Richard Davidson and The University of Wisconsin Madison recently hosted conference called “Change Your Mind, Change the World” attended by many heavy-hitters including the Dalai Lama himself.

During one session the presenter talked about a research study showing that 47% of Americans are not paying attention to what they’re doing at any given moment, His Holiness had to ask, “What is mind wandering?” Only he would be confused by such a concept, I guess.

“There’s just something about a person whose real and tangible world power doesn’t rest in the hands of the government or the military but in his human capacity for kindness and compassion.”

Here’s the full article.

“Don’t meditate to fix yourself, to heal yourself, to improve yourself, to redeem yourself; rather, do it as an act of love, of deep warm friendship to yourself. In this way there is no longer any need for the subtle aggression of self-improvement, for the endless guilt of not doing enough. It offers the possibility of an end to the ceaseless round of trying so hard that wraps so many people’s lives in a knot. Instead there is now meditation as an act of love. How endlessly delightful and encouraging.”

- Bob Sharples, from Meditation: Calming the Mind

Many of us take up meditation because we want to become softer, kinder people. I’m right there with you. Continue »

I used to write and blog regularly – for many years. But then last summer I went through a major house move that totally disrupted my life and brought my writing to a halt.

But that’s really just an excuse. I’ll admit it’s inertia and my inner critic that’s getting in my way now. Despite my wanting to do it, I’ve always found it hard to write. And when I fell off my routine, and weeks and months passed, it just got harder and harder to get restarted.

I’m wondering if this sounds familiar to any of you out there. When it feels like YOU are the main thing getting in your way? Continue »

I thought this was such a helpful article — not just in a work context, but with anyone we find difficult. Rather than focusing on the problems with the person out there, stop and consider what’s being triggered in us. It’s a way to start changing the relationship, beginning with ourselves.

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What to Do When You Have to Work with Someone You Don’t Like

Jeff*, like me, is a writer, a speaker, and the head of a consulting company. As far as I can tell, he’s professional, well respected, capable, honest, and has a popular following. Someone we both know has asked us to collaborate on a project and there’s clearly a mutual benefit to our working together.

It all sounds great except for one thing: I don’t like Jeff. Continue »

Sometimes life comes at us full force and overwhelms us. That’s what happened to me the last few months. Things happened that were so overpowering that all my usual routines went out the window just so I could get through each day. My work, my social life – and yes, my sitting practice – pretty much dropped off my plate.

At times like this, people often say, “Life got in my way.” But that’s so not true. This IS my life. Just because I don’t like it, doesn’t mean it’s standing in my way. Actually, I think it’s exactly the opposite. It’s showing me exactly where I need to go to push beyond my comfort zone. It’s like a custom designed life lesson created just for me. Continue »

There is no controlling life.
Try corralling a lightning bolt, containing a tornado.
Dam a stream and it will create a new channel.
Resist, and the tide will sweep you off your feet.
Allow, and grace will carry you to higher ground…

I recently discovered this wonderful poem by Danna Faulds (which is an excerpt — the full poem is here.) It has really struck me because the themes of letting go and allowing have been coming up everywhere for me. Continue »

What an inspiring trio of life stories. Three people who went through a major loss — one that took away arguably their biggest gift in their lives — and used it to become all the stronger and wiser because of it. The three are Grant Achatz, a chef who lost his sense of taste; Jill Bolte Taylor, a neuroscientist who suffered a stroke; and Govindappa Venkatswamy, a surgeon with crippled fingers.


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Some words of caution on web surfing, from Nicholas Carr, author of The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains:

“When you’re constantly taking in new bits of information – as we do when we browse the Web, check e-mail or read text messages – we take things in very quickly, and because our working memory has such a small capacity, it has to sort of shepherd information into and out of the brain very quickly to make room for more incoming stuff. If your working memory is constantly overloaded and you never pay focused attention to one thing, you aren’t consolidating information into your long-term memory, and as a result, you’re not building all the mental connections between information and experiences and emotions that are essential to developing a rich intellect. Research shows that these connections are essential to conceptual thinking, critical thinking and certain types of creative thinking.”

“…if people value calmer, more contemplative thought, they need to change the way they use the technology. The goal should be to clear considerable portions of your day for working, conversing, thinking and playing without the mediation (or the interruption) of screen technologies… You’ll realize that we often reach for a computer or a smartphone out of laziness, boredom or habit, and that resisting that temptation can be healthy, particularly for the depth of our intellectual and social lives.”

The full interview with the author in Rotman Magazine is available here.

What a great little diagram!

Thanks to Learning Fundamentals.

Silence isn’t just an absence of sound.  It creates a spaciousness and clarity that opens up our perceptions in new ways. And far from being a empty void, it has a fullness, richness, and an inviting warmth, in my experience. This book, In Pursuit of Silence: Listening for Meaning in a World of Noise by George Prochnik, sounds interesting. The book excerpt at the end of the article is especially delicious. It reminds me very much of my experience on my two-month ordination retreat, where the most ordinary things felt imbued with sacredness.
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