November 23, 2012 I think we do a pretty good job of being grateful. We keep gratitude journals and review our days to maintain an ongoing awareness of the blessing in our lives. At the same time, on the day after, I’m realizing that in spite of noticing and expressing gratitude for the blessings in …
Do-Overs
November 16, 2012 Food for thought—an idea with a twist. What if we take the idea of reincarnation and apply it to this lifetime. Consider what might happen if we seriously believed we had the choice and the opportunity to be reborn, over and over and over, in this lifetime. I’m not talking about religion or anyone’s …
Mindfully Mapping Change
November 6, 2012 Two weeks ago I thought life as I knew it was over. I got braces. Bottom teeth only, but from my reaction you’d think I’d been dismembered! Here’s the cool part. My reactions were so intense and hilarious that I couldn’t not notice them. (It also helped that they weren’t grounded in …
Finding the Heart in the Middle
October 18, 2012 I just read another article that said we’re in trouble, and that we’re past the point of being able to deny it. We’re besieged with information about global warming, the collapse of national financial systems, fanatical religious sects, war, domestic violence, gang violence, global denigration of women, conscription of young boys into …
Making the Invisible Visible
October 6, 2012 A young friend writes a blog from college, and I love her fresh perspective. Her last blog was about reducing judgements and increasing appreciation of others. She reminded me that most of us are doing the best we can to navigate a very complex and confusing world with grace and integrity. Yes, …
Listening
September 25, 2012 Here’s my take. I think everybody, including myself, pretty much sucks at it! Okay, this is said with a bit of tongue in cheek. But if I get really honest–at least about my own skill level–there’s some truth here. If my goal is to connect meaningfully with other human beings—and personally my heart’s …
I Met The Enemy
September 18, 2012 I was joking with a friend about my recent bout of angst prior to a mindfulness presentation I made at a conference last week. And my summary was: ‘I’ve seen the enemy, and it’s me!’ Not an original thought, but oh man, profoundly true. I know I’ve said this before. Thoughts are just …
From Outside To Inside
September 9, 2012 This morning I read an article about the importance of being able to be ugly. When I read it, something in me just rose up and went YES!!! Literally, immediately, I had this visceral full-body excited feeling. We all know those days when everything works and the days when nothing does. On the everything …
Why Meditate?
8-28-12 I talk and write about meditation and mindfulness, yet I don’t think I’ve ever defined them in a Seedlings post. So before I talk about why, here’s my attempt to define ‘what’. I’ll start with a basic factoid: Meditation and mindfulness are about the placement of attention. Here are definitions that work for me: …
Tend Your Own Garden
August 15, 2012 I have long forgotten where I found the following writing, or who wrote the original. It sits in a frame on the windowsill in my office, for the most part ignored. I remember changing some of the wording, and shortening it, but this maintains the essence. When I read it yesterday it …