I sat atop a long wooden dock overlooking the Lagoon of Seven Colors in Bacalar, Mexico. I wanted to meditate, but felt hesitant, aware of the other visitors around me. They were splashing and diving, rocking their children and lovers in the water. As a compromise, I...
Spirituality
The Best Thing to Say to Someone Who Won’t Try to Understand You
“True love is born from understanding.” ~Buddha I believe one of our strongest desires in life is to feel understood. We want to know that people see our good intentions and not only get where we’re coming from but get us. We want to know they see us. They recognize...
Morning meditation — Wherever the eye falls, Thusness.
‘Wherever the eye falls, Thusness.’ Chan Master Sengcan
His Dharma Heir
A sharp clack echoed through the garden, and she looked up. The timekeeper, a novice who had just taken her vows, stood on the walkway, holding her wooden mallet, getting ready to strike the wooden plaque again to signal time for zazen and evening service. Aikon could...
Sometimes Love Needs to Move
“It may be that when we no longer know what to do, we have come to our real work, and when we no longer know which way to go, we have begun our real journey.” ~Wendell Berry I was watching television one night when something on the screen made me set everything aside...
Morning meditation — There is no need to be disappointed or annoyed.
‘There is no need to be disappointed or annoyed about being drawn away from the main subject of Buddhist meditation.’ Everyday Buddhist
Morning meditation — When in company watch your mouth.
‘When alone check your mind. When in company watch your mouth.’ Atisa Dipamkara
Morning meditation — Yet there no darkness reigns.
‘Where neither water nor yet earth Nor fire nor air gain a foothold, There gleam no stars, no sun sheds light, There shines no moon, yet there no darkness reigns.’ Bahiya Sutta
Play, SoulPancake, and Building Your Anti-Depressant Brain
When it comes to happiness, says Elisha Goldstein, there's a simple but important tool we often forget about: play. The post Play, SoulPancake, and Building Your Anti-Depressant Brain appeared first on Mindful.
When the Therapy Room Becomes Another Closed Door: Why Traditional Western Mental Health Care Fails Survivors of Torture and State Violence
Much of our perception of what “works” in therapy is intimately linked to our cultural ideas of language, trust, and safety. Psychotherapist and human rights clinician Azadeh Afsahi examines the Western framework of suffering and restoration—and the need to reimagine...
