Dharma explorations by Stephanie Noble

From over fifteen years of sharing her understanding of Buddhist concepts

  • The Conscious Heart

    “We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.” – Thornton Wilder This quote was shared in the poetry class I attend and it has stayed with me. At first I thought it was because it speaks to the treasure of being alive to feel…

  • When things trigger painful memories

    When I’m studying French on the Duolingo app, sometimes I find myself thinking about a restaurant where we recently met up with family members. Why? I was early and used the time to finish up my lesson while we waited for them, and now the restaurant and Duolingo are linked in some mental thought thread…

  • GYR-8! The Gyroscope and the Buddha’s Eight Worldly Winds

    Last spring we looked at the Eight Worldly Winds: pleasure & pain, gain & loss, praise & censure, status & disgrace. Each of us is always in some relationship with these ‘winds’. If we are not experiencing them, perhaps we are chasing after them or running away from them. You can notice this for yourself.…

  • Happy Valentine’s Day!

    In Mexico it is the day of love and friendship. In elementary school we give valentines to everyone. It’s only when hormones kick in that it becomes a special greeting to a heartthrob. If you have a heartthrob, may you enjoy a sweet celebration of romantic love. If you don’t have a heartthrob, let this…

  • How to develop a moral compass…or a gyroscope

    In the last post, I wrote about codes of ethics that guide us with a reliable set of rules to keep us out of trouble. As helpful as this code is, it takes an on-the-spot thought process that isn’t always convenient: First, we feel an impulse to do or say something; then we just do…