The Guest House is a beautiful poem by the Sufi mystic Rumi, which is often recited in mindfulness courses and retreats. Its powerful message encapsulates one of the most important lessons in mindfulness training—embracing whatever shows up in our experience with an attitude of non-judgemental acceptance. When we experience difficult thoughts, feelings or emotions, the …
Each one of us has to be our true self: fresh, solid, at ease, loving and compassionate. When we are our true selves, not only you but everyone around you will profit from your presence—Thich Nhat Hanh Do you feel that you’re not enough as you are? That no matter what you do, no matter …
“Living in the moment means living your life consciously, deeply aware that each breath is a gift.” — Oprah Winfrey When my daughter was two or three-years old, I used to take her to Inokashira Koen, a beautiful park near our house in Tokyo. She was, like all kids of that age, intensely present and alert… and …
“Pain is inevitable; Suffering is optional.”— Haruki Murakami If you’re familiar with the teachings of mindfulness or Buddhism, you may have come across the expression, “pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.” But what does it mean? You’d think that suffering is a perfectly normal response to experiencing pain, wouldn’t you? That the two are synonymous? …
Mindfulness is the state of being awake to the present moment; being consciously aware of thoughts, feelings and physical sensations as they arise moment by moment, with an attitude of compassion and non-judgemental acceptance. The above description of mindfulness is in pretty stark contrast to most people’s everyday experience of life. At the breakfast table, …
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“The bad news is you are falling through air, nothing to hang on to, no parachute. The good news is there is no ground.” — Chogyam Trungpa Rimpoche Do the things you used to define yourself by— your career, self-image, earnings, social status etc., feel less important, less meaningful than they used to? Do you feel you’ve …
You don’t need to have a peaceful mind to experience peace. Peace happens naturally when the mind subsides. When I offer meditation taster sessions to the public, it never ceases to amaze me how people who have never meditated before will often experience profound peace the first time they try it. Even deeply unhappy people …
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“What you resist not only persists but grows in size.”—Carl Jung The Butterfly Net And Fly Swatter Approach to Life In her book “What’s In The Way Is The Way,” Mary O’Malley uses a great analogy to describe how most people live their lives. She describes a person standing in a beautiful meadow, holding a butterfly …
What You Resist Persists—How To Embrace Life Just As It Is Read More »
Our natural state is to be in love with life and thrilled by every little thing. It is a state of great-fullness. Adapted from the book ‘Awaken The Happy You.” When I was about eight or nine years old, I was out shopping with my mother one day. As we walked along the …
“I wish I could show you when you are lonely or in darkness, the astonishing light of your own being.” — Hafiz In his book, “The Power of Now,” Eckhart Tolle opens with a powerful story about an old beggar. The old man had been sitting for many years on a beat-up old box by the side …
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