Category: Meditation and Psychology
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The Art of Communication, The Inner and Outer Voices
As we refine our communication with others, we are refining our communication with our own inner life. The quality of communication with another is based on the quality of communication within ourselves. If I am judgmental with myself, I will be judgmental with another. If I can hear my inner voices empathically, I can do…
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Mindfulness and The Order of Interbeing/Tien Hien
Many people long for a spiritual practice that makes sense and is not woo woo or dogmatic. I find that many people have been very disappointed or hurt by conventional religious organizations, but yet want something to put their energy into that has meaning. Generally speaking Buddhism is not a religion but a way of…
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The Heart Sutra, Holding the Paradox
The Heart Sutra is written in the form of a dialogue between teacher and student. Here the teacher is pointing out a way of perceiving the mind and body. The teacher is clearing up a confusion about our common perception of ourselves. This sutra is an explanation of how the student can embody this…
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Practicing Mindfulness
The term mindfulness is used in the three major schools of meditation in the East. It is not necessary to go into their perspectives on practicing mindfulness at this time, but a few examples of mindfulness meditation from these three traditions may give you a sense of how to practice mindfulness in everyday situations. The…
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God, a Useful Definition, page 2
In a previous post: God, a Useful Definition, I closed with another quote from C.G. Jung: “Religion is a defense against the experience of God.” God, a Useful Definition, page 2 is about our experience, pure and simple. It is obvious in the world today how “Religion is a defense against the experience of God”. …
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God, A Useful Definition
Jung’s definition of God: “all things which cross my willful path violently and recklessly, all things which upset my subjective views, plans, and intentions and change the course of my life for better or worse.” There are so many assumptions when the word God is tossed around. It is difficult to even say or read…
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The Simplicity of Emotional Intelligence
“Those who have little interest in spirituality shouldn’t think that human inner values don’t apply to you. The inner peace of an alert and calm mind is the source of real happiness and good health. Our human intelligence tells us which of our emotions are positive and helpful and which are damaging and to be…
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Meditation with Obsessive Thoughts and Feelings
Shunryu Suzuki in “Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind” wrote: “When you are practicing meditation, do not try to stop your thinking. Let it stop by itself. If something comes into your mind, let it come in, and let it go out. It will not stay long. When you try to stop your thinking, it means you…
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The Art of Suffering Emotional Pain
Everyone has emotional pain, some have less, some have more. Emotional pain is something we all share. What we do with it and what it does with us is the art and the work. Therefore, we are able to relate with emotional experiences to benefit our life. We are moving our life toward a conscious…
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The Shadow, page 3
“Curiously, people resist the noble aspects of their shadow more strenuously than they hide the dark sides. To draw the skeletons out of the closet is relatively easy but to own the gold in the shadow is terrifying. It is more disrupting to find out that you have a profound nobility of character than to…
