I love this book. What I love most about it is that it’s not even a book, really—more the literary equivalent of yellowcake uranium, meant to blow the mind open to ultimate reality. This is book as verb, not noun—book as instigator of awareness. The Heart Sutra is a classic text of Mahayana Buddhism, recited … Read moreAn Arrow to the Heart
At first glance neither of the above emotions seems particularly attractive, but I’ve come to believe there’s a profound difference between the two. Namely: remorse is workable; guilt is not. We’re all familiar with guilt. Feeling bad about something we’ve done, we slide into self-recrimination. Often we try to distract ourselves from this unpleasantness with … Read moreGuilt vs. Remorse
Here’s Part I of a four-part online meditation retreat with Reggie Ray: http://www.tricycle.com/online-retreats/touching-enlightenment/touching-enlightenment-part-1 Listen to it for some really wonderful meditation instruction from a perspective that fully embraces embodiment. I highly recommend all of Ray’s work, including his most recent book, Touching Enlightenment. What I respect about his approach is the way it effortlessly encompasses and … Read moreTouching Enlightenment
Sometimes I ask a client: “What’s your relationship with depression?” (or anger, or anxiety — you name it). Often I get a funny look back, and a “What do you mean?” The way I see it, we have relationships with our emotions. Take anger, for example. Maybe we keep it at arm’s length (my anger makes … Read moreDancing With Emotions
Here’s a really common misconception I regularly encounter in my work as a Buddhist-oriented psychotherapist: that meditation means stopping thoughts, entering a state of not feeling, not thinking (and probably not breathing, while you’re at it). While settling the mind is a basic meditative practice, it’s not attained by struggling to repress thoughts. At least … Read moreMeditation … Isn’t