Finding Right Effort in Your Meditation

A hot desert landscape.

As I’ve been sitting in my air-conditioned house and driving in my air-conditioned car and shopping in an air-conditioned store, I was struck by how hot it’s been. Every year, it gets hotter and hotter. I remember in the not-too-distant past, when I had my AC on maybe 2 weeks…

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Mindfulness and June 14th Protests

Hands and fists raised in the air.

I’ve attended a couple of protests, and I have a variety of reactions, often conflicting.   I’m glad so many people are coming together and speaking out, and at times, there is positive, almost joyful energy. It gives me hope for our country. Sometimes, there are protest signs that bother me…

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Mindfulness, Compassion, and Politics

An open hand. The background is out of focus. Slight wrinkles from age are visible. The gesture is nondistinct but nonthreatening.

How can we maintain wise compassion in the face of the political chaos? Are there limits to compassion?  Compassion or karuna is the second of the Brahma Viharas or Divine Abodes. These are qualities or attitudes that are worthy of being developed. The others are Metta or Loving-kindness, Mudita or appreciative…

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Comforting Ourselves

candles burning in colored containers on small raked shelves.

I know I haven’t written anything here in some time. My only excuse is that I’ve been struggling with the onslaught of news about our political situation and the suffering in the world. To help myself, I’ve used everything I talked about in my two previous blogs and what others…

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Post Election Recovery

No matter where you are on the political spectrum, this has been a bruising year.  The election is over, so now where do we go from here?  There is so much division, anger, and even hate—all of which don’t lead us to happiness, peace, or thriving as human beings.  We’ve…

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