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Archive for the ‘Motivation’ CategoryTen Ways to Support Your Meditation Practice
1. Lighten Up. Meditation is making room to be kind to yourself (and by extension to others). Sure, in this economy it’s good to have extra work, but being hard on yourself is a job you can afford to quit. Just “let it be” a little. It’s simple: breathe, look, listen. It’s a long story. Let it go.
2. Tell the Truth. In sitting meditation you face facts (other things too). Scheming doesn’t help; you’re only fooling yourself. Choose your words, but say how you feel. Don’t defend your point of ... continue reading
 Meditation Space: A House?
Let’s face it. A house is not Zen.
I never really wanted a house. It was my wife’s idea.
My ideal scenario was to live in a van. There are many advantages to a van. Maybe it’s a guy thing.
For one, who ever heard of painting a van? I mean the inside. This just wouldn’t come up. There is something beautiful about steel, whatever color it’s painted.
Second, keeping the van clean would be easy. Cleaning my house is like cleaning the Potala Palace in Lhasa. There are more rooms than I care ... continue reading
The Cool Kids
Recently the New York Times published an op-ed piece on a conference for Social and Affective Neuroscientists (or “Neuros”) which took place in New York this past week. According to David Brooks, the writer, “the leading figures at this conference were in their 30′s, and most of the work was done by people in their 20′s.” And all of them, he pointed out, were “young, hip and attractive.”
Mr. Brooks went on to write, “many of the studies presented here concerned the way we divide people by in-group and out-group categories ... continue reading
Meditation: Your Cup of Tea?
Sometimes, the formal practice of sitting meditation feels like a stretch. What does sitting quietly, upright on our meditation cushion, have to do with, well, anything, we ask ourselves? Life is moving fast. It seems to require speed and efficiency. Meditation practice is about slowing down. Aren’t these two heading in opposite directions? We feel trapped in a choice of our own making — life and living it — and our discipline of meditation, which doesn’t relate.
There is the vague sense that the regular practice of meditation had been important ... continue reading
It’s About You
Editors Note: A key aspect of a successful meditation practice is a view or orientation. To this end, some study of meditation is important. At Samadhi Cushions, we recommend books and media from fellow practitioners of meditation as an essential companion to the actual practice of sitting on your meditation cushion or kneeling bench.
Chapter 14 in Sakyong Mipham’s book Ruling Your World is called The Confidence of Delight in Helping Others. It is a thoughtful contemplation on the personal transition toward serving others. In any event, without consistently refreshing one’s ... continue reading
A Time for Healing (Meditation)
Things have been weighing on my mind.
I sit on a few nonprofit boards. The continuing decline in stock markets has left these institutions possibly imperiled. At the beginning of the week, on Monday, I had a mole removed. An hour drive through blowing snow to a visit with the dermatologist scheduled two months earlier. During the drive, a cell phone call from a patron to invite me to assume temporary Board Chair responsibilities for a struggling arts organization. More time will be needed. Outcomes uncertain. The phone call makes me ... continue reading
Impermanence, or College Students Are Getting Younger
I assumed the group of students visiting our store here in Barnet were from a high school, but it turned out they were from Indiana Pennsylvania University. This is one way I’ve noticed the passage of time lately: college students are much younger now than when I was in college. However, photos recently posted to Facebook show that I and my classmates were just as young then as today’s college students are now. Curiously, when I see these photos there’s a lack of recognition: people look younger than I remember ... continue reading
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