Coming round the Big Bend, in Western Texas North to Colorado and the Great Divide I followed the wind to California Out where those Seven Sisters ride And I’m looking to find that still small voice That cuts like a whisper through the noise The sound of the truth, the song of my life Will I have the heart to hear that still small voice You’d have thought that by now, throughout my travels

We like to think that because we have learned to know our various mind states we ought to be able to order up our preferred ones, like on Amazon We think self-awareness should reduce envy or that if we are really good meditators, we won’t feel the sting of envy at all, or the need for more chocolate In any given moment we take on faith the feeling This is Me, rather than seeing how many different

Over the past two years, I have been drawn to pair creativity and meditation on retreat to see how they fit together.  An experiment really, but I have a premise in mind:  In both meditation and creativity we tend to go back and forth with interest in our experience, the question of doing it right or not, along with pressure to make progress, or have a product to show for our efforts.   Both processes are dynamic, ongoing, and nuanced.  Seclusion

Traditionally in Buddhism, hindrances were considered obstacles or things that get in the way of concentration in meditation. Here is one list of hindrances that I found. 1.  Sensual desire 2.  Ill-will 3.  Torpor and sloth 4.  Restlessness 5.  Doubt Some of these—such as “torpor and sloth”—may sound a bit out of touch with our current meditation practice. “Doubt” here, I believe, refers to a lack of faith in the practice. These were considered conditions

An oil-woman kept a parrot which used to amuse her with its agreeable talk and friendliness, and she had him to watch her shop when she went out and about. One day, when the parrot was alone in the shop, a cat chasing a mouse caused such commotion that it rattled the parrot’s cage and upset one of the oil-jars. When the oil-woman returned home she thought that the parrot had done this mischief, and in her anger she struck the parrot

I believe that every human being has valuable qualities and deserves some kindness and compassion, but I can’t always feel and act this way. The desire to reconcile this ‘so called’ discrepancy distorts my thoughts and feelings, and can keep me trying to correct my actions, rather than understanding how this view* is intricately woven into my daily life.  Sometimes, it just sucks that I can’t surgically remove this complex from my experience, fix it up, and then put it back into my

On the first evening of a nine day retreat, I was surprised to discover that the retreat had a theme: “meditation and creativity”.  I was initially very intimidated by the encouragement to write or draw something, to produce an object, to “create”.  But seeing and hearing how others were encouraged by the “permission” to represent ourselves in some undefined way, I decided to see if any inspirations would appear and, if so, to follow where

June 8, 2018 Hi Linda, Winton, Ramsey: I was contemplating our first online study group and the discussion. The irritation came about the “Ultimate Concerns” in connection with the 4P’s. If you ask me Linda what are my concerns or what would I add to these 4P’s then it is Joy. But I sense there is a mistake in the question. Looking at Stephen’s Book and how he writes about the 4P’s I understand this 4 P’s

A few weeks ago I suggested to some of the reflective meditation teachers to write something about Gratitude within the Buddhist teachings. I have become more and more inspired by the history of dharma teachings through conversations, and I wanted to see what a written conversation might look like. What emerged is a creative, secular endeavor – a written conversation from modern times; there was no written language in the time of the Buddha. We hope

A nine minute audio recording from Linda and meditators in San Luis Obispo, CA Because I don’t quite get to an adequate explanation of ‘bottom line’ in the talk, I will say here that the intention behind using the phrase is for meditators to explore their values and why they have a meditation practice.  Listening before you meditate, and then reflecting can contribute to a meditation practice that values your own unique understandings. https://satisangha.org/wp-content/uploads/Bottom-Line-Meditation.mp3