From over fifteen years of sharing her understanding of Buddhist concepts
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Goody-Goody!
Last week we talked about the value of doing self-exploration and inquiry when we find ourselves in a state of feeling threatened. Fear and contraction are the experiences through which the compressed hard rock of our false identity was formed. Practicing being in the present moment, which is what meditation is, develops the ability to…
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At the Push of a Button
When someone pushes our buttons and we react in our habitual ways, it’s uncomfortable and disconcerting perhaps, but it’s also an opportunity for an adventure in self-discovery. A few weeks ago in the lesson titled ‘Taking Refuge, Taking Root’ I used the analogy of a plant rooting, and I talked about how we might contract…
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Just a Minute
Last week we experimented with meditating for exactly one minute. Hopefully some of you tried it during the week as well. If so, what was your experience? I notice that I feel much more relaxed, alert and present than I would have expected from just one minute of meditation. It made me realize that when…
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Things Fall Apart
We develop a practice of meditation, finding the ways that work best for us: The perfect place, the perfect time, the perfect intention and the perfect way to bring ourselves into a state of spaciousness and ease. And then causes and conditions change. The ‘seas’ that we talked about last week as a metaphor for…
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Taking Refuge, Taking Responsibility
Two weeks ago we talked about taking refuge and how refuge is not a place to escape to but a relationship, a way of being supported by the inspiration of the Buddha and the discovery of our own Buddha nature; supported by the dharma, both the teachings and the wisdom we find in nature; and…
STEPHANIE NOBLE 