When we release our clinging to what used to be and our craving for what we think should be, we are free to embrace the truth of what is in this moment.

“You are as amazing as the blue sky above us. Your emotions are like the clouds passing through the sky. This story of unrequited love is just another passing show. Like clouds, emotions can be powerful and painful. Sometimes they appear big enough to block out the sun. But it’s only temporary. Don’t be fooled.”

My wife, Vanda, who is British, was initially confused by the way Americans use the term “You’re welcome.” It is more common in her home country to respond to “thank you” with something like, “Don’t mention it.” Similar, I suppose, to the informal French de rien, the Spanish de nada, or the no problem so common among millennials. The trouble with

The philosopher Blaise Pascal wrote, “I have often said that the sole cause of man’s unhappiness is that he does not know how to stay quietly in his room.”

Jack Kornfield tells the story of a particular evening when Hob was giving a Buddhist dharma talk. One evening, however, he found himself standing before a meditation group having forgotten who he was and why he was there. So he simply began to mindfully acknowledge out loud his experiences: “blank mind … curiosity, nervousness, calming, blank

The Thai meditation master Ajahn Chah once motioned to a glass at his side. “Do you see this glass?” he asked. “I love this glass. It holds the water admirably. When the sun shines on it, it reflects the light beautifully. When I tap it, it has a lovely ring. Yet for me, this glass is already broken. When the wind knocks it over or my elbow knocks

Our brains are not computer hard drives. Human memory is not a simple matter of “accurate data in, accurate data out.” It is a far more complicated, subtle, and beautiful process.

It’s confusing to be around people who are confused. Their apparent irrationality and the absence of customary social patterns disturb us. We expect people to make sense. We are so strongly identified with our rational-thinking minds that the idea of losing control is frightening to most of us.

Before every session, I take a moment to remember my humanity. There is no experience that this man has that I cannot share with him, no fear that I cannot understand, no suffering that I cannot care about, because I too am human. No matter how deep his wound, he does not need to be ashamed in front of me. I too am vulnerable. And because of this,