Listening

He didn’t say much; he didn’t have to. The quality of his listening itself was so warm and loving, everyone would relax in his presence. Like my father, my beloved Uncle Jim was wise and focused; he could see the humor in all of our various li... Read more

Author: Trudy Goodman, PhD

Quenching the Fires

Jack and I just co-taught a meditation retreat at Spirit Rock with no electricity - until the very last evening. Imagine no hot water and no heat; it was 37 degrees when we woke up before dawn in the cold moonless black velvet night. Turning off my ... Read more

Author: Trudy Goodman, PhD

Makeup on Empty Space

Excerpted from Anne Waldman’s poem, “Makeup on Empty Space” I am putting makeup on empty space rouge blushing on empty space I am putting makeup on empty space pasting eyelashes on empty space painting the eyebrows of empty sp... Read more

Author: Trudy Goodman, PhD

Only go straight, don’t-know!

My first teacher Dae Soen Sa Nim taught us to practice mindfulness with simple Zen phrases: “Only go straight, don’t-know!” He encouraged us all to “Keep this don’t-know mind, try, try for 10,000 years, non-stop.” This was the beauty of his dedicati... Read more

Author: Christiane Wolf, MD, PhD

What IS this? Becoming Curious About Experience

Nobody likes being stressed or being in pain. Our natural response is to push the stress or the pain away, either consciously or unconsciously. This can be helpful in the short term but it’s not a long term solution. Mindfulness practice invites u... Read more

Author: Trudy Goodman, PhD

Retreat to the Future

I’m about to enter a meditation retreat at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies in rural central Massachusetts with one of my dharma heroes, Bhikkhu Analayo. Since 1975, the Insight Meditation Society, IMS, with its Retreat Center, the Study Center... Read more

Author: Trudy Goodman, PhD

A Powerful Week

This is a week of spiritual streams converging in the autumnal equinox and the Jewish New Year beginning Sunday eve. Monday was the time in the earth’s annual cycle around the sun when day and night are equal in length, a moment of perfect balance where... Read more

Author: Trudy Goodman, PhD

Restoring the Goodness of Our Hearts

This week, I’m in the beautiful high desert of Lucerne Valley, co-teaching our 7-night fall InsightLA meditation retreat at Royal Way ranch with Celeste Young, Lienchi Tran, and Justine Dawson, with Vince Perata as retreat manager. The ranch... Read more

Author: Trudy Goodman, PhD

Breakfast with Ram Dass

It’s my last day at Ram Dass’s house. There’s a little card table set on the balcony outside his room and a chair ready for me. As I sit down, Ram Dass sweeps his arm across the landscape in a gesture of welcome and appreciation. The balcony outsi... Read more

Author: Angela Stubbs

The Emotional Currency of the Heart

“The game isn’t about becoming somebody, it’s about becoming nobody”— Ram Dass If you’ve ever spent a second in Los Angeles, then you’re keenly aware of everyone’s need to be somebody. What follows the words, “I AM” are seemingly some of... Read more

Listening

Quenching the Fires

Makeup on Empty Space

Only go straight, don’t-know!

What IS this? Becoming Curious About Experience

Retreat to the Future

A Powerful Week

Restoring the Goodness of Our Hearts

Breakfast with Ram Dass

The Emotional Currency of the Heart

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