There is so much to be learned by his story about not just overcoming, but actually thriving against the odds. The two parts that stood out to me was the idea of finding new tools and opening to wisdom that had been inaccessible before.
In every spiritual tradition that I’ve encountered and studied, the litmus test for me is whether or not I can experience the truth of the teachings in my own life and in the world around me. So, it was a relief when I read the Buddha’s instruction to “come and see for yourself” whether the
I was sitting in meditation this morning and realized how much fear I had overcome through the practice of mindfulness (namely, present moment awareness without judgment and with kindness and curiosity). In particular, I was thinking about the pumpkin soup I made as soon as I arrived home yesterday from an overnight airplane trip back
Last week I tweaked my hip and back during a workout at the gym and was experiencing some ongoing discomfort for a few days. While I was focusing on the pain, I remembered an important teaching that I learned years ago and wanted to share it with you. It has been extremely helpful through a
Do you think of “calm” and “holidays” in the same sentence? Probably not. In fact, often the holiday season becomes filled with obligations, unmet expectations and stressful demands. The American Psychological Association reports that holiday stress has a particular impact on women, due to their tendency to take on much of the responsibility for preparing
I went to see the movie Bridget Runs a Marathon this past weekend. It is a movie that is distinctly flawed–lacking a “health at every size” perspective and falling prey to healthism and fat phobia. (for more on that read here https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a28787943/overcoming-obstacles-brittany-runs-a-marathon/. But, it did result in reflection about the role of mindful intentions in our
Inspired by the trip I’m on, I woke up this morning wanting to explore how to get along with people of different backgrounds, beliefs, opinions, cultures, gender, etc. There are plenty of examples in our daily news feed and nightly news shows of how we don’t get along. While some of this information is important,
I’m in Edinburgh, Scotland this week and enjoying “the beautiful sunny weather”—as the gentlemen exclaimed at the airport as he greeted us. That is a joke, of course, as it has rained every day. But, it has also been extremely beautiful—lots of lush green, friendly people, and wonderful sites of ancient architecture, as well as
In yoga class this week I discussed the concept of “nonexcess,” the yogic philosophy called Brachmacharya. Certainly, it is not difficult to see how much our modern lives are consumed with the opposite—excess! We live in a “more is better,” “all-you-can-eat,” “get more for your money,” “buy the new shiny thing” world. When times were
The ethical practice of not stealing can be found in every spiritual tradition I’ve ever studied. The first one I learned was “Thou shalt not steal” from the ten commandments. The second precept of Buddhism asks you to “undertake the training to abstain from taking what is not given.” And Asteya or “non-stealing” is one
