May 25, 2026 |
Audio only version is here
Meditation practice begins at 13:40
Hello, wonderful Open Heart Project. I hope you are finding moments of ease and steadiness wherever you are. Before today’s sit, I continue our conversation about some of the less obvious but deeply felt impacts of meditation practice. Last week we talked about ritual and the way it reminds us that practice is not only about self-improvement. This week I... READ MORE
May 18, 2026 |
Audio only version is here
Meditation practice begins at 11:54
Hello, wonderful Open Heart Project. I hope you are finding steadiness and connection wherever you are. Before today’s sit, I share some thoughts about ritual and why I believe it matters so much in spiritual practice. Meditation can certainly help us sleep better, reduce stress, or become more patient. Those things are real and valuable. But when practice becomes only... READ MORE
May 11, 2026 |
Hello Wonderful Open Heart Project, I heard something the other day in the morning meditation at The Open Heart Project sangha: a thoughtful, well-done study confirms that meditation improves your brain and can make you happier. That’s meaningful and encouraging. It also reminded me that there’s another kind of understanding of meditation, one that comes from thousands of years of... READ MORE
May 4, 2026 |
Audio only version here.
Meditation practice begins at 9:01.
Hello, wonderful Open Heart Project meditator. We moved to a new house recently and the effort to make a relationship to a new space has been front of mind. How do you connect with unseen energies? How do you fill a space with unseen goodness? Alleviate unseen obstacles? When an Open Heart Project sangha member asked if Buddhists pray, I... READ MORE
April 27, 2026 |
Hello Wonderful Open Heart Project, I wrote to you recently about not feeling settled, about living among boxes and in-between spaces, about that strangely tender mix of disorientation and possibility. I had a feeling many of you would understand, but, I didn’t quite anticipate the depth, honesty, and humanity of what you shared in return. A special thanks to all... READ MORE
April 20, 2026 |
Hello Wonderful Open Heart Project, I’m writing to you from a new home. Moving, as you may know, has a way of revealing everything at once. There is the thrill of beginning again, of opening a door and not quite knowing how the light will fall in the afternoon. And there is also the compression of it all, the boxes,... READ MORE
April 13, 2026 |
Hello Wonderful Open Heart Project, I am thrilled and nauseated and delighted to say that I’ve finished the manuscript for my next book. Thrilled, because it was created to honor my extraordinary teachers of the last three decades. Nauseated, because what writer isn’t. Delighted because it’s done. It should be out in the next few months. It will be self-published... READ MORE
April 6, 2026 |
Audio only version is here
Meditation practice begins at 13:58
Hello wonderful Open Heart Project, So far in our exploration of the Noble Eightfold Path, we have been laying a foundation for how we see, how we act, and how we meet our lives. We began with Right View and Right Intention, then moved into Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, and most recently, Right Mindfulness, returning to the placement of attention and... READ MORE
March 30, 2026 |
Audio only version is here
Meditation practice begins at 15:21
Hello wonderful Open Heart Project, So far in our exploration of the Noble Eightfold Path, we have been laying a foundation for how we see, how we act, and how we meet our lives. We began with Right View and Right Intention, then moved into Right Speech, Right Action, and Right Livelihood, and most recently, Right Effort, the commitment to... READ MORE
March 23, 2026 |
Audio only version is here
Meditation practice begins at 4:38
Hello wonderful Open Heart Project, So far, in our conversations about the Noble Eightfold Path, we have explored Right View, seeing clearly; Right Intention, examining our motivations; Right Speech, verifying the honesty of our words; and Right Action, understanding our impact and committing to non-harm; and Right Livelihood, bringing our work and resources into alignment with the path. Now we... READ MORE
March 16, 2026 |
Hello Wonderful Open Heart Project, Today I wanted to let you know that my book, The Buddhist Enneagram, has just been released in a new edition by Shambhala Publications. The book explores how the wisdom of Buddhism and the Enneagram can illuminate each other. Together, these two systems offer a powerful way to understand how we move through the world,... READ MORE
March 9, 2026 |
Audio only version is here
Meditation practice begins at 21:07
Hello, wonderful Open Heart Project. In our conversations about the Noble Eightfold Path, we have explored Right View, seeing clearly; Right Intention, examining our motivations; Right Speech, verifying the honesty of our words; and Right Action, understanding our impact and committing to non harm. Today we move on to the fifth step: Right Livelihood. How can we turn work, money,... READ MORE
