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Developing a Daily Meditation Practice: Practice Tips
Practice Tip #6 – Practice patience On certain days we may find our sits to be spacious and relaxing, while others are filled with racing thoughts and distractions; this is natural. It is unrealistic to expect ourselves to be able to transform all of the things we struggle with overnight or even in a couple […]
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Developing a Daily Meditation Practice: Practice Tips
Practice Tip #4 – Setting an Intention At the beginning of our sits, after we’ve taken a moment to settle down, we can bring our attention to our intention. Bringing to mind that we can be anywhere else, doing anything else, but we have chosen to be here, to practice. What brings us here? We […]
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Developing a Daily Meditation Practice: Practice Tips
Practice Tip #4 – How long should I meditate? If you’re new to meditation, try starting off with just 5 minutes a day, every day. The benefits of meditation comes from having a consistent practice. It is much better to sit 5 minutes a day every day vs 35 minutes once a week. Once you […]
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Developing a Daily Meditation Practice: Practice Tips
Practice Tip #3 – Finding a posture that works for you Our physical body is a natural expression of our mind. If our body is in pain, it will be challenging to still the mind when we are just starting out in developing our daily meditation practice. So finding a comfortable yet alert posture that […]
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Developing a Daily Meditation Practice: Practice Tips
Practice Tip #2 – Organizing Space Choose a quiet safe space in your home specifically for meditation; every time you see this spot, you will come to associate it with your space of formal sitting practice. You will be coming back again and again, so declutter it of any items that may distract you and […]
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Developing a Daily Meditation Practice: Practice Tips
Welcome to the first edition of “Developing a Daily Meditation Practice: Practice Tips”! Here, I will be offering my insights and experience on the ways in which I developed a daily practice. My intention for this new blog series is to provide you with some tools to help you build the kind of structure that […]
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When You Are Rich and Famous
For more on my experience of intensive meditation teacher training in the heart of Toronto, check out my previous post: Adventures in Shamelessness During my first year of training, my meditation teacher Paul was incredibly available and generous with his time, instruction, and attention. Even though I didn’t yet know that attention, like writing, was a […]
Continue ReadingJanuary 11th: Verse 14 of Reflections on Silver River
First half: Matthew, Teacher-in-training Second half: Paul, Senior teacher This week we will work through Verse 14 and its commentary in Reflections on Silver River, Ken McLeod’s translation of Tokmé Zongpo’s Thirty-seven Practices of a Bodhisattva. Verse 14 from Reflections on Silver River: Even if someone broadcasts to the whole universe Slanderous and ugly rumors […]
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Listening to the call of your heart
“With your way of being, you inspire motivation that is no longer about attaining individual liberation, although it includes that; it is not just about helping all beings to be free, although it includes that as well; it is motivation to regard and be with everything we experience right now – and the whole world […]
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Begning Anew
I’d been to Plum Village Monastery in France many times, but one time I visited with my partner Bob. I planned to stay for a week, while Bob planned to stay for 4 or 5 days and then explore the nearby city of Bordeaux. At first, things went well, but then there seemed to be […]
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