http://www.mindfulpurpose.com Make a difference! Tue, 24 Aug 2010 14:20:46 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 http://www.mindfulpurpose.com/blog-home/venting-machine http://www.mindfulpurpose.com/blog-home/venting-machine#comments Tue, 24 Aug 2010 14:18:47 +0000 sunada http://www.mindfulpurpose.com/?p=1128 Here's a little humor on anger and stress for you. Forget stress balls and punching bags. If you’re feeling destructive and simply want to break something, check out the Anger Release Machine. Created by artists Katja Kublitz and Ronnie Yarisal, Anger Release is basically a traditional vending machine stuffed full of glassware and china. When someone pays money for a particular product (say, the beautiful vase at D4, or the porcelain cat at C3), the coils slowly push the fragile piece to the front. And then it drops just like a bag of potato chips would… except with a slightly noisier crash!]]> http://www.mindfulpurpose.com/blog-home/venting-machine/feed 0 http://www.mindfulpurpose.com/blog-home/everyday-mindfulness/the-work-life-balance-trap http://www.mindfulpurpose.com/blog-home/everyday-mindfulness/the-work-life-balance-trap#comments Fri, 20 Aug 2010 18:49:58 +0000 sunada http://www.mindfulpurpose.com/?p=1116 I think the idea of Work-Life Balance is off-base. It seems everyone is feeling busier than ever. There's never enough time. Not even for "life" things -- like family time and vacations. It seems harder than ever to maintain this alleged balance. So that got me thinking. I, too, often get caught in busyness traps. I was fortunate to be able to disconnect and go on a long retreat to chill and regain some perspective. Given my tendencies, I know working this out will be a lifelong project for me. But here's where my thinking is at the moment.]]> http://www.mindfulpurpose.com/blog-home/everyday-mindfulness/the-work-life-balance-trap/feed 2 http://www.mindfulpurpose.com/blog-home/medicine-for-the-world http://www.mindfulpurpose.com/blog-home/medicine-for-the-world#comments Tue, 17 Aug 2010 19:03:46 +0000 sunada http://www.mindfulpurpose.com/?p=1108 This recent post from Andrew Olendzki in Tricycle Magazine takes an interesting slant on a classic Buddhist story. It’s too easy to think the world’s problems are too big for any one of us to address. Or that massive humanitarian crises – like the recent floods in Pakistan – are too far removed from us to do anything about. But the world we inhabit is the product of our collective actions, and it’s up to us to take responsibility. Learning to care of each other is at the core of what practice as a Buddhist is about. I’m taking this lesson seriously. I hope you will consider doing so as well.]]> http://www.mindfulpurpose.com/blog-home/medicine-for-the-world/feed 0 http://www.mindfulpurpose.com/blog-home/living-the-dharma http://www.mindfulpurpose.com/blog-home/living-the-dharma#comments Tue, 10 Aug 2010 13:23:20 +0000 bodhipaksa http://www.mindfulpurpose.com/?p=1102 As many of you know, I was away on a month-long meditation retreat during July. I have to say it was the most valuable thing I’ve done in years. It will take me a long time to digest and write about it, but here’s my first stab. The retreat was at the Jikoji Zen Center in Los Gatos California. It's about an hour south of San Francisco in the Santa Cruz Mountains, in the middle of acres and acres of nature conservation land. My favorite spot, pictured, was along a west-facing ridge that overlooked vast tracts of mostly uninhabited mountains. The sunsets were gorgeous. Deer, wild turkey, and all kinds of wildlife roamed in plain sight. To say I fell in love with the place doesn’t go far enough. I know my feelings were influenced by my retreat experience, but I have to say the place inspired me down into my bones. ]]> http://www.mindfulpurpose.com/blog-home/living-the-dharma/feed 6 http://www.mindfulpurpose.com/blog-home/the-four-noble-truths-according-to-calvin http://www.mindfulpurpose.com/blog-home/the-four-noble-truths-according-to-calvin#comments Sun, 13 Jun 2010 17:39:31 +0000 bodhipaksa http://www.mindfulpurpose.com/?p=998 There is suffering, there is a cause, there is a cure, it is immersing yourself in the Way. I found this wonderful reinterpretation of this classic Buddhist teaching by Calvin. The four frames speak for themselves! This came to me via BuddhaBadges.com. They are a nonprofit organization that sells little punk badges to raise money for many good causes. Please check them out! ]]> http://www.mindfulpurpose.com/blog-home/the-four-noble-truths-according-to-calvin/feed 3 http://www.mindfulpurpose.com/blog-home/sacred-sound http://www.mindfulpurpose.com/blog-home/sacred-sound#comments Fri, 04 Jun 2010 23:16:27 +0000 sunada http://www.mindfulpurpose.com/?p=975 I'm very proud to announce this new audiobook on mantra chanting, which I co-created with Bodhipaksa of Wildmind. In this comprehensive guide you'll find everything you need to get started with a mantra chanting practice, including:

• The "magical" background and history of mantras
• How mantras can help us develop centeredness and inspiration
• Preparatory exercises to open the body and free the breath
• Seven mantras chanted for listening and learning
• The meaning and symbolism of each of the seven mantras
• A print-friendly companion guide with images, pronunciation key, and musical notations

]]> http://www.mindfulpurpose.com/blog-home/sacred-sound/feed 0 http://www.mindfulpurpose.com/blog-home/the-surprising-truth-about-what-motivates-us http://www.mindfulpurpose.com/blog-home/the-surprising-truth-about-what-motivates-us#comments Fri, 04 Jun 2010 15:37:19 +0000 sunada http://www.mindfulpurpose.com/?p=971 This is a great 10-minute video that debunks the traditional notion that money incents us to work harder and better. When the task at hand calls for creativity and conceptual thinking, offers of money actually make us do WORSE! Fascinating stuff. And lots of implications for how we run organizations and create incentives. ]]> http://www.mindfulpurpose.com/blog-home/the-surprising-truth-about-what-motivates-us/feed 0 http://www.mindfulpurpose.com/blog-home/everyday-mindfulness/reconnecting-with-silence http://www.mindfulpurpose.com/blog-home/everyday-mindfulness/reconnecting-with-silence#comments Wed, 19 May 2010 18:30:12 +0000 sunada http://www.mindfulpurpose.com/?p=966 Being fresh off a retreat this past weekend, I'd like to share what it’s like to be in silence, and why it’s a good thing. Even if we don’t go on retreats, I think there are many reasons why it’s important to bring more silence into our lives. This past weekend, I was on a retreat where we spent several hours each day in silence. So the experience is still fresh in my mind. Early on in a retreat, there’s always a bit of awkwardness since you’re thrown together with people you don’t know. We wonder what to say, how to start a conversation, how to make a good impression. All that inner fretting.]]> http://www.mindfulpurpose.com/blog-home/everyday-mindfulness/reconnecting-with-silence/feed 2 http://www.mindfulpurpose.com/blog-home/four-years-go http://www.mindfulpurpose.com/blog-home/four-years-go#comments Mon, 10 May 2010 16:33:28 +0000 sunada http://www.mindfulpurpose.com/?p=944 I recently join up with a group of people who want to change the world. Really! Four Years. Go. is just one part of this campaign. It's a rallying call asking us all to wake up to the enormous harm we are doing to Earth and ourselves. Wake Up to the profound opportunity we have now to create a future to match our deepest longing and greatest dreams. And become change agents in redirecting humanity’s current path from self-destruction to sustainability.]]> http://www.mindfulpurpose.com/blog-home/four-years-go/feed 1 http://www.mindfulpurpose.com/blog-home/meditation-and-the-brain http://www.mindfulpurpose.com/blog-home/meditation-and-the-brain#comments Sun, 09 May 2010 21:06:52 +0000 sunada http://www.mindfulpurpose.com/?p=928 This is a great page summarizing the latest research on how meditation affects the brain. It includes articles, videos, slides and links on how science describes the influence of meditation on the brain, as well as resources for making positive changes that will profoundly influence your brain, mind and spiritual wellbeing. ]]> http://www.mindfulpurpose.com/blog-home/meditation-and-the-brain/feed 0