Mindfulness
MINDFULNESS: Beyond Mindfulness. In the Live Conscious community we’re interested in meditation and equally interested in what happens after we get up off our meditation cushions. How do we carry mindfulness with us throughout our days—paying attention and staying conscious? We use a very pragmatic method—working with three different degrees of consciousness—so that we become aware of what degree of consciousness we are in and what degree we would like to be in. Learning to navigate consciousness not only supports mindfulness, but also is a key to unlocking our hearts and making our relationships easy. There is beauty in living this way, holding every moment, even the difficult ones, as something worth noticing.
The Power of Awe
Maybe you don’t need to sit on your meditation cushion longer or more often. Maybe you don’t need to learn how to self soothe. Maybe you don’t need to work on unresolved issues from childhood. Or, maybe you do. I don’t know, but I do know that if you start developing...
Joy
“Who hears the rippling of rivers will not utterly despair of anything”. Henry David Thoreau. I was recently asked to share why I’m joyful most of the time. So, I’ve spent some time reflecting on that. I’m aware that some people may be...
Living in a state of presence
Can you imagine being completely present as you move through your most mundane, ordinary daily chores? Among the many tools we offer for conscious living, is the mindful practice of sensory awareness. For me, this is a most useful practice for actually living in...
Seeing Through Existential Anxiety
Have you ever noticed that even when things are going well, somewhere in the recesses of your mind, you may feel antsy or a little bit anxious? And other times, it may be much more pronounced. There’s a good chance that what you’re experiencing is existential...
Meditating Without Meditation
Do you feel as though you are going too fast and living on autopilot too much of the time? Most people get to end of their lives and wonder “Where did my life go? It went by in a flash.” This is because we were barely paying attention. We can learn to slow down and...
How To Lengthen Your Life
The truth is we’ll all be dying in a moment. When you look back at your life so far, how quickly has it gone by? Long and drawn out, or has the time gone by in the snap of your fingers? At death’s door most people say: “My life went by in a flash.” Why?...
Don’t Try So Hard
Let Go. Give In. Stop Trying. I believe hard work often pays off. I also believe there are situations in which we should try less hard. When we try hard we tend to narrow our focus—followed by a cascade of physiological changes that begin with a release of adrenaline....
A Thrilling Meditation
For much of my adult life I’ve tried to meditate—and for most of that time, I struggled. I have a busy mind and while I genuinely wanted to quiet my mind, I never really succeeded. Mostly, I spent a lot of time telling my mind to stop thinking while sitting in an...
Be More Peaceful
We can learn to be more peaceful and, in turn, create a more peaceful world. I, along with 19 others, have just recently returned home from yet another remarkable retreat, or “lab” as we fondly refer to them. For me this retreat was sweeter than any previous—mostly...
Be Here Now Like Maow
Years of study with a Japanese Zen master gave me a strong referent experience of what it means to be here now. He was my first Zen teacher and now there’s our cat, Maow. We can all learn to be here now, like Maow. He is the master of simple enlightenment. Maow is...
A Mindful Life
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so...
Emotional Toolbox
Spring is slowly arriving in Toronto. The trees are leafing, tulips and daffodils abound and the lilacs will be here in a week. The magnolia trees are stunning and the lawns are a vivid green from the months of snow and early spring rains. It’s still cool, but I’m...
Back To The Future—Now
BACK TO THE FUTURE Yesterday I wore my NOW watch all day long. This watch was a gift from my husband, Jake, on Valentines Day. The only thing on it’s face is the word NOW—a timely reminder to focus on NOW. BUT NOW IS NOT ALWAYS AN EASY PLACE TO BE Right now I...
Protected: Spacious Meditation
The Two Best Affirmations
I question the idea that all I have to do is repeat a few select affirmations and my life will change for the better. Actually, I don’t buy it. I recently read an article in Elephant Journal that describes the positive effects of “Trite, New-Agey Affirmations.” In the...
I Never Step In The Same River Twice
For a dozen years, I attended a lot of meditation retreats. Two or three times a year I immersed myself in the practice, for week-long intensives. Before each new Zen ‘sesshin’, as they were called, or Vipassana retreat, I struggled with whether to take the time out...
Peaceful State of Mind
How to achieve peace We recently received a request for help from a man who was frustrating himself because he wasn’t able to maintain a peaceful state of mind. He was sick of the roller coaster he found himself riding on a daily basis. At times he would find...
Patience
Patience is not passive; on the contrary, it is active; it is concentrated strength. — Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton How many times a day do you check your email? I don’t even want to ask myself that question. I don’t want to know because I’m pretty...
How To Meditate
Our way to practice is one step at a time, one breath at a time. Shunryu Suzuki For many years I attended week-long meditation retreats. After each retreat I would...
How To Stop Obsessive Thoughts
Many people experience obsessive thoughts of one kind of another. Not only can we drive ourselves crazy with these thoughts, but when our negative obsessive thoughts are about another person, such thoughts are potentially harmful—and at the very least they are unkind....
Being Kind
“My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.” Dali Lama A patient recently shared with me the difficulties he was having relating with his mother. There were parts of her—certain behaviors and attitudes of hers—that he was having difficulty accepting....
Embodied Awareness
How Aware Are You? In our retreats we teach a way to use language, Perception Language, which helps to ground us in the present moment. Using Perception Language minimizes our tendency to become reactive or defensive. But, for those times when we do become...
Be Here Now
EVERY MOMENT IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR MINDFULNESS An opportunity to Be Here Now. We just have to REMEMBER to be mindful. A few months ago I was thinking about the Ram Das’ 1971 book “Be Here Now”. I went and pulled the book off my bookshelf and when I saw the actual...
The Dalai Lama Teaches Us To Be Mature
The Dalai Lama offers us a key to being mature. Do you respond maturely even in the most challenging situations? Or, as many people demonstrate, are there times when you just lose it—and you tell yourself “that’s the way life is?” I will suggest to...
Mindfulness Spoken Here & Now!
Something new is alive in me and I can’t wait to share myself. Since I say I can’t wait, I’ll give you a few highlights. I have embellished my mindfulness toolbox after recently attending a 10-day training in California. Perception Language, is a mindful way to use...
The Secret Language Of Buddhism
Here’s the first secret: An ancient Pali language, the language that the Buddha spoke during his lifetime, was a “verbing” language. This way of speaking was unique in that it allowed one to stay in process, not fixing oneself or clinging to a...
Perception Language is a Mindfulness Practice
Perception Language allows you to listen to other people without getting defensive, realize they are only talking about themselves, and stop making compassion-less judgments of others. Perception Language allows you to speak with authority and clarity about...
The Four Minute Meditation—Audio
Here are instructions for the meditation: If you haven’t ever done the Four Minute Meditation before you may want to listen to this short introduction. Once you’ve heard it, you probably won’t need to hear it again. However, feel free to download it...
Sensory Awareness Leads to Mindfulness
Do you want to live your life with more mindfulness? Do you want to stop rushing toward the end of your life? In a Live Conscious Retreat we begin each day with a form of mindfulness meditation called Sensory Awareness. In this practice we use our senses to slow...
Sensory Awareness — Day 2 — Maya Tulum 2012
We woke up on our third day of the retreat to a thick fog that quickly burned off and revealed a gorgeous sunny day – accompanied by a calm and almost phosphorescent turquoise sea. We met early on the beach to do our 4—Directions meditation and a sensory...
Path To Fulfillment | More Than One Way?
I resist any practice or religion saying that their way is the “only way”. Too much harm has been done historically because of religion, trying to make others wrong. There are so many paths, almost as many as there are people really, since we each have our own...
Meditation and Psychotherapy
We recently had a gathering of Live Conscious graduates join us at our home for a discussion about meditation and psychotherapy and how to live without resistance, which I refer to as living with “Fierce Grace.” This expression comes from a movie about the spiritual...
Meditation Techniques — my morning meditation only takes 4-minutes
There are many meditation techniques, but few that I’ve come across that are as helpful as this one, which is my morning meditation and it only takes 4-minutes to complete. This morning meditation is best done outside, but can be done indoors. There are four positions...
Buddhism Taking Refuge or How Do We Make Ourselves Feel Safe?
One of our Live Conscious community members recently participated in a Buddhist dharma leadership retreat. He shared with us that in Buddhism taking refuge is a important concept, and he asked us to think about how we take refuge. He explained that we can “take...
Life After Death: The Great Mystery / Wake Up!
Nicholas Kardaras in Psychology Today asks the existential question: “What happens to us after we die?…Do we fade into the nothingness of nonexistence or do we wake as a newly born crying infant in a karmic cycle of reincarnation? Or maybe there’s...
Can a Tree Consciously Experience the World? Robert Lanza, M.D. – The Huffinton Post
I do love Robert Lanza’s article on the consciousness of a tree. Ever since “The Secret Life of Plants”, by Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird, came out in 1973, I was almost as concerned about eating plants as l was animals! Plants actually know...
Sensing Ourselves at Maya Tulum
On the seventh morning, of our Maya Tulum retreat we greet ourselves with a most remarkable sunrise… as Mayan zen-like monks rake the powder-fine white sand beach…seemingly just raking as they rake. The turquoise water is the clearest and gentlest since we...
Therapy Retreats
Therapy retreats (good ones) may be more effective than weekly therapy sessions in bringing about personal growth and development. By participating in a high quality, week-long (or longer) therapy retreat, we’re able to access deeper levels of ourselves. We...
Is It Realistic To Befriend Ourselves?
Pema Chodron is an ordained Buddhist nun in the Tibetan Vajrayana tradition. One of the goals of her work is to apply Buddhist teachings in everyday life. Consider her words: “Loving-kindness (maitri) toward ourselves doesn’t mean getting rid of anything....
What is Spirituality?
I think of Live Conscious not only as a psychological practice and a set of communications tools, but as a spiritual practice as well. I hear many people talk about spirituality—of course I live in Santa Fe… but, even elsewhere, I hear many references to...
Moments
Have you ever taken notice of moments? The moments I am talking about are like photographic stills, or perhaps movie clips where my attention is fully focused and I feel extremely alive. I am suddenly fully awake and present. Shifting myself out of auto-pilot ....
What Are You Paying Attention To?
All day long we bring certain things—experiences—to life while ignoring other experiences. We do this mostly unconsciously, but we can do so consciously. The key is how we use our attention. I think of attention as our paint brush, life our canvas. Did anyone ever...
