“Enlightenment is when a wave realizes it is the ocean.” — Thích Nhất Hạnh Hello friends, we have come to the end. This past summer, I had to ask myself if I wanted to a) invest the mental energy, time and attention it would take to increase my readership, or b) focus on other things… Continue reading The Last Post
In thinking about what states of mind are desirable and what it takes to get us there, I find Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s exploration of flow to be most compelling. Most of us have experienced flow at some point – when your attention is so fully absorbed in an activity that you are undistracted by anything outside,… Continue reading States of Flow
We’ve learned so much about our planet, and space, but the operation of our own brains remains a mystery to us. There is so much we don’t know about the human brain. Our methods of understanding the brain will surely seem crude as neuroscience takes off, aided by technology, but also formed by technology as… Continue reading Big Human Brains
On this blog, I’ve posted a host of meditations, and basically not a single one of them is strictly a mindfulness meditation. This is despite the fact that I am a longtime practitioner of mindfulness meditation. I like my thinky little gee-whiz meditations, and I hope you do too. They make me feel connected and… Continue reading Ambitious Meditation
A description of mindfulness I hear a lot is, “Being present, in the moment, without judgment.” I guess I struggle with the “without judgment” part, because I judge pain as being a worse state than being deeply happy. I can accept pain, I can embrace with relief that it’s temporary, I can even let go… Continue reading I’m Doing It Wrong Part II
The mind is a bizarrely dangerous place. It sounds wildly anti-evolutionary, but the mind is full of thoughts that want to hurt you. Compulsive and addicted behaviors that have the potential to kill you. Self-doubt and pain to the point of suicide. Lots of us are mentally ill, and even more of us are poorly… Continue reading Relief from the Roiling Flood
Today during my meditation, I burst into tears. This is actually really common for me. When I sit down, and get quiet, and let whatever feelings arise that are there to feel, I’m usually overwhelmed emotionally in some way. Big feelings. Love for my cat. Gratitude for the kindness of a friend who wants to… Continue reading Solidity
