In my latest column on North By Northwest, heard on CBC Radio One in British Columbia, Sheryl and I talk about the incredible popularity of Mindfulness. What is it? Who is doing it? And is it the magical cure all for stress, depression and even happiness at work financially and emotionally? You can hear the… Continue reading
Posts in "From the Cushion"
To Squeeze or not to Squeeze
Why sit and stare at a wall for an hour a day? as my daughter describes it. There is not doubt that people eye me very suspiciously these days. When I tell people you meditate the first thing that bursts from their mouth is “I could never do it”. After the initial “not for me”,… Continue reading
Feeling the now
My mind is the master, just ask it. It knows everything, and what it doesn’t know it can find out. But the instructions on meditation say: “When we sit down the first thing we need to do is to really inhabit our body—really have a sense of our body.” Oh, you mean get out… Continue reading
Why Meditate?
“The shamatha style of meditation is particularly recommended by the Buddha. It has been the way for beginning meditators for 2,500 years. To describe meditation we could use the phrase touch and go. You are in contact, you’re touching the experience of being there, actually being there—and then you let go. That applies to awareness… Continue reading
What if You’re Good? (basically)
What does it mean to you to ‘be basically good?’ Does it mean you chose to eat the fruit instead of the cookie? Or does it mean you are mostly nice to others? If I hear the phrase basic goodness my mind sends me in a few directions. First off, I think that it means… Continue reading