Balance
One year ago, I was inspired to spend 2012 practicing love, meditating on the four brahma-viharas (translated as “divine abodes” or “best homes”). I was to spend three months on each: lovingkindness — goodwill and friendliness toward others and oneself compassion — often felt as a quivering of the heart, a sense of caring for [...]
Fluidity
I’m running down the two-lane island road… there are few cars, fewer people, and a horse. I notice the cadence of my feet, how they meet the pavement, how they flex and lift, and how my forward motion is smooth and assured. I notice times, too, when my foot crashes a bit (especially the left [...]
Inside My Heart
“Compassion lives in a wise resonance with the tender and painful aspects of life.” — DaeJa Napier Yearning I want to let go of criticism. Criticism of others, of myself. I could put myself first, since I’ve found that I criticize others pretty much to the same degree as I criticize myself. And I am [...]
All these arise
Just these words… May I be safe. May I be happy. May I be healthy. May I live with ease. Over and over again, for myself, and then for a benefactor, for a loved one, for someone I feel neutrally about, for someone with whom I am having difficulty. And then for all beings everywhere, [...]
The Corner
I was meditating in my new little nook when Mica came in. “Hi, Mica.” And then a few minutes later, “Hi, Orlando.” They both jostled for position in my lap (not easy when I’m sitting on a meditation bench) and eventually Orlando left, feeling a little unhappy. I stayed put, just for then, and then [...]
Nest
A tree fell across the path — a pine with a broad, low canopy, where the kids had loved to play. It seemed to have fallen slowly, and was resting there, leaning over, with most of its roots still in the ground. It had become too heavy with snow and ice. Orlando was showing me [...]
Tangle
How can I set right a tangle which is entirely below the level of my consciousness? Nisargardatta: “By being with yourself… by watching in your daily life with alert interest, with the intention to understand rather than to judge, in full acceptance of whatever may emerge, because it is there. You encourage the deep to [...]
in this hole
I fell into the hole again… oh so irritable and full of resistance, listening to all these terrible voices inside, running away from them at the same time letting them drive… Yesterday morning, sitting on my meditation bench, my mind was racing and full of thinking, and I looked out into the trees, never really [...]
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