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
Touching the Ground of the Body
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
Kindness: The Quickest Way to Joy – A Personal Perspective
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
Embracing Connection & Creativity through Sound
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
Mindfulness is a Skill
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
BIPOC Mental Health Awareness & Mindfulness Meditation
Each July, the legacy of author, advocate, and trailblazer Bebe Moore Campbell is honored by recognizing Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month (also known as BIPOC Mental Health Month). This years theme is Culture, Communit... Read more
Real Life
There are times, and I suspect I speak for most of us when I say this, when we feel like were merely bystanders to our own lives. There are times when we feel mired and habit, withdrawn and small. Even though we want to take a stand about something we c... Read more
Discovering Juneteenth
Juneteenth came out of nowhere, didnt it? To my knowledge nobody was asking that this day, celebrated almost exclusively by Black Texans, be turned into a federal holiday. It wasn’t until my early 30s that I even heard of Juneteenth even though my fat... Read more
Happy Pride Month to All!
In June, the beautiful tapestry of LGBTQ+ identities is honored during Pride Month. Celebrating the diverse experiences of individuals across the gender and sexual orientation spectrums makes our community richer. The journey of self-discovery is an int... Read more
InsightLA and Food Insecurity: Taking our Practice of Generosity into the Community.
Darin McFadyen
In the West, meditation is mostly practiced and taught by relatively well-to-do people who are not often exposed to the struggle that many Americans are going through every day. Approximately 38 million Americans live in poverty which ... Read more