Starting over ain't easy. The trick, the Zen masters say, is hanging on to beginner's mind, no matter one's circumstances, experience or expertise. For in that state everything is possible.
Like my haircuts, my birthdays never turn out just the way I want. Somebody important forgets to call and then I realize this is just a day like any other day in history. The next thing I know I'm two skim lattes into a blog post about my irrelevance in the world.
When considering a career path, I'm sure you've been told to"follow your passion," right? If you're doing something that inspires and motivates you more than anything else, it's probably a good road to be on. But this question likely has left you wondering: what is my passion...?
To inspire people to find work they love, and live without regret. I used to think that was the goal of my talk show. And it is, but there's somethin...
Perhaps without naming it as prayer, in times of great need and distress you may already spontaneously experience the act of doing so.
Spirituality is not about becoming the person that you are supposed to be, or about doing the "spiritual" thing. To be spiritual is to compassionately welcome your truth -- what you actually feel -- whether you like that truth or not.
There is no reason why capitalism cannot be supported in a manner in line with the most basic of Buddhist beliefs. Capitalism recognizes human weaknesses and frailties, yet still provides opportunities for compassionate function.
Experience opens us to humility and humility opens us to compassion, which means to suffer with, to keep company with, to be with. Nothing can as strong and soft at the same time as compassion.
By increasing the tone of the parasympathetic nervous system and decreasing the tone of the sympathetic nervous system, we are brought into true balance. This is done through compassion.
The heart often speaks to us quietly and with common sense. The mind tends to rationalize our desires and reactions. To help you distinguish between how your mind might sound vs. your heart, here are some examples in the same situations.
When we fail to identify and separate from this inner critic, we allow it to impact our behavior and shape the direction of our lives. So how can we challenge this inner voice?
For many work can be the place at which they are the most stressed and least happy. In fact, work is often considered a ruthless cut-throat environment with little if any compassion.
I thought about how crazy off-based I was about Joe. And then I began to wonder: How many other people had I misjudged because of my preconceptions based on their outward image and demeanor?
Tara Brach embodies and emphasizes that beneath the turbulence of our minds and hearts is a loving awareness that as we learn to tap into over and again can reveal a source of resiliency, peace and genuine happiness.
Whether it is 1921 or 2013, love is a powerful promoter of the best impulses of the human spirit.
Last summer, I responded to a call for volunteers from Creating the Future. Having read The Pollyanna Principles, and having loved every single page, I applied to become the new board recording secretary and documentarian.
Holding yourself to these five standards will help you develop within yourself and will expand your potential to grow meaningful friendships throughout your life.
Do you find it easy to forgive people who have hurt or abused you in some way? I didn't until I started to understand that I was hurting myself more by maintaining a tight knot of resentment and anger toward the people who had wronged me.
I do this all the time, explain away a person's appearance and actions. I try really hard to give people the benefit of the doubt when they snap at their kids in public, cut me off in traffic, refuse to give up their seat to an old person on the train.
There's a little over a month left in the Kickstarter campaign, and the excitement is growing about The Adventures of Zelza Zero & Friends becoming an...
Focus on the areas in which you can improve your relationships and discover the myriad possibilities that will unfold before you. Let this be the year that you deepen your relationships and find the love that you truly deserve.
I'm still absorbing the impact and distilling the multitude of details that became the focus of last year. I'm still growing my eyelashes back (nature is funny like that), and there are a couple of fun-filled appointments with my plastic surgeon in the near future.
Richie had truly "seen" Sharon -- her vulnerability and spirit, and he'd expressed his care by mirroring her goodness. It took another year and a half for her to tell him what those gifts had meant to her, and to apologize. But because he hadn't given up on her, a thaw had begun.
We feed the wolf of love with heart and with hope. We feed this wolf by sustaining our sense of what's good in other people, what's good in ourselves, what's already good in our world, and what could be even better in a world we can build together.
