Mindfulness of Mortality

In our culture, we generally avoid thinking about death, except humorously on Halloween and more somberly, if we care to, on days like Memorial Day, 9/11 and December 7. Some American subcultures also have their forms of remembrance, like Dia de los Muertos or Yahrzeit. On the whole, a lesser focus on death is a…

Read More

9/22 Practice Circle: Listening to the Felt Sense

I’m going with my gut on this.  It’s what’s in my heart.  I have a funny feeling inside.  These common phrases indicate that we recognize that physical sensations in the body have important things to tell us, things that may be beyond the grasp of our conscious awareness. Several of the world’s wisdom traditions put…

Read More

Mindfulness Meditation, Meaningful Distraction, and an MRI

Dive in California

In a TV commercial a mom is sitting alone in a room, meditating, and children noises from nearby are getting louder and louder. Suddenly she screams, “Shut up! I’m trying to meditate!” It’s a common misconception that you need a quiet place without distraction to meditate, or that distraction is something we are never supposed…

Read More

5/26 Practice Circle: New Attitudes of Mindfulness: Gratitude & Generosity

At Practice Circle, we have worked with Jon Kabat Zinn’s Seven Attitudes of Mindfulness: Acceptance, Nonjudging, Nonstriving, Letting Go, Patience, Humor, Trust, and Beginner’s Mind.  In their terrific training manual for mindfulness teachers, A Clinician’s Guide to Teaching Mindfulness, Christina Wolf and J. Greg Serpa add three more: Curiosity, Kindness, and Gratitude and Generosity.  When Practice…

Read More

10/12 Practice Circle: Soften, Soothe, Allow

How do we deal with truly difficult emotions when they arise in our daily life? Can we meet them without being overwhelmed or using distraction or numbing to avoid them? When Practice Circle meets again this Sunday evening at 6 Pacific, 7 Mountain, 8 Central and 9 Eastern, we’ll share another practice from Kristin Neff…

Read More

5/27 Practice Circle: The Five Hindrances, with Amy Balentine

When Practice Circle meets again this Sunday, May 27th, at 6 p.m. Pacific, 7 Mountain, 8 Central and 9 Eastern, we’ll explore the Five Hindrances in meditation practice. Click here to join our free video conference group Sunday night! We all experience obstacles or difficulties in meditation, which can lead to discouragement or a belief…

Read More

4/22 Practice Circle: Mindfulness of Dharmas

When Practice Circle meets again this Sunday, April 8, at 6 p.m. Pacific, 8 Central and 9 Eastern, we’ll conclude our four-part examination of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness by examining the Fourth Foundation, mindfulness of dharmas. The word dharma, or dhamma in Pali, has a number of meanings, but in this instance it refers…

Read More

Mindfulness of Dharmas, Part 2

Fourth and last of the foundations of mindfulness is Mindfulness of Dharmas. In this second half of our introduction, we will continue going through the practices involved in this foundation. In particular we will go through mindfulness of the factors of awakening, and of the Four Noble Truths in this video. Sutta mentioned: Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta…

Read More

Mindfulness of Dharmas, Part 1

Fourth and last of the foundations of mindfulness is Mindfulness of Dharmas. In this first part of two, we will discuss what dharmas mean in this context, and begin going through the practices involved in this foundation. In particular we will go through mindfulness of the hindrances, of the aggregates, and of the sense-spheres. Suttas…

Read More

4/8 Practice Circle: Mindfulness of Mind

I’ve been reading Beth Ann Mulligan’s The Dharma of Modern Mindfulness, which is impressive for the way she uses anecdotes from her secular MBSR course to illustrate basic Buddhist principles. In that spirit, when Practice Circle meets again this Sunday, April 8, at 6 p.m. Pacific, 8 Central and 9 Eastern, we’ll continue our four-part…

Read More