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Study after study shows that when we meditate, we change. But we don’t just change ourselves. Others around us begin to change too. Meditation improves our intimate relationships. We’re less reactive, feel more freedom and safety, and have a better understanding of our...

 What do you think of when you think of creativity? Far too many people think of someone other than themselves – art and ideas are for other people, or kids, but not them. But it’s not limited to children and those uncommon individuals like William Shakespeare and Georgia Okeeffe...

I’ve been noticing lately how the news media delivers us tragedy, cruelty, and horror seemingly nonstop. I’ve noticed that the “Breaking News” banner across television newscasts, which used to be reserved for the really “big” stuff, has now become a fixture....

Twenty-five hundred years ago, the Buddha meditated under the Bodhi tree. He was outside, in nature, when he attained enlightenment – not inside a monastery or palace. Whether you believe the story to be myth or history, people have long known that there is wisdom, serenity, and balance in...

Call it a hunch, gut feeling, intuition – that immediate sense of truth, without words or reasoning, is one of your most important faculties. It can tell you where you want to move in life, what you need to let go of, and how to best relate to challenges. But how can you develop your...

How are you at dealing with uncertainty - that agonizing time during which you only have partial information and don’t know how things in your life, or the life of someone you love, are going to play out? For example, waiting for the results of that critical medical test, wondering if you...

The skill of mindfulness allows you to "map" the habit loop of anxiety to determine how it feels in your body and what reward you might be getting, or not getting, from worry.

In his new book, Unwinding Anxiety, Professor of Psychiatry, and Director of Research and Innovation at the Mindfulness...

Do you have a hobby, or an activity in which you can be completely yourself? Something that just makes you feel alive and happy and totally you? Are you aware of not having to put on any front or pretense when you're in that zone? How does that feel?

My "hobby" is swimming laps at the pool at our...

“Your copies aren’t ready.”

Many years ago, I was at an office supply store to pick up copies of class materials for a course I was to begin teaching that evening. But on this afternoon my copies weren't ready at the promised time. Not ready? What would I tell the room full of...

I’m rereading Pema Chodron’s book Start Where You Are. Pema is a Buddhist nun, meditation teacher, and best-selling author. She has a delightfully simple yet profound way with words. I feel she inspired an insight in my meditation practice today. She says that all the parts of...