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The Balance Within
Until we know better, our time is spent wrapped in the pursuit of more, better, different, new – a hunger fed by the people around us, what we see on TV, the promise of a brighter tomorrow. We grasp for this expectant fortune of tomorrow. We’re told it can save us. As we reach and…
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Permission Granted
How often do you trust yourself? Every once in a while? Always? Never? Do you find yourself second-guessing, wondering if you made the right decision? Do you make decisions with fingers crossed, hoping that when things shake out, you’ll still be ok? From a very young age, we are taught to look outside ourselves for…
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More Than Ordinary
Every day, we are offered an opportunity to interact and connect with our lives in a fresh and authentic way. Each aspect of our day offers this chance if we are open to it. Take that tree in the front yard. The one you’ve seen who-knows-how-many-times leaving for work, coming home, going for a walk,…
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Stress Only In The Mind
You’re standing in line at the grocery store and the lines are long — blocking the aisles long. Plus you’re running a bit behind. The woman in front of you has at least 20 items, isn’t this the express lane?! No one’s going anywhere. There’s some smell in the air. You try distracting yourself with…
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Feeling Experience
The practice of meditation involves checking in with the body, again and again, and just noticing how this feels. We notice what’s coming up – feelings, thoughts, urges – without getting caught-up. Letting go of any thoughts that arise and simply resting in the body. We do this through the breath. On each in-breath, we…
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Slowing The Pace
Mindfulness most easily arrives when we slow down the normally frantic pace of our daily lives. Running from obligation to obligation, as we think of everything else we have to do, leaves us in an altogether disembodied state. Consider it – how much time do you spend each day actually aware of what you’re feeling?…
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Beauty All Around
When we pierce the veil of the thinking mind, moving beyond the concepts through which we perceive the world and leaving behind the worries of the day, we arrive at an understanding of the simple beauty that is all around us. Every moment. And this moment is ever-renewing, never-ending. The breath, the body, is the…
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No Effort Required
So often we find ourselves struggling, pushing, and expending huge amounts of effort each day just to get by. We move through our days in a disembodied state. Thinking, thinking, thinking. All day stuck in the mire of confusion that is the thinking mind. Our heads are filled with many plans, expectations for the future,…
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Connecting With Family, Healing The Past
Often when I get together with my large family (four sibilings, plus Mom, nieces, aunt, cousin and in-laws made for a party), I am struck by how meditation continues to provide the ground for a fresh look at everything, including the relationships that have always been a part of my life. Like with any family, things were…
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The Ease Of Joy
When we allow for it, joy simply emerges from within. It is a fundamental aspect of our basic nature. The best illustration of this is when you are standing in front of a beautifully picturesque nature scene – an amazing mountain view or breathtaking sunset, for example. You stand there, silent. There are no words…