Can meditation make you 10% happier than you already are? According to Dan Harris, the co-anchor of ABC News’ “Nightline” and the weekend edition of “Good Morning America,” the answer is unequivocally “Yes.” After covering the religion beat for ABC News, Dan discovered meditation and wrote the bestselling book 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice […]

What can you learn from the practice of mindfulness? Why has this ancient practice exploded into the mainstream? You may have noticed the long-time meditators among us looking bewildered but happy about this geek-to-chic transition. One definition of mindfulness is paying attention to the present moment with nonjudgmental awareness. That sounds simple, but it’s endlessly subtle. The truth […]

Awakening self compassion is often the greatest challenge people face on the spiritual path. ~Tara Brach What’s the right way to deal with emotional pain during meditation? Often, difficult emotions arise in meditation when we least expect it. We don’t tend to welcome those feelings with open arms. For most of us, the natural response to any sort of uncomfortable feelings is to tuck tail and move […]

What if you had a map of everything? I don’t mean the kind of map that gets you from London to Sydney. I’m talking about one that leads you from the befuddled state of confusion to the great state of clarity. From the lowlands of lagging inertia to the summit of inspiring insight? What if this map […]

You are not separate from the whole. You are one with the sun, the earth, the air. You don’t have a life. You are life. ~Eckhart Tolle Is your world big or small? Because, often that’s a matter of perspective. For example, do you feel like your entire being is trapped sometimes behind the cartesian grid of […]

Look at a tree, a flower, a plant. Let your awareness rest upon it. How still they are, how deeply rooted in Being. Allow nature to teach you stillness. ~Eckhart Tolle Do you struggle to be still? I don’t just mean in meditation. I’m talking all the time. Maybe if you’re like me, you experience impatience […]

Meditation isn’t about what’s happening, it’s about how you relate to what’s happening. ~Sharon Salzberg What does success in meditation look like? Does it mean that you’re suddenly as serene as the Buddha? Does it mean the end of your anger, fear, doubt, and other unpleasant feelings? This is a subtle and interesting question. Why? Because success […]

There is something wonderfully bold and liberating about saying yes to our entire imperfect and messy life. ~Tara Brach Do you listen to what your mind tells you? Or do you step back and observe it cooly, knowing that you aren’t what you think? Because, there is a world of difference between those two positions. […]

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson Is everything ok? I mean right now, independent of whatever is happening in your life, do you think life itself is a positive event? Stop for a second and think about it. Sure, […]

How do you learn compassion? Can meditation teach you? Or does it have to come from your own suffering? Maybe a combination of both? I know well how my own experiences of a broken heart have pierced the veil of selfishness and opened me to the needs, pain, and suffering others. But do we have to live with a broken […]