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Relax, And Let The Truth Arrive
Over the past blog posts, we’ve been looking at our tendency to grasp at pleasurable thoughts and push away the painful. If we are attached to either pleasure or pain, we set ourselves up for inevitable disappointment. When the pleasure passes, discontentment arises (“Aw! I wanted more of that!”). Wallowing in pain, discontentment is just…
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The Feelings That Colors Everything
How do you feel today? Where did this feeling come from? Today we’ll continue our exploration of the second foundation of mindfulness, the contemplation of feeling as feeling. We talked about how when we initially perceive an experience, there is an instantaneous feeling tone of pleasant, unpleasant or neutral. This feeling arises pre-thought. Without even…
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What Does Feeling Have To Do With It?
Two days ago I mentioned how nice it was to have some downtime while on vacation, and how we all need to take this time for ourselves. The last week of my vacation was spent on a 7-day meditation retreat at Spirit Rock. Talk about contrast! The retreat was organized around the Four Foundations of Mindfulness.…
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Interview With Two Regular Meditators
I stumbled across these two interviews on YouTube, and was struck by their awesomeness! Awesome in an ordinary way — ordinary people sharing their extraordinary experiences with meditation. Even thought meditation retreats, seminars and courses are more widely available than ever – us meditators are still a minority, often experiencing life in a different (and I propose…
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The Importance Of Downtime
The first thing I came to understand while traveling in Northern California was the importance of creating downtime. Taking time to really unplug from the routine and enjoy some contrast. Contrast highlights the differences of our surroundings. Without contrast, things can begin to look and feel a bit dull. The edges of our daily experience…
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What Are You Waiting For?
Today is as good a day as any to step fully into Now, don’t you think? Relaxing at the beach on Sunday, I realized something: I wasn’t at the beach. I mean, I was physically there, but I wasn’t actually there. As I lay on the sand atop my blanket, with the waves crashing melodically,…
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Balance And Freedom ?! Yes Way!
Wouldn’t you agree that feeling good is more than just a state of mind? This past week of running around, traveling, preparing for a speaking engagement, and working with clients, showed me how important balance is to staying positive. I saw how, when I didn’t get enough rest, the feelings of fatigue colored my outlook.…
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Surrender The Struggle, Enter The Flow
What do you do when the pathway becomes thorny? When the underbrush is too thick to pass? Do you keep pushing, tensing, bracing yourself against the pain, hoping that the end is near? Or do you practice an easier way? Our organizations praise hard work. Long hours are applauded. Productivity is a buzzword. And even…
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What To Do, And When!?
If you’re anything like me, you have a thousand things going on. So many things that it sometimes seem like the full-time job is background noise, and then we’re off to the races! No time to delay, it’ll be bedtime before you know it! Inundated by a laundry list of tasks for completion, it can…
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Open To The Moment, Open To Joy
Is the tune you sing a happy one? Are your days spent enjoying the silver linings? Does the sun shine on you, even if the sun doesn’t shine today? We all know someone who is always cheerful, always ready with a positive comment or a smile, always looking on the bright side. Sometimes its hard…