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“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” Mary Oliver [caption id="attachment_699" align="alignright" width="584"] Every moment is precious...[/caption] Since practicing mindfulness, I'm more aware of my surrounding. I find myself focusing on and attuning to the natural world; experiencing the poignant beauty of life. I'm not talking about the aesthetically pleasing, although that can be...[ read more ]

“We think that the point is to pass the test or overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don't really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It's just like that.The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief,...[ read more ]

“The main affliction of our modern civilization is that we don’t know how to handle the suffering inside us and we try to cover it up with all kinds of consumption.” ― Thích Nhất Hạnh, No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering     The lotus is symbolic of awakening. It's what Thich Nhat Hanh talks about when he says...[ read more ]

“The great gift of a spiritual path is coming to trust that you can find a way to true refuge. You realize that you can start right where you are, in the midst of your life, and find peace in any circumstance. Even at those moments when the ground shakes terribly beneath you—when there’s a loss that will alter your...[ read more ]

"The two parts of genuine acceptance — seeing clearly and holding our experience with compassion —are as interdependent as the two wings of a great bird. Together, they enable us to fly and be free." It is said that mindfulness is like a bird; it needs two wings to fly. The two wings are clear seeing or wisdom and compassion. In our meditation circle,...[ read more ]

'For someone deeply trapped in a prison of thought, how good it can feel to meet a mind that hears, a heart that reassures.' Ram Dass and Paul Gorman Going away on a spiritual retreat is an act of courage and kindness.  When we enter Noble Silence, we take a vow to keep silent for a certain period of time....[ read more ]

"It’s not life that causes suffering, it’s our story about life—our interpretation—that causes so much distress." Pema Chodron The practice of Mindfulness helps us wake up out of our stories about life. As Pema Chodron, an American Buddhist Nun, tells us, it's not life/what is happening in life that creates suffering, it's our interpretation about it. This is great news! It means...[ read more ]

“The cry we hear from deep in our hearts, says Thich Nhat Hanh, comes from the wounded child within. Healing this inner child’s pain will transform negative emotions.” Compassion can help us heal emotional pain… Meeting emotional pain with compassion heals. However, it isn't our first response. When emotional pain arises, we usually try to avoid it, distract ourselves or soothe...[ read more ]

Mindlessness vs. Mindfulness Living mindlessly... we live in the world of thoughts and stories... The world of right/wrong should/shouldn't Blind to how this black and white way of thinking loses sight of life... Life isn't lived in the world of black/white or right/wrong it's lived in the grey area... Living mindfully.. awake and aware of aliveness, sensation, emotion and connection......[ read more ]

Let go of doing and focus on your most important resource...you! [box] When we leave busyness, worries aside and retreat to a place that is supportive and peaceful we are taking care of our body, mind and heart...this is the power of retreat..[/box] Take a moment to pause and notice what you feel in your body. What is the state...[ read more ]