Spirituality

Can't Sit Still? What To Do With Restlessness in Meditation

Can’t Sit Still? What To Do With Restlessness in Meditation

Meeting restlessness with curiosity in meditation Every meditator experiences ebbs and flows in practice. There are times when awareness arrests us, engulfing us in crystalline stillness. Other times we brace against squalls of the anxiety. Sometimes our discipline is sharp and square; we practice without waver. Other times we are reluctant to drag ourselves to

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On the Pilgrim's Path: Walking as a Metaphor for Life

On the Pilgrim’s Path: Walking as a Metaphor for Life

Walking the path of patience and resilience The bamboo forest appeared surreal and fantastical. The vertical, segmented columns rose into feathered tops that swayed in the wind, the path covered by long, papery leaves. I hiked the forest in astonishment. In my imagination, bamboo forests are places of old Eastern legends, the backdrop of martial

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The Hardest Part of Practice: Practicing!

The Hardest Part of Practice: Practicing!

Aristotle once made a distinction between five forms of knowing:  Phronesis (practical knowledge), episteme(knowledge), sophia (wisdom), techne (skill), and logos (reason).  Phronesis is expertise forged by experience, the authority of a subject earned through practice.  Episteme, on the other hand, is declarative knowledge generated through research and study.  The challenge of shaping a life lies

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Three Analogies for Mindfulness

Three Analogies for Mindfulness

The mindfulness movement has gained significant momentum in recent decades.  There is now widespread interest in mindfulness techniques and practices in the promotion of mental health.  Many educators and health-care professionals see mindfulness—a suite of techniques that harness attention and awareness—as a way to manage stress and anxiety.  The utilization of this technique as a

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