The Presence of Ajahn Chah: Embodying Your Authentic Buddha Nature

During my spiritual travels in Thailand, I arrived at the forest monastery of meditation master, Ajahn Chah. After bowing to him, he peered at me...

Always Look for the Helpers: Staying Steady and Hopeful Amidst Upheaval

The children’s Bodhisattva, Mr. Rogers, describes how his mother taught him to see the disasters of the world in a new way. Instead of focusing...

The Wisdom of Insecurity: Awakening in Every Moment

Spiritual life is not about possessing or finding security, but rather it’s discovering what Alan Watts called the Wisdom of Insecurity – the capacity for...

Rediscovering the Secret Beauty Within: Opening to Love, Presence, and Connection

What you most deeply long for is who you are, is coming back to your own heart, to your own beauty, your own wellbeing that...

How Buddhist Monks Celebrate Christmas

One December, the Western monks at my Thai teacher Ajahn Chah’s Western forest monastery decided to put up a Christmas tree. The villagers who built...

Post-Election Decompression: Navigating Politics, Suffering, and Change with a Loving Heart Amidst It All

We are at a major time of change on this earth, what JoAnna Macy calls ‘The Great Turning.’ This opportunity asks if we as a...

Powerful Inner Forces: Moving Past Blame and the ‘Enemy Du Jour’

Anger and the Path of Compassion

Overcoming Bitterness and Betrayal: A Story of Forgiveness and Redemption

The Vastness Within

In these challenging times we’re being asked to see the world in a more timeless way, to live from a wisdom and reality of love that is...

The Spirit of Meditation

A friend of mine visited the wonderful Zen master, Katagiri Roshi, shortly before he died. She asked Roshi if he could tell her the essence...

Navigating the Cycles of Spiritual Life

There are big and small cycles in spiritual life. We can’t stop the cycles, but we can learn to navigate them with grace, ease, and...