Older adults at a party

Navigating Change and Transition in Elderhood

I catch a glimpse of myself in the hall mirror and see my white hair and the growing wrinkles that line my face. Who is that person looking back at me? My internal sense of myself largely remains the same, yet the visual effects of the passage of time... Read more

Mindfully Enhance Your Empathy

(This article is adapted from Dr. Judith Orloff’s Affirmations for Empaths: A Year of Guided Journaling and Dr. Ronald Alexander’s Core Creativity: The Mindful Way to Unlock Your Creative Self) Empathy is when we reach our hearts out to others and... Read more

Trio of red candles

Loving the Shadow of Our Desires

On a recent hike in Temescal Canyon, I passed a troop of summer campers. They were gathered around a picnic table, where their counselor was giving a brief lesson. “Repeat after me” he called out. “It’s ok to be afraid.” The kids joyfully responded: “... Read more

How to Curate Time

“We photographers deal in things which are continually vanishing, and when they have vanished there is no contrivance on earth which can make them come back again.” -Henri Cartier-Bresson One of the great teachings of life is impermanence, the u... Read more

The Mindful Athlete

Did you know that you can improve your mindfulness skills anytime, anywhere—even while working out? In fact, incorporating mindfulness into your training can significantly improve your fitness and athletic performance. Staying in the right mindset is ... Read more

Music and Healing in Cambodia

  For generations, Khmer Buddhists in Cambodia and in global diaspora (including right here in Long Beach) have nourished musical practices that allow for healing in the wake of loss. The canonical Pali chant for recognizing that this life is sh... Read more

trees with sunlight

Find Your Peace in Nature

“If I really wanted to pray I′ll tell you what I′d do. I′d go out into a great big field all alone or in the deep, deep woods and I′d look up into the sky—up—up—up—into that lovely blue sky that looks as if there was no end to its blueness. And then I... Read more

Ukraine: Creating Healing Out of Crisis

I was lounging on a couch at my friend’s place in Hermosa Beach after a relaxing day when my ritualistic evening email check announced that my home country of Ukraine was under attack by Russia. A few minutes later, my friend from Ukraine wrote to me ... Read more

buddha

Wise Ancestors of the Future

I have some good news to share with you: you are not your fault. The Insight Meditation teacher and author Wes Nisker is fond of saying this. And the even better news is that it is true.  You are not your fault, you didn’t pick out your DNA. You... Read more