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Third (and final) meditation misconception

March 11, 2011   |   2 Comments

Meditation is not a form of self-improvement. [vimeo]http://vimeo.com/20919078[/vimeo] 2:38 Good morning, lovely people. In the last two posts, I talked about the first two meditation misconceptions. The 3rd and final misconception is actually the most difficult one to drop and it is that meditation is a form of self-improvement. In our meditation practice we take the view that no improvement... READ MORE

From Ishita: Becoming a meditator. Post #1

March 10, 2011   |   Leave a reply

My dear and wonderful (and accomplished and generous and brilliant) friend Ishita is establishing her meditation practice and will be reporting in from time to time (hopefully really, really often) about how it is going. I am SO EXCITED to have her as a regular part of the site, talking about what it’s like for her to explore the practice.... READ MORE

Misconception #2: Meditation will make me peaceful.

March 10, 2011   |   5 Comments

Good morning. Yesterday I mentioned I meditation misconception #1. Here is #2: It will make you more peaceful. I know, I know. Whenever we see pictures of meditators, they look pretty relaxed. When I first began to practice, I guess I imagined that it would evetually turn me into some kind of Yoda/Mother Teresa hybrid. Who knows, there is still hope. But in... READ MORE

Meditation Misconception #1: "It means I have to stop thinking."

March 9, 2011   |   4 Comments

Good morning! Often when I ask people if they’ve ever thought about a meditation practice, they look at me like are you crazy, there is way, way too much going on up here (pointing to head) and there is no way I can stop thinking. The #1 biggest misconception about meditation practice is that it involves clearing the mind of... READ MORE

Some suggestions for developing a meditation practice

March 8, 2011   |   19 Comments

Good morning! I am so happy to talk to you again about meditation practice as part of what I’m calling The Open Heart Project. It all began on March 5, 2011. This is the 3rd post and it contains some suggestions for establishing a daily practice. Be reasonable. Set a very doable goal. Don’t say, for example, “for the rest... READ MORE

Introduction to Meditation Practice

March 7, 2011   |   9 Comments

Good morning! It is my pleasure to introduce you to meditation practice or, if you already have a practice, to revisit the foundations with you. This link leads to a brief video introduction to Shamatha meditation, or the Practice of Tranquility. It is about 10 minutes long. The video is also at the bottom of this post. The Practice of... READ MORE

Thrilled to have been interviewed by Marianne Elliott

February 28, 2011   |   4 Comments

Marianne is a writer, a human rights advocate and a yoga teacher based in New Zealand. Her beautiful blog is about her experiences teaching yoga in Afghanistan, teaching other people to live authentically, and writing her very first book, Zen Under Fire: Learning to Sit Still in Afghanistan. (Not out yet.) We became friends on Twitter, had drinks in Brooklyn,... READ MORE

Interviewed by "Drinking to Distraction"

February 3, 2011   |   1 Comment

The beautiful Jenna My excellent pal Jenna interviewed me for her cool blog about quitting drinking and how her life changed when she did. She has become a meditation practitioner and we talked about stuff like fear, safety, distractions, why it is that we’re all so vulnerable, and whether or not spiritual practice will make you safe. An excerpt: JH:... READ MORE

The Open Heart Project

February 2, 2011   |   10 Comments

Buddhist new year is coming up March 5, which is a lovely time for a new year to begin. It is still winter, but (for those who don’t live in New England or Minnesota) the hope of spring begins to arise. Each Buddhist New Year is associated with a different animal and the year is said to be colored by... READ MORE

John Cleese's advice for nurturing creativity

January 21, 2011   |   2 Comments

Well worth watching. A wonderful explanation of, among other things, what we in Shambhala Buddhism call “Container Principle,” the view that the environment you find yourself in informs your experience just as much as the other way around.

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