Latest blog posts
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Mindful with J
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…Read more... -
Meditation: reducing noise in your brain or improving policy?
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…Read more... -
Bringing Compassion into Everyday Life
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,…Read more... -
Mindrolling Jetsun Khandro Rinpoche: Mindful Awareness without the Cushion
Here is Khandro Rinpoche on how we can keep the mindfulness we discover on the cushion as we go about daily activity. Hearing from my friend Gabriele that Rinpoche would…Read more... -
Insanity, Espresso and Teenage Wisdom
“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…Read more... -
Isn't It Amazing? No Matter What, Our Undistracted Mind is Always Available to Us!
Sometimes I feel like my life is spent in a dark, smoky, crowded, and noisy nightclub and that I’ve forgotten that there’s a door that’s always open if I choose…Read more... -
Meditation & compassion – how do they fit together?
The Buddhist teachings tell us that wisdom and compassion are like the two wings of a bird that will fly you to enlightenment and that you need both wings in…Read more... -
Compassion is Expanding the View of Self
This five minute video is the first part of a fascinating skype conversation between Elizabeth Namgyel and Erric. Elizabeth describes compassion as a radical expansion of self. Then she gives…Read more... -
Love and Insecurity
Not long ago, I fell in love with a beautiful woman. Gently, we became a bit closer. She rejected me, right at the moment, when I was SURE that we…Read more... -
Social Emotional Learning and Mindfulness-based Contemplative Practices in Education
A Meditation from the Field from Linda Lantieri and Madhavi Nambiar Mr. Gray, an educator in his second year of teaching in New York City wrote out his resignation letter…Read more...
To give your sheep or cow a large, spacious meadow is the way to control him. If you want to attain perfect calmness in your zazen [meditation], you should not be bothered by the various images you find in your mind. Let them come, and let them go. Then they will be under control.
Suzuki Roshi
COME BACK HERE FOR MORE QUOTES ON MEDITATION
See below for your search result
Tuesday, 13 March 2012 11:09
What Laziness Really Is
If you’re already on your cushion and working to tame your wild mind through meditation, then please congratulate yourself because you have already accomplished quite a lot.
If not, then you might want to read this…
Thursday, 29 December 2011 14:02
Online Course - Module 1
Register here for module 1 of the What Meditation Really Is - Online Course,
starting July 11 2012
starting July 11 2012
What Meditation Really Is
We all want to be happy. But often the relentless pace and challenges of life make it impossible to know where to look for happiness.
Through the wisdom of meditation, however, we can find peace and contentment. To our amazement, we discover a profound stillness that is always with us, beneath the turbulence of all our thoughts and emotions. When we allow our mind to settle, quietly, in its own natural peace, then what happens is quite extraordinary.
What Meditation Really Is is a unique course that has been specially developed by Sogyal Rinpoche after many years of teaching in the West. It brings together over 2,000 years of Buddhist wisdom and experience in a way that is authentic, accessible and completely relevant to modern life.
Led by experienced meditators, it offers a complete introduction to meditation and shows how it can unlock our natural confidence, compassion and creativity. Students will gain a genuine experience of meditation and all the tools they need to take the benefits into every aspect of their life.
How do online courses work?
The What Meditation Really Is online course comprises a series of six structured modules, suited for individual circumstance.
Every week, in your own time, you will:
—Study a new topic
—Watch one or more videos of teachings
—Receive individual study and meditation practice advice from an experienced instructor
—Have the option of interacting with other students
The online course is designed to enable you to study at your own pace, within a clear framework. Many have commented that a weekly cycle is very helpful in developing and maintaining a regular study and practice schedule.
A six-week introductory course
Module One offers a complete introduction to meditation in six, weekly sessions.
Students acquire all the tools they need in order to have a genuine experience of meditation, establish a daily practice, and take the benefits of meditation into every aspect of their life.
The following topics are covered in Module One:
Module One is suitable for anyone who wishes to learn to meditate or deepen their knowledge of meditation—including absolute beginners who have never heard about meditation or Buddhism.
The following topics are covered in Module One:
- Introductory session: Welcome and orientation
- Session One: A basic introduction to the true purpose of meditation and how to practise it.
- Session Two: Meditation as a way to inner peace and contentment
- Session Three: Understanding mind and how to work with it
- Session Four: The benefits of meditation
- Session Five: Integrating the practice in daily life
Module One is suitable for anyone who wishes to learn to meditate or deepen their knowledge of meditation—including absolute beginners who have never heard about meditation or Buddhism.
It is also a recommended foundation for Modules Two to Six, which present a series of ever-subtler methods for stabilising and deepening shamatha meditation practice.
Registration
The course starts on July 11 2012. For details of the course fee, and to register go to:
Tuesday, 20 December 2011 08:25
Using Technology to Help You to Meditate
The topic of how to use and integrate meditation into our lives has been discussed on this site and addressed in a number of great posts.This post answers one question that comes up a lot; "How do I remember to meditate?" "How do I remember to practice, to do short sessions during the day?" Glad you asked.
Sunday, 30 October 2011 14:30
H.H. Sakya Trizin: What Meditation Really Is
In September, I was able to get a few minutes with H.H. Sakya Trizin. I planned to show him this blog and the 10 Step Guide to Meditation. In the seemingly inviolable law of giving demos, a close cousin of Murphey's law, the net was down. So I showed him my business card which has the same kind of graphical design as the website. In yet another example of how great meditators can completely grasp a situation on what seems like the scantest of data, he explained to me what our site is about. WOW.
Then he made this short video, giving an overview of Tibetan Buddhist meditation and where we can begin.
Friday, 05 August 2011 14:06
Really Integrating Meditation During the Day: A framework
A couple of months ago I wrote a series of blogs that explain how to begin to integrate meditative awareness, the state of non-distraction, into daily activities. Here everything is brought together so that you don’t have to go searching through many different posts.
Monday, 18 July 2011 14:10
What the hell am I doing here? (WMRI retreat, day 1)
I ponder this while chugging coffee at 6am at the Gare de Lyon in Paris, waiting for the train to Montpellier to start my meditation retreat.
It seemed like a really good idea on that freezing winter night in New York City, when I booked my spot. Warm, sunny, South of France, (sunny)! Sold! It was great for the next few months as I fantasized at my desk (and bragged to my co-workers) about the amazing retreat I was going on and all the inner peace I was gonna get.
However, now I am actually here, giving up a beach holiday and fruity drinks, for what I am now told is a NOT sunny, NOT warm retreat. So… what the hell am I doing here?
Thursday, 30 June 2011 19:06
17 Ways to Practice Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life
When we think about meditation or mindfulness, it's easy to get caught-up in the belief that we need to be sitting on a cushion, cross-legged, or located within a monastery to practice meditation.
While these aspects of meditation can provide us with the support necessary to achieve a stable meditation practice, and while a formal meditation practice is the only way to become familiar with our mind, the primary reason to meditate is to become familiar with our true nature within our ordinary daily life.
Monday, 27 June 2011 11:09
Video on 'How to meditate'
Check out this cool video album on how to meditate (you need to have the flash player plugin installed in your browser).
Enjoy lots of interesting videos on our 'Sound & Vision' page and the What Meditation Really Is vimeo channel.
Enjoy lots of interesting videos on our 'Sound & Vision' page and the What Meditation Really Is vimeo channel.