"It's My Karma" An Excerpt from Choosing Compassion by Anam Thubten Rinpoche One of the strongest impulses we all have is our desire to experience transcendence. When we tap into transcendence we rise above all of our concerns. We are no longer dominated by fear and we are no longer caught up in the web [...]

Sign Up for 5 Free Videos and a Meditation Practice from Pema Chödrön! ENTER YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS TO RECEIVE A SERIES OF 5 VIDEOS AND A MEDITATION PRACTICE. In her first new book of spiritual teachings in over seven years, Pema Chödrön offers fresh wisdom, heartfelt reflections, and the signature humor and insight that have [...]

Bettering Our Relationship with Food Trying a New Fruit The Exercise Find a fruit you have never eaten. An Asian food market is a good place to look. Star fruit, lychee, kiwano, rambutan, papaya, custard apple, mangosteen, and dragon fruit are some possibilities. At a Mexican market look for mamey, guanabana, sapote, chico, or pitahaya. [...]

Sharing is the antidote. Irene messaged me a few months after her son Oliver had died of SIDS, another episode in our ongoing conversation from one continent to the other. Looking for you today. I hope you don’t mind. Oh! Are you okay love? No, but I’m getting used to it now and don’t expect [...]

Radically Happy: A User’s Guide to the Mind ENTER YOUR EMAIL TO RECEIVE TWO PLANS FOR HAPPINESS AND THE FIRST CHAPTER OF RADICALLY HAPPY AS A PRINTABLE PDF. Spending time with someone you love, laughing at a funny story, eating your favorite food—we experience happiness in many different ways, but maintaining that feeling can often be [...]

Using Every Activity to Support the Present Moment We are excited to share two bonus meditation and mindfulness exercises with you created by Phakchok Rinpoche and Erric Solomon, the authors of Radically Happy. Exercise 1 Walking Meditation Begin by standing in a natural position, eyes open, facing whichever direction you are about to travel in. Keep [...]

The Secret Is Nonattachment Getting Hooked In Tibetan there is a word that points to the root cause of aggression, the root cause also of craving. It points to a familiar experience that is at the root of all conflict, all cruelty, oppression, and greed. This word is shenpa. The usual translation is “attachment,” but [...]

A Way to Self-Compassion One in All All in One— If only this is realized, No more worry about your not being perfect! —Sosan Ganchi Zenji, Shin Jin Mei   I needed someone to help me grab hold of compassion and bring it a little closer every day. —Eleanor This chapter offers ways to build [...]

Meditation Starting at Age Three The First Steps Most parents think that children are too young to meditate. How can they understand something that even adults have difficulty with? But in reality, young children are closer to their innate nature, and they are at the age where everything is possible. This means that any child [...]

Two Exercises for Your Practice Remembering the Good within You Sit comfortably, in a relaxed way, and close your eyes. As much as possible, let go of analysis and expectation. For ten to fifteen minutes, call to mind something you have done or said that you feel was a kind or good action—a time you [...]