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I Never Step In The Same River Twice
Thursday, July 15th, 2010For nearly ten years, I was a serious student of Buddhism. Two or three times a year I immersed myself in the practice, for week-long intensives. Before each new Zen ‘sesshin’, as they were called, or Vipassana retreat, I struggled with whether to take the time out of my life, my work, and parenting, diminish [...]
Is It Realistic To Befriend Ourselves?
Tuesday, July 6th, 2010Pema Chodron is an ordained Buddhist nun in the Tibetan Vajrayana tradition. One of the goals of her work is to apply Buddhist teachings in everyday life. Consider her words:
“Loving-kindness (maitri) toward ourselves doesn’t mean getting rid of anything. Maitri means that we can still be crazy, we can still be angry. We can still [...]
What is spirituality?
Thursday, July 1st, 2010I think of Green Psychology as not only a psychological practice, but also a spiritual practice.
I hear so many people talk about spirituality—of course I live in Santa Fe. But, even elsewhere, I hear many references to spirituality. I discomfort myself when I hear one person categorizing other people as “spiritual” or “not spiritual.” This [...]
Do Yourself Over Again
Saturday, June 26th, 2010I love the simplicity of this concept. When you interact with other people and you displease yourself with your own behavior, or a particular result that you create—tension, misunderstanding, frustration, embarrassment—just do yourself over again.
One aspect of Green Psychology is something we call The Process of Growth. There are 5 steps in the process. I [...]
Don’t Try So Hard
Thursday, April 8th, 2010I believe hard work often pays off. I also believe there are situations in which we should try less hard. When we try hard we tend to narrow our focus—followed by a cascade of physiological changes that begin with a release of adrenaline. When we try hard we create results, and to maintain those results [...]
Moments
Saturday, March 27th, 2010Have you ever taken notice of moments? The moments I am talking about are like photographic stills, or perhaps movie clips where my attention is fully focused and I feel extremely alive. I am suddenly fully awake and present. Shifting myself out of auto-pilot . . . I stop myself in my tracks. Ahh, [...]
What Are You Paying Attention To?
Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010All day long we bring certain things—experiences—to life while ignoring other experiences. We do this mostly unconsciously, but we can do so consciously. The key is how we use our attention. I think of attention as our paint brush, life our canvas.
Did anyone ever teach you the power of attention? Did anyone ever teach you [...]
How Eagles Mate
Friday, March 12th, 2010“Eagles are believed to mate for life, although biologists have observed that they stay mated only as long as they are a successful reproductive pair. Biologists think that the reproductive process between eagles is such a difficult process that many do not survive it more than one time. Mating, carried out in flight, involves [...]
Words from C.G. Jung’s Red Book
Sunday, February 28th, 2010The following words are from C.G. Jung’s newly released Red Book, which consists of his personal writings from 1914-1930. These words have never before been available to be read, pondered and appreciated. For me, they are a beautiful expression of our journey to reclaim all aspects of ourselves:
“My soul, where are you? Do you hear [...]
The Perfect Valentine’s Day Gift
Monday, February 15th, 2010I only realized it was Valentines Day when I turned on the television to watch the winter Olympics. I immediately turned to Hannah and said “happy Valentines Day, I love you.” She replied in kind. She seemed equally surprised to discover it was Valentines Day, which was a relief to me because I imagined she [...]
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