You might wonder why there’s a section here on play. This probably seems like one area of your life where you don’t need help. This is where you know how to be present, mindful, happy, and serene. This is where, whether it be during a tennis or Monopoly game, while running or bowling, you’ve experienced [...]
This is another truly delightful mindfulness practice. In the Zen Buddhist tradition, meals are ritualized and taken in silence. Chants that invite mindfulness and gratitude are recited, and no one begins eating until everyone is served. Only as much as can be eaten is taken. No one goes hungry. No one overeats. During the meal, [...]
Deep in the process of writing my next book, all those who have come before me, all my writing teachers, inspire me daily to keep putting words on the page. Here are a few gems that I hope will inspire you, whatever your art is. We all have some endeavor that calls forth our creative [...]
Paying attention to the words we use and the effect they have on others, ourselves, and on our own level of serenity is just the beginning of using this everyday activity to deliver tranquility into each day. Just as we can adopt good and bad habits of behavior, so can we do this with our [...]
…continued from Becoming Aware 1:7 – Just Sitting Our intention on the Quiet Corner path is to free our inner voice and move toward spontaneity and creative expression. But first it is important to create some structure, which will help our voice and encourage and support our endeavor. Having a structure will first ground you [...]
Physical Spaces Certain places can have amazing power over us. Anyone would agree that the Grand Canyon is a perfect place to sit in rapt silence and soak up nature’s majesty. There are few places as grand as the canyon, but our environment, no matter how grand, affects us. In searching for your quiet corner, [...]
Buddha said of himself and his monks: “When we walk, we know we are walking.” This is a beautiful practice and one of the simplest and most immediately rewarding and instructive. It is both grounding and freeing. The benefits suit our need for immediate gratification, because they begin to appear with the first step. And [...]
Morning Early morning is the perfect time to begin looking for your quiet corner meditation. Getting up fifteen minutes to a half hour earlier than usual will give you plenty of time to spend on this new journey. And being awake before the rest of your world will add a new and peaceful dimension to [...]
…continued from Becoming Aware 1:5 – Your Quiet Voice First Things First Often the hardest thing about starting anything new, challenging, or creative, like embarking on this Quiet Corner journey, is simply that—starting. Our mind, our doubts, our fears, the loud voices within us, our judge and critic, keep us from even trying. In my [...]
I finally finished unpacking and shelving all my books after our move to the country. In doing so I rediscovered so many jewels that were sitting unseen on my bookshelves and I now have a new pile to read and reread, which is very exciting. This week I want to share a few passages from [...]
