never unfolds exactly as you expect it will? No matter how much planning and anticipating you do life has a way of unfolding differently than you intended. I have noticed that throughout my day, my expectations or thoughts of how things...

No mind…

I had a moment this week of clarity and insight. This was one of those simple and yet profound moments of insight that spontaneously occur. My awareness was in regard to a state of no mind, moments when the mind is still. I have been writing of late about the benefits...

Focusing upon positivity…

There seems to be a preoccupation in the world with fear based thinking. A predominant theme at the movie theatre is Armageddon and annihilation of the human species. Our news stories focus upon catastrophes, natural disasters or human suffering. It’s not that these...

Experiencing silence…

In last week’s blog I wrote about getting “unplugged.” Removing all those things in life that we use to fill each and every moment. The news, TV, radio and “the busyness” that we use to avoid experiencing life as it is, right here and now. When we remove...