In this 2 minute skype video, Elizabeth explains to Erric how we can understand reality just by wrestling with basic questions that we all have: "What is the basis of suffering? What causes happiness?"

With a recent article on the Huffington Post by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche on meditation and running and Jerome's recent post on biking, I felt it was a good time to share my own experiences in this domain. Last Thursday I ran my first race, a half marathon. I did it kind of impulsively and for fun (some of you may wonder what kind of fun that is, and I myself started doubting that in the last few kilometers as well... Nevertheless, it was a very interesting experiment in what my mind does when my body wants to give up. In particular, many meditation techniques, especially those related to kindness, were of immense benefit.

I'm sitting in my friend W's backyard, making a choo-choo train out of rocks with her 28-month old son while Mama rests inside. I've known W since she was a little more than a year old; now, at thirty-seven, I savor the times I get to stop the train of my own busy life to hang out with her two year old for an afternoon. Today is one of those days, and I'm in my own little slice of heaven.

I recently read a very interesting paper by Shadlen and colleagues, who discussed the neural correlates of decision making. In this paper they discussed the issue of responsibility: if our brain is fully deterministic, and our actions are governed by our brain, then can we said to be responsible for our actions? In particular, if there is a lot of noise in our brain, and that causes us to accidentally commit a negative action. So the question is: what are we to do?

Compassion is a gift that keeps on giving. When you develop a sense of connection and genuine concern for others, you not only help them with your presence and actions, you also give yourself a gift. How? By engaging in each moment with an open mind and heart, you learn not to run from any experience. As such, you become increasingly able to handle whatever life throws your way. Opening the heart develops strength, not weakness.
One can practice compassion both on and off the cushion. Here I offer a simple sitting meditation practice as well as 10 informal exercises for bringing compassion into your daily life. Pretty soon, the distinction between these modes of practice loses meaning. All of life becomes practice.

“Are you insane?” was one of my first thoughts on this melancholic and allegedly spring morning. My alarm was set early so that I could drag myself out of bed in order to deliberately sit and do nothing.