“I feel like I can see with my whole body,” I said to my peer after our last session exchange. As part of my ongoing growth and development as a practitioner, I regularly participate in somatic therapy exchanges with a small group of peers. On completion of our last...

“Daring to set boundaries is about having the courage to love ourselves, even when we risk disappointing others.” ~Brené Brown  I used to believe that if someone was in need and I had the ability to help, it was my duty to step in. Whether it was managing caregiving...

‘Notice how physical discomfort often rises up when thoughts begin to quiet down — an ache in the back, an itch, a dull heaviness in the body. It’s as if the mind, sensing its grip loosening, tries to reclaim attention through the body.’ Everyday Buddhism

‘May we all find the courage to let go of complexity, to embrace the simple, transformative power of the Dhamma, and to tread the path with clarity and compassion, trusting in the wisdom that arises from the process itself.’ Everyday Buddhist

As we live it, our practice becomes the vessel that carries us forward, and with each moment of awareness, we touch upon the truth the Buddha himself encountered under the Bodhi tree.

“When we listen to our body with kindness, we honor the present moment and give ourselves the care we truly need.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh It started back in middle school for me—the need to feel thin in my English riding breeches. I’d compare myself to others at the...

‘When the mind no longer seeks to position itself in relation to reality — when it no longer needs to define itself as separate or unified.’ Everyday Buddhism

On Tuesday, June 10, Upaya Zen Center in New Mexico announced that its founder and head teacher Roshi Joan Halifax would be undergoing major heart surgery that morning to repair what she said was “one leaf of my mitral valve [which] has become unmoored, and which was...

‘The Pali word atammayatā refers to a state of not taking anything as self — it points to a mind that no longer identifies with any phenomena, mental or physical.’ Everyday Buddhism

‘When we sit in stillness and turn our attention inward, a profound truth emerges: the mind is naturally luminous.’ Everyday Buddhism