On my first meditation retreat in 2009, one of the Dharma talks was about the difference between pain and suffering, and I was NOT getting it. Pain and suffering. They go together like chocolate and peanut butter. To be in pain is to suffer. We suffer b... Read more

Every human being that is born will die. Being mindful of this truth may lead to strong feelings about the nature of life itself. Perhaps this quality of life – that all living things must ultimately die – is one of the few truths that unites us all. Bu... Read more

It was an honor to get to support one of my mentors, Rosamaria Segura, and InsightLA teacher, Eric McCullum, for their Theravada Lineage Teacher Authorization Ceremony two weeks ago at the Lighting the Lamp of Dharma event lead by Trudy Goodman and indi... Read more

Despite being a US citizen born in Puerto Rico (a US colony and territory since 1917), I am an immigrant in this country, the United States of North America. My parents were also immigrants, having come from the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico, escapi... Read more

I grew up in Mexico City and lived there all my life until we moved to the US 22 years ago. I was always very spiritual and while growing up it was expressed through the Catholic Christian faith. In my mid thirties, after being curious about meditation ... Read more

This month we are sitting down with InsightLA teacher Karen Redding LCSW, Ph.D., the author and photographer behind a captivating book of meditative photographs called Ten Ways to Awaken the Wise Heart: A Photographic Journey. Driven by a desire to spea... Read more

To stop your mind does not mean to stop the activities of mind. It means your mind pervades your whole body. – Shunryu Suzuki Meditation happens in the body. I think we can all mostly agree on that. Yet why when so many of us sit down to meditate we so... Read more

In my journey of exploring kindness, Ive come to realize that it often reveals itself in the simplest, most unexpected moments of everyday life. Its during those unassuming instances that the true essence of kindness shines through, reminding us of our ... Read more

Human Connection is said to be the antidote to depression, and it has worked for me. For a good part of this lifetime, I went in and out of various states of depression eventually finding equilibrium by cultivating the mental and emotional space in whic... Read more

After meditating and teaching mindfulness for several years I came upon the realization that mindfulness meditation is simply practicing a skill. In essence, its no different from practicing other skills like learning to play a musical instrument, paint... Read more