Dharma explorations by Stephanie Noble

From over fifteen years of sharing her understanding of Buddhist concepts

  • Eightfold Path: Right Livelihood

    For many of us, how we make our living is tightly woven into who we are. One of the first things people ask us when they meet us is “What do you do?” because how we choose to make a living offers people clues into many other aspects of our identity, including our values, skills…

  • Eightfold Path: Right Effort

    Right Effort brings joy and ease. If after meditation we feel neither joy nor ease, then we have not exerted Right Effort. This is true in any other activity in our lives as well. Effort is expending physical or mental energy. We can feel energy in our bodies, so we can feel when we are…

  • Even Bad Habits Don’t Deserve to be Kicked!

    A More Effective Way to Dealwith Destructive Behavior The spacious mind that arises out of the regular practice of meditation is a perfect stage for noticing a self-destructive behavior, and then noticing the voice inside us that activates or instigates that behavior. This noticing and listening is much more effective than trying to strong arm…

  • Eightfold Path: Wise Action: Precepts

    Wise Action, like all aspects of the Eightfold Path, arises out of the foundation of Right Understanding or View and the anchor of Right Intention. However, as mentioned in the last post, we may have challenging habitual patterns and unconscious behavior that sabotage our efforts to Wise Action. We come to the practice humbled by…

  • Eightfold Path: Right or Wise Action

    Our view of the world determines our actions. If we see the world as a scary place our actions will stem from fear and be defensive. They will be rooted in our intention to protect ourselves from harm. In this protective state of lock down where we see enemies all around us, we will not…