Summer silence stops many who never stop. The silence this time of year is just too powerful. Even those who think this is no time to slow down do find time to go slower. The silence, afternoon clouds, and evening sunset are just too spectacular for almost everyone to ignore.

Stepping out of our worldly identity can lead us to the freedom of "no self." No self, no problems. Embrace this awareness, and we find the joy of being our true self in the world.

Silence is time away from time, where we discover the treasure of one's own company. This is the heart and essence of a silent retreat.

She didn't really know a thing about vipassana (or any form of meditation, for that matter), except the little I'd told her. She had no spiritual practice or exposure of any kind, no idea what she was in for. But it felt right, she said, something she had to do.

Beginning our retreat, there may be anxiousness or restlessness separating from our habits, the routine we think we are dependent upon. Soon, there is a lightness of being, freedom, and joy in our surrender. Simple peace is present.

Everything is alive; the whole world lives inside us. As we let life live through us, we experience the boundless openness of our true nature.

Instead of celebrating and partying with the usual aches and discomfort the next day, why not be in the perfect stillness and let the peace and quiet bring its special presence into our lives?

I'm ready to make a few New Year's resolutions: I vow to try out Waldman's notion of "shouldlessness," that is, to live without tight hold of a map about how life should proceed. I vow to try to embrace life exactly the way it is, in all of its imperfections. I also vow to try to learn to live with the discomfort of disappointment.

While I can't claim that one unplugged week has cured me of the compulsion to check for Facebook likes, I'm going to make a conscious effort to spend less time in the virtual world and more time tuned in to my experience in the present moment.

My first days of meditation sitting were glorified naptimes. When my thoughts quieted, I fell asleep. But after a couple days of practice, I was able to stay awake during these periods of respite. I like to think my center of consciousness migrated back to my heart.

I'm just an ordinary person who couldn't sit still for an hour when she first signed up for a Vipassana retreat yet has benefitted tremendously from the simple and challenging practice.

Learning to open the heart, to listen to, respect and trust what we feel, is one of life's most powerful teachings.

The meditation traditions I started and have continued practicing have all emphasized inclusivity: anyone can do this who is interested. You don't have to believe anything, adopt a dogma in order to learn how to meditate.

I just came back from my first mindfulness meditation retreat in years. While I am very glad for the experience, and would repeat it in a heartbeat, I...

All too often, however, spirituality reinforces rather than transcends conventional limits, boundaries, and notions of the ego. Sandwiched in between manicures and lunch dates, the quickie yoga class becomes just another way to augment and reinforce the self.

The agitated mind, if allowed to fully run its course without suppression of any thought or emotion, may simply exhaust itself and give up, revealing an underlying, more equanimous state.

Face it. Your brain is dirtied with deadlines, sullied with schedules and clogged with responsibilities. You need a psychic bath. It's time to manage ...