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…
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…
In my continuing quest for calm and equanimity in the face of our political situation in the US, I have some ideas. You’re welcome to try them out and let me know how it works for you. If you have any additional ideas, please add them in the comments section….
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…
Since April of this year, I’ve been the unlucky recipient of pain in various parts of my body, all Musculo-skeletal. This is the 2nd time I’ve had pain for extended periods so I’m hoping this one will resolve too. In the meantime, it’s been a challenge to my meditation practice as…
I led a retreat a couple of weeks ago and this talk was particularly helpful in shedding light on the retreatants’ meditation practice. I hope it does the same for you. The overall theme of the retreat was what our attitudes are as we sit in meditation, how events before…
Lately, when I sit in the late afternoon watching the sunset through my family room door wall, I’m aware of the beauty of this time of day. For photographers, this is called the Golden Hour. The slanting of the sun, shining through the trees and shrubs gives a glow you…
Recently I saw a foreign film titled ‘Anatomy of a Fall’ which was one of the best films I’ve seen in a long time. It’s a story of a couple with an 11 y.o. son who is mostly blind following an accident. Both are writers but she is much more…
What makes it hard to be compassionate to yourself? What did you learn growing up, from school, work, your family, or community about being compassionate to yourself? Did you hear things like; ‘Get going’, ’you’re just feeling sorry for yourself’ or ‘you’re just having a pity party’. ‘be strong’, ‘be…
I recently had a request from some group members to talk about resistance because it was becoming noticeable in many of their sittings and their lives. They wanted to know what to do about it. These are some of the questions I asked: Resistance is biologically driven especially against the…