Happy belated new year, friends! Thank you for your patience as I’ve taken a bit of extra time to begin our next Soul Ninja project. But I am happy to announce that I will be reflecting on the 37 practices of a bodhisattva. A bodhisattva is…
I want to conclude this little mini-series on meditation by sharing my thoughts on meditation as self-defense. I realize that sounds odd, as meditation helps us stay open and compassionate to the world. What in the world does that have to do with self-defense? Well, this…
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As we continue our series on meditation, today I want to share a few meditation myths that can distract us from the heart of this practice. So here’s the first of our meditation myths: The goal of meditation is to stop thinking. This is probably the…
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If you’re interested in cultivating a meditation practice, here are a few meditation basics to help you get started…and keep going. While meditation can take many forms, I offer here the form I was taught in Tibetan Buddhism. As you’ll notice, each aspect of the practice…
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For the next few weeks, I’m going to be talking about meditation: the why, the how, the process, common misunderstandings, and yes, the frustrations. But today we start with the why: why meditate? I’ll admit, of all the things I suggest to people as a spiritual…
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As we reflect on the many months we’ve walked through these 59 lojong slogans, I wanted to remind us all of their shared intent: cultivating an awakened heart. This practice of mind-training seeks to help us wake up our hearts. This makes me think of that…
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Friends, we have arrived at the final lojong slogan. And it happens to be one of my favorites! “Don’t expect applause.” Here’s the thing: we are trained from day one to respond to what pleases others. This isn’t always a bad thing, and indeed it’s a…
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The 58th lojong slogan says, “Don’t be frivolous.” And this one comes with a punch, because these days, most of us spend far too much time wasting time. Cliche as it may be, we check social media incessantly or binge watch shows. We fill the time…
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Friends, we are down to our last three lojong slogans! Can you believe it? The 57th lojong slogan says, “Don’t be jealous.” But of course, everyone feels jealous sometimes. So Pema Chodron wisely adds, “Work with jealousy when it’s small, otherwise when it hits full force…
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The 56th lojong slogan says, “Don’t wallow in self-pity.” You know why? Because it just makes things worse. The Buddhist noble truths tells us that everyone suffers, and that we just make the suffering worse when we cling to it. Or, wallow in it, as the…
