For five years I lived close to Clear Sky while I studied and worked in the local area. I would spend weekends or sometimes do longer stays there. Aside from meditation and my teachers’ guidance, what has really changed my life is the practice of Karma Yoga. In Karma Yoga, we work closely with others,
When I had no energy to spare, it was so clear how draining any thoughts of worry or doubt were. So, as I watched the truck towing away my car,
Although I was in an incredible environment and doing work that aligned with my values, I still felt a sleepy, heavy fog around career direction. And then the clouds parted. How?..
One thing that can happen when you think there’s an unacknowledged stink in the room is that doubt can creep in. Nobody else is mentioning it, after all! Although I want to say something, I’m questioning whether it’s just my reaction and maybe there’s nothing going on at all.
I have a way of dealing with this.
When was the last time you had a day when everything was perfect? When whatever you set your mind to just seemed to take care of itself? I’ve had days like that. I remember one where I seemed to be in sync with everything: getting out of bed, brushing my teeth, my clothes felt just
Some moments move in fast forward. You blink, and it’s gone. Some moments move more like car accidents, and time seems to stop. When I smashed my roommate’s vase, it was one of those slow moments. A shift in the being Things had started changing a year prior, when I discovered meditation. A friend told
When it’s scary to bring up what’s going on for you, yet you see the suffering of the voices in your head. Four suggestions you can try to get things moving.
Suddenly I was wide awake. With dread, I looked over at the clock on the nightstand, hoping I wouldn’t see what I knew I would…1:30 a.m.! I’d been asleep for less than three hours, and if this night was like all the nights of the past six months, it meant I was awake for the
“I’m sleeping somewhere else tonight.” As I spoke those words, my eyes locked on the road and my mind scrambled to figure out where I was going to stay. Knowing where I’d sleep didn’t matter in the moment though, what mattered was proving to my partner that they couldn’t hurt me. For months, my partner
What we learned from people coming here to do meditation retreats People often come here for a few days or a week to do a meditation retreat in a cabin. Over time, we heard many of them say how they struggled to simply meditate all day, suddenly. And it’s not surprising. Often, retreatants book meditation
You can find Part 1 of this blog here. [Quick Recap – we’re looking at areas that can make our whole life into a supportive container that helps our fluency, in whatever we’re trying to learn. We need this container, whether we’re talking about the Russian language, spiritual growth, a meditation practice, or living more
(Part 1) I don’t know about you, but I’d say my spiritual progress has had both ups and, well I won’t say downs, I’ll say plateaus. Now that I think about it, just when I’ve felt like I’m struggling most, that’s often when my teachers have commented how well I’m doing. So who am I
Cooking for yourself seems like a lot of energy out sometimes. I mean, a meal’s over just like that, and then you’re back at the sink, washing up. Personally, I get way more motivated cooking for a group. I might not be your average person, mind you, because I did live at a retreat center
As we draw near the end of the year we’d like to take this opportunity to wish you the very best for 2018. If you’re a spiritual explorer looking forward to 2018 and you want to bring your daily life more into line with your spiritual life, we think you’ll very much enjoy what we’ve
Lately, you’ve been hearing from us about our online course and Five Principles, and we have a question for you: Do our five principles sound like they’re going to “Ignite Your Spiritual Life?” After all, the second principle talks about structure and routine, and how embracing them actually creates more freedom. Then, the fourth one
It’s not always easy to know what compassion looks like I got an opportunity to practice compassionate speech when I was in a little shop in a village in England several years ago. It was the kind of shop I’d call a “newsagent” – think “corner store” if you don’t know what I’m talking about.
Mindfulness and awareness are key. Yet, when I’m hitting a golf ball, I really don’t care about anything else. Is that a bad thing? Surely being able to focus all my attention on what I’m doing is good. When I concentrate, and get really absorbed, that leads to bliss. My concentration helps me pay attention to detail. So, what if
My first meditation retreat was going really well. The whole space – a complex below a temple – was set up to support new meditators. Each day we enjoyed two meals, a short morning class, and the use of two meditation halls. We were in silent retreat except for a daily interview with a teacher,
Getting back in control, when the four-year old in you has taken over My heart rate jumped. I scowled, and my whole body tightened. I clenched my jaw in total resistance. ‘No!’ ‘No!!!!!!” That could be describing me at four years-old, being told to go to bed before my big brother. Except I was 44, and
How I kept from missing years of meditation When I first started meditating, it felt great. I’d had a little instruction and I started sitting at home, alone, every morning. With that, I was leaving for work every day with a state of calm and bliss, and my days were simply going much better. Knowing
What I did next was from a meditation I’d recently been taught. For the purpose of this short blog, I’ve broken it down into ‘Four steps to change the tune and get someone out of your head:”
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* Personal Retreat Cabins:
OPEN during COVID. We’ve redesigned our personal retreat packages. Check out our Practice and Integrate Retreat, which offers a supportive balance of formal meditation and mindful activity.
* Buddhist Women in the 2020’s (Introduction)
While there may be frustration, grief and rage about historical gender inequity in Buddhism, we can use Buddhist methodologies to transform these conflicting emotions into greater compassion and wisdom. Join Catherine Pawasarat Sensei for this one hour introductory talk, a prelude to the weekend course on June 4-6.
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