meditation

Ideas for practice and teaching

The space between stories is an invitation to sit with mystery and the uncertainty it holds.

Niels Devisscher • Belonging and Butterflies in Times of Breakdown

nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know…nothing ever really attacks us except our own confusion. perhaps there is no solid obstacle except our own need to protect ourselves from being touched. maybe the only enemy is that we don’t like the way reality is now and therefore wish it would go away fast. but what we find as... See more

Pema Chodron • When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times

When we say to ourselves, “This feels bad. I need a way to fix this!” that’s the very moment when the most growth and promise lies at our fingertips. But in order to access it, we have to do the opposite of what we want to do. We have to resist the urge to analyze or find a solution or protect ourselves from our emotions.

We have to stop and feel... See more

Heather Havrilesky • Tolerating Unknowns Will Make You Stronger

Recently, one of my private meditation students asked me, “What do you feel like when you meditate?” Right away I said, “Ordinary. Beautifully ordinary.”

One of the virtues of meditation is that it allows you to tolerate or even enjoy such between moments, to befriend the material your mind throws to the surface when it is not otherwise occupied by chasing something or trying to improve its condition.

John Tarrant • Bring Me the Rhinoceros: And Other Zen Koans That Will Save Your Life

“... This aliveness is always here. We don’t have to work to get it. It is ever-present. Seeking enlightenment is a form of postponement, postponing what can only be realized now ...” ~ Joan Tollifson

Joan Tollifson • Can We Embrace "Yes Buts?" Painting The Sidewalk Joan Tollifson - Stillness Speaks

But, meditation is not about feeling a certain way. It’s about feeling the way you feel.

Jon Kabat-Zinn • Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life

We so routinely look outside of ourselves for answers that when we turn to look within, it can feel foreign. It can feel challenging, confusing, scary, and painful.

Anne Berube • The Burnout Antidote

We often disapprove of parts of our lives without really examining them—it’s like never going into certain rooms of your house. But meditation allows all the voices and all the images into the room. When we open the invisible doors, we can come to rest in the life we have; we can love it as it is instead of waiting for a shinier version. Every day