Meditations

The art of living wisely requires us to learn to let go. But how can we do so? Sometimes we need more love or forgiveness. This teaching and meditation will help show the way. Letting go does not mean losing the knowledge we have gained from the...

Remember, wherever you are, spaciousness is always available. We know this, but we often forget. Yet spaciousness is not far away. With this simple meditation we are invited to allow the deep spaciousness of loving awareness to arise.

Eternity is always here. It is always Now. In this simple meditation, we are invited to become "The One Who Knows," the spacious witness to all things. We can take a breath, come to rest, step outside of time, let go of making and doing and...

“Enlightenment is one with the trusting heart.”- Zen proverb You can learn to trust the big picture, you can learn to trust your inner knowing, you can be inspired by trust. These simple meditations invite you to find in yourself a trusting...

Waves arise naturally on the surface of the vast ocean without troubling its depth. This meditation is an invitation to make your mind like the vast ocean.

If there is one thing this world needs, it is more compassion. With tenderness and courage we can learn compassion for ourselves and others.

We are always in transition, each new day is a rebirth. This pith instruction from the Tibetan Book of the Dead invites us to let go into our luminous true nature.

Peace is possible. We can step out of the struggle with ourselves, with our judgments and fears and inner conflicts. We can learn to live in peace and with a kind heart, without believing the reactive mind.

In this meditative practice, you will take time to reflect inwardly,with kindness and with courage, on how and when you are living true to yourself. When you live fully and honestly, it can change your life and all around you.

The gate to human well-being and transformation swings open when we practice living with a grateful heart. When we find gratitude, we find freedom and love. This teaching and meditation invites you to gratitude.

When great loss comes, the heart needs to grieve. We need to find a way to honor and tend our grief, to respect its deep feelings, its time and rhythms. This teaching and meditation can help.

The beautiful truth is that love can be awakened, cultivated, and invited to grow in our hearts. The practice of metta or lovingkindness taught here is a simple, timeless way to open the heart and to move through the world with a loving...

Let yourself sit quietly and at ease. Allow your body to be relaxed and open, your breath natural, your heart easy. Begin the practice of gratitude by feeling how year after year you have cared for your own life. Now let yourself begin to...

Sit comfortably for a few minutes, letting your body be at rest. Let your breathing be easy and natural. Bring your attention into the present, sit quietly, and notice whatever sensations are present in your body. In particular, be aware of any...

Forgiveness is both necessary and possible. It is never too late to find forgiveness and start again. Buddhist psychology offers specific teachings and practices for redemption and the development of forgiveness. Like the practice of compassion,...

Meditation comes alive through a growing capacity to release our habitual entanglement in the stories and plans, conflicts and worries that make up the small sense of self, and to rest in awareness. In meditation we do this simply by acknowledging...

Equanimity is a wonderful quality, a spaciousness and balance of heart. Although it grows naturally with our meditation practice, equanimity can also be cultivated in the same systematic way that we have used for loving-kindness and compassion. We...

May you be held in compassion. To cultivate compassion, let yourself sit in a centered and quiet way. In this traditional form of practice you will combine a repeated inner intention with visualization and the evocation of the feeling of...

The practice of meditation does not ask us to become a Buddhist or a meditator or a spiritual person. It invites us to fulfill the capacity we each have as humans to awaken. The skill of becoming more mindful, and more present, and more...

Buddhist psychology is filled with practices that shift us to the universal perspective. These include contemplations on the vastness of time, the cycles of impermanence, the mysterious inevitability of your own death, the boundlessness of love....

Pick a situation of difficulty or conflict with others.  Reflect on your last encounters and on the motivation from which you operated.  How did this work?  Now imagine you can bring the highest possible intentions to your next encounter.  Take a...

You can begin to study the effects of the states of mind that fill your days.  To start, it helps to become deliberately aware of the states that arise on your difficult days, days where you are caught up in problems, conflict, unhappiness. ...

  Use this practice to bring wisdom to a situation of inner or outer conflict.  Initially begin by sitting.  Later you can practice in social situations. Sit quietly and easily, focusing on your breath or body. When you feel settled, bring to...

First, sit quietly for a few minutes.  Now reflect on the times in your life when you are most absorbed, concentrated and fully present. They maybe while gardening, playing tennis or basketball, writing computer code, listening to a friend, or in...

“Develop a mind that is vast like space, where experiences both pleasant and unpleasant can appear and disappear without conflict, struggle or harm. Rest in a mind like vast sky.”  ~Majjhima Nikaya A simple way to connect with the spacious...

To work with a sacred image, choose someone who inspires you, St. Francis or Kwan Yin the goddess of infinite mercy, Jesus or Mary, Buddha or Tara.  It helps to have a clear, beautiful picture that you can place in front of you while meditating....

“With the mind, observe the mind.” – Buddha  This first simple practice gives an immediate experience of mindfulness of thought. Sit comfortably and quietly. After a few moments, resolve to count your thoughts for one or two minutes. You can set a...

First select a suitable place for your regular meditation. Place a meditation cushion or chair there for your use, and add any books or images that help make it feel like a sacred and peaceful space. Select a regular time for practice that suits...

Sit comfortably and quietly. Let your body rest easily. Breathe gently. Let go of your thoughts, past and future, memories and plans. Just be present. Begin to let your own precious body reveal the places that most need healing. Allow the physical...