Opening to Compassion
.... and Life Coaching with Joe
MONDAYS 7pm (et) - new link!
The adage ‘be here now’ has currently taken on profound meaning.
Here in this viral age we are forced into a very practical interpretation of now. Remembering what was, even a month ago, can be unspeakably sad. Any realistic look at the future makes us anxious and depressed. ‘How long will this last? And what
It’s like the song says, “waking up is hard to do.” Or maybe that was breaking up. In either case, the process is as painful as it is necessary. It’s about change. And who doesn’t love to hate change?
Growing hurts. This is why the teachings of the Buddha begin with the Truth of Suffering. … Read the rest
We are not always healthy. We are sometimes broken and easily triggered. We are sometimes depleted and feel we need to fix something, add something, change something or devour anything. What is actually devoured is our capacity to satisfy our needs. The more our wants cannibalize our needs, the more our wanting becomes an obsession.… Read the rest
The cessation of suffering is a possibility on the path of awakening. It is a continuously occurring experience that indicated that suffering is not permanent or solid. A classically western application is to take any statement to its extreme, as though the cessation of suffering indicated a permanent solution, a rainbow at the end of … Read the rest
MEDITATION? REALLY?
Meditation means many things, even if some definitions seem contradictory. We might ‘meditate’ on a decision, which would imply deep thinking. Or, we might let go of thoughts in meditation, which implies a clear state free of mental constructs. And there are just as many reasons why we might do this. Some people … Read the rest
HERE IS A LINK TO A TALK GIVEN AT SHAMBHALA NEW YORK (followed by a written companion post. )
A LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS
I’m writing this from deep winter. It’s a time of environmental, spiritual and moral darkness. My spirits, like many, seem very low at times. Despite the triumphant chorus of another … Read the rest
I wish you the best in this new year. Truly. Whether I know you or not. Whether I like you or not. Whoever you are, my best to you. The idea that happiness is a zero sum equation and that mine is dependent upon someone else’s lack, is a great fallacy. There is happiness enough … Read the rest
Its that time of year, again. Once again, the beginning. Beginning lists of new beginnings. This year will be different, of course. We will change. All of us want to change. Change change change. But, have we ever looked at what we’re changing?
Seeing what we want to change would seem a necessary first … Read the rest
This cowboy title of this law was made famous in the Trevon Martin case in 2012. It has since become a symbol of what can be called defensive aggression. Agressively defending MY gound, MY country, MY people. And the more we defend our ground and the more we cling to things that are MINE, … Read the rest
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, … it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope…”
In perhaps the greatest run on sentence in literary history, Dickens … Read the rest
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