Loch Kelly uses the metaphor of computer software when talking about an awareness-based way of living and operating. He says, “It’s not a matter of just having these momentary meditation states of freedom and peace of mind. You can actually live from non-conceptual awareness based on an open-hearted sense of being…

Zen priest and actor Peter Coyote gives us a concise description of Buddhism and the pursuit of enlightenment as “[T]he wisdom that transcends likes and dislikes.” He also has conceived and conducts mask workshops that offer improvisational mask games as a way to see more clearly into a deeper wisdom available…

After experiencing a spontaneous transcendent mystical experience, Tim Burkett sought spiritual instruction in Buddhist meditation. This was in 1964 before meditation was even on the American radar and there were hardly any Buddhist teachers on the scene. Looking in a San Francisco phone book he found a listing for a…

Have you ever tried to meditate regularly but had trouble sticking to it? Have you told yourself that you just don’t have enough discipline to sit and tame your mind, rest in the space between thoughts, or achieve a completely blank mind? Dean Sluyter advocates what he calls natural meditation.…

We’ve all been taught that meditation is good for us and mindfulness practices should be done daily. Thurman challenges us when he suggests that meditation should not take us out of the world of suffering. He’s learned this from his decades studying Tibetan Buddhism and has gained an understanding that the real…

Are we limited, damaged, and inadequate? Gail Brenner says we are not. She understands that the self-help movement can be useful, but believes that we possess the capacity to spontaneously find inner peace. She shares ideas for shedding the stories and thought patterns that bring about negative feelings. “The end of…

“Awake-ism,” in Buddhist teacher Nichtern’s view, means to be aware, open, and compassionate. He looks at Buddhist thought as a useful psychological, philosophical, and ethical system that anyone can make use of. We can all agree that living an awake life is a good thing. His advice for living in…

How often have you exclaimed, “There isn’t enough time.” Albert Einstein once wrote: “People like us who believe in physics know that the distinction between past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.” Lisa Broderick says “Once you understand the science of time, you understand that our experience of time is one part physical…

Prayer can influence our state of mind which then has an effect on our state of body. It’s a portal that connects us with Divine Source and is an intensely personal journey inward as well as an act of conversation with the Presence of the Infinite or what some call…

The brain is exquisitely sensitive and responsive to its inner and outer environment. New neural pathways and new brain cells are continuously forming, and, at the same time, the brain is constantly pruning unused connections. It’s extremely complex with its multiple feedback loops, redundant protective mechanisms, its vast number of…