As the year winds down, I’d like to share with you a few reflections and gratitude for my experiences—personal and shared—in 2013. I’ve hosted some excellent silent sits, led meditation classes at the JCC, finished a rewrite of my first mystery novel, One Hand Killing, which will be available in paperback for the first time [...]
Or, we can’t know until we know! How do we get to the calm place in the center of chaos? Waiting for news of anything—from sources we have no control over, which is just about everyone and everything that is meaningful—can be excruciating. Will we get the perfect gift or the job? Do we need [...]
“You will not find God in an abstract idea. This is something very important. God is here for us through very concrete things.” Thich Nhat Hanh “One must not be blasphemous toward gods in whom one has no faith.” Chinese proverb “We are but guests visiting this world, though most do not know [...]
Many years ago I was interviewed on TV for one of my books. The last, rather surprising question was: What is the secret of life? Without thought or hesitation I answered: Breath. Even before my father took his last breath almost twenty-nine years ago, an event that rocked my world and set me on a [...]
October has been a month of ups and downs: Mercury in retrograde affected all sorts of communication and perhaps contributed to the logy feeling I carried with me to the hospital this week. Prior to this week, I’d always been completely present and engaged during my visits, and I always left with an uplifted spirit [...]
“Read, read, read. Read everything – trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You’ll absorb it. Then write. If it’s good, you’ll find out. If it’s not, throw it out of the window.” ― William Faulkner “And by the way, [...]
A term for mental training reaches the height of trendiness, and like yoga before it, may be leaving its mark. "As Soren Gordhamer patiently quieted a packed Wisdom 2.0 event in San Francisco in September for a guided meditation, a few in the communal meeting space known as the Hub couldn’t resist thumbing another message or two [...]
Even science can agree with our consensus; the benefits of meditation are undeniable. "Researchers at the University of Massachusetts have documented changes in the brains of novice practitioners who took an introductory eight-week class and meditated as little as 15 minutes a day. Sroka said the techniques can become second nature. In times of stress, [...]
When I arrived last Thursday at Garrison Institute for a four-day Contemplative Care retreat and learned that there would be 108 participants, I gulped that number in and took a stroll outside to soak in the beauty and quiet before they all arrived. As I watched them stream in, I exclaimed out loud, out of [...]
This past weekend I attended the Garrison Retreat with New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care. It was a rich and heart-opening experience that I will write more about soon! Until then, enjoy some of the scenery I was lucky enough to see and photograph!
