Mantras (repeated phrases) and mudras (hand positions) are not generally part of my meditation practices, but suddenly the time seems right to see if it fits. Some years ago I was introduced to a practice called the Kirtan Kriya, which involves a...
John O'Donohue was an Irish Catholic priest, until he wasn't, and a beautiful writer of philosophical musings. His book of poems, or blessing, or prayers called “To Bless the Space between Us” is one of those I turn to again and again, and am...
Things are feeling a little heavy lately. Meditation helps, for sure. But sometimes, a little silliness is called for. We caught sight of this in the hands of a toddler at a local art fair. Days later, my boyfriend/husband did one of those things...
Sometimes just before I close my eyes to meditate I read some kind of daily devotional or choose a card from an oracle or tarot deck. Lately it has been this deck. I first saw it in a museum in Nice, France but at that point we were two and a half...
I've always been as drawn to a full moon as the next person, but following the cycles of nature just hasn't come “naturally” to me. So this month, the only reason I knew there was a think called the Pink Moon or Strawberry Moon was that a local spa...
Teachers of meditation have all kinds of suggestions for how to calm the monkey mind. Some use a mantra Some use the breath Some suggest focusing on a sound Recently, during a stay in Palm Springs, I was able to create my own little floating...
Sometimes I try too hard to find the meaning in random things that happen, and sometimes the meaning just reaches out to me. That's what happened recently when we wound up with a hummingbird in the house. Don't worry, the hummingbird came out of...
This month I went in search of awe. For me, awe opens a mental and emotional door to the state of mind, or mindlessness, I try to get to when I meditate. Since I was in Paris, there was no shortage of world famous, awe inspiring places to choose...
This is the Duomo in Milan, Italy. Like so many world-renowned landmarks, it is awesome in detail and in scale. Whether you aspire to prayer, contemplation, or meditation and whatever your spiritual tradition, spaces like this seem like they...
The weather has been really beautiful lately, so I've had the windows open quite a bit more than usual. Where I live, that means city noises, and since I live near a hospital, that means sirens. I've noticed though, that the sirens outside are no...