Dear Friends,
I am just back from a walk in the park with a dear friend. While there and on the way home, I saw people taking time to be together, neighbors talking to neighbors on the street, and a sense of life really slowing down. Much of this is the result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the government’s request for social distancing — including no non-essential travel and remaining at home as much as possible.
Read MoreDear Friends,
When I was about seven years old, I spontaneously developed a mantra that allowed me to make it through any emotionally painful conversation with my parents. I would repeat to myself, “She’s not going to kill me” whenever I was being reprimanded by her. This mantra allowed me to stuff my feelings and avoid collapsing in tears or running to my room - either of which simply made her madder.
Read MoreDear Friends,
I’m so grateful my very good friend Jules is guest blogging this month. Jules shares her personal story of finding joy even when experiencing suffering - along with very clear and easy steps from the Buddha on how to do this.
Many thanks to Jules for this beautiful story!
with love,
annie.
Read MoreDuring this time of year, we may find that we get triggered by our families and friends or the expectations of the holiday season. If you’ve picked up a self-help book or read a holiday blog, you know that the supposed answer to all of this is to learn how to set boundaries. In addition to a lifelong self-help book addict, I am also a student of the Buddha, who says that in the ultimate dimension there is no separation between me and you, between me and this computer, or between me and the rain coming down at this moment. If there’s no separation, how can there be a boundary? This is a question I have pondered while watching the rain fall.
Read MoreDear Friends,
This month I am sharing a piece written by my friend Yenkuei Chuang. Yenkuei is a fellow practitioner in the mindfulness tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh and member of the Order of Interbeing - meaning she was ordained by Thich Nhat Hanh.
This piece is interesting and important. It describes the experiences of an Asian woman of color in a practice born in Asia. A practice populated by mostly white people in the U.S. It is a brave piece that may bring about some discomfort as you read it, but I hope that you will take the time to read it and reflect. Comments are welcome.
with love,
annie.
Read MoreSomeone critiqued my blog recently, saying he wished I would write about some of the good things that happened in my life, and not just my personal challenges. He wanted to hear more of what I do well. I hear that. And yet, my foibles and challenges are the places where l have learned the most and which provide lessons to share with my students and readers. Someday I may write a blog about my proudest moments. But not today.
Today, I want to share a short vignette about chocolate.
Read MoreLast month, while attending a family retreat at Blue Cliff Monastery, I gave a talk on mindful parenting. In the talk, I share lots of stories of our parenting struggles and how the practice of mindfulness helped me/us get through it and find love and joy in the process. Parenting is hard. And my personal practice, looking clearly at what is really happening, and connecting to other parents are the things that consistently helped us.
Read MoreA number of years ago, I fulfilled a long-time dream of signing up for a pottery class. I loved the idea of creating wheel-thrown pottery. I spent so much of my daily life in mental activities that I craved the visceral and embodied. I yearned to sink my hands into a lump of moist raw clay and feel something beautiful spring into life as my fingers pulled forth a unique work of art.
Read MoreDear Friends,
Some days I think I will never get anything right.
No matter how many yoga classes I go to or how many hours I sit on my meditation cushion (OK, some of those moments are spent checking my Facebook page), I still manage to piss people off by forgetting to invite them to something or giving them advice when they don’t want it. I hate that I can’t stop rolling my eyes and being sarcastic, and I’m still mad at myself for telling a good friend all the reasons I dislike someone she adores. What is wrong with me?
Read MoreSeveral years ago, I was preparing to teach my Tuesday morning Mindful Yoga class at Circle Yoga in Washington DC. I was sitting at the front of the class as students streamed in, setting up mats, blankets and bolsters.
Four minutes before class was due to begin, one of my regular students walked into class and straight to where I was sitting. She handed me a small newspaper clipping without saying a word. I assumed it was a yoga comic or other funny yoga tidbit. It wasn’t.
Read MoreIn my college sorority room, back in the “olden” days, the telephone was attached to the wall. This meant that while I was on the phone getting berated by my parents about being placed on academic probation and my continuing lack of a major, my roommate Janet, a computer science student, was on her side of the room drawing with fine tip markers on computer paper. And smirking.
Read MoreSix years ago, I made a real commitment to taking better care of myself. Although I was a yoga teacher and to all appearances looked very healthy, I knew I wasn’t feeling as good as I could. I drank more often than I wanted to, ended most of my days with a couple of hours of TV, and managed to sleep through all of the morning practices I wanted to be doing.
Read MoreI have been living in a small house in the Blue Ridge mountains, up a long winding driveway for most of 2019. When it snows, I can’t get out of the driveway until my neighbor has time to bring his tractor plow up and help me out. And since he is busy plowing for the county, it usually doesn’t get plowed for several days.
My home has been in the city of Washington, D.C. for thirty-four years, which is hard to believe, but true. When I’m staying in the city, the part of me that wants to run after people, activities, and restaurants gets really going. As a result, my ability to be satisfied with what I already have gets weaker….
Read MoreI recently got angry about an email I received in which someone explained something they did which annoyed me. My first reaction was anger and judgment: “Why would they do this? What were they thinking?!” Then, my Perfect-Mindfulness-Person part chimed in with a falsely sweet voice…
Read MoreMountain walk in early spring. It looks like a Safeway the night before a blizzard. All the shelves are empty – barren trees, grey and brown. A few half-eaten berries on a branch. Nothing remains. As a very young girl, growing up in Michigan, winters were long. As soon as the snow began to melt…
Read MoreWalking my dogs up Mt. Weather in the Blue Ridge Mountains recently, I saw a little white flower that had survived our mild early winter. I would have easily missed seeing it, except that Roger, one of our feisty little Terriers, had stopped to sniff and pee nearby.
Read MoreMy husband and I got into a dispute recently over our shared google calendar. He hadn't put something on our calendar and so that day I was surprised that he wasn't coming home for dinner.
Read MoreDuring a Question & Answer session some years ago, Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh was asked, “What is the hardest part of your practice?”
Read MoreOver the last week we have heard some extremely discouraging news about our irreplaceable planet.
Read MoreI wrote my first blog post about mindful eating in 2008. Since then I've written several more posts and an entire book about mindful eating.
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