Dear friends,
Our friends over at Plum Village interviewed me last week and our talk - where I answer four questions - is published on their site!
In this talk, we cover mindfulness in the face of challenge, my daily rituals, the immense joy I get from community and why, and what mindfulness groups are like on Zoom!
Read MoreDear Friends,
If we are enraged by listening to the news during this challenging season, we can use our mindfulness practice to turn toward our rage and make good use of it in order to protect the most vulnerable and oppressed.
In addition to serving the common good, using our anger in this way releases the stuckness that we often feel when anger builds up inside of us.
Read MoreDear Friends,
This month I wrote about my recent foray into cancer and cancer treatment and how my mindfulness practice supported me.
It’s been published here in Elephant Journal. Would you help me reach more people by reading and — if you're inspired — liking and sharing?
Also, once you're there, please don't forget to follow me on Elephant Journal!
Thank you for supporting me and sharing my story. I'm hoping it will help others who are diagnosed with cancer, or experiencing other forms of suffering.
READ ARTICLE HERE
Dear Friends,
This month's blog is up on Elephant Journal... It's about dealing with our internal biases and feelings that we inherit from our families and culture...
Would you help us reach more people by reading and — if you're inspired — liking and sharing? Click below to go to article on Elephant Journal.
Thank you and enjoy!
Dear Friends,
While reading about the Lotus Sutra, I came across a figure who I find to be one of the most inspiring in all of Buddhism-- the Bodhisattva Sadaparibhuta, whose name can be translated to “Never Despising” or “Never Disparaging”.
The story of Sadaparibhuta is that he was the one person who could see that each and every one of us has Buddha Nature. And since each of us is really a Buddha, underneath our sometimes shabby exteriors, Sadaparibhuta realized that it wouldn’t make sense to disparage or despise anyone.
Read MoreTraveler, there is no way, the way is made by going.
By walking you make the path, and when you look back,
You see the track where you should never walk again.
-Antonio Machado
Dear Friends,
In September 2001, after seeing the devastation brought on by war and conflict, I decide to take a small compassionate step toward healing. I started a class teaching mediation and mindfulness to the 3rd graders in my kids’ elementary school. Later I added kids yoga classes, and within a year, I found a room to rent at the corner of 39th and Northampton Streets in NW DC. Nearly 20 years on, three important communities have formed from these small seeds: the nationally recognized Peace of Mind school program, Circle Yoga Cooperative, and Opening Heart Mindfulness Community.
Read MoreDear Friends,
This month, I am sharing a piece written by my friend Linda Loranger. Linda is a part of the OHMC sangha and I’m so grateful to her for sharing her thoughts with us.
Comments are always welcome.
with love,
annie.
Read MoreDear Friends,
When I first started studying mindfulness with Thich Nhat Hanh, he spoke a lot about the need for a sangha – a community of practice. He said, “You allow the sangha to transport you like a boat so that you can cross the ocean of sorrow.”
There is an often-quoted story about the Buddha. When the Buddha was asked whether spiritual friends were half of the path to awakening, he said no. He went on to say that spiritual friends are actually the whole of the path.
The whole? What about meditation and doing the dishes mindfully?…
Read MoreDear 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 More
