When I was seven years old, something unexpected happened. Something that changed how I showed up, perceived others and experienced life through a lens that was ever evolving as I traversed childhood and adulthood …. and even now, as I prepare to enter elderhood in the years to come. I spent a magical summer with an aunt in Wyoming learning…
“If you want to conquer the anxiety of life, live in the moment, live in the breath.” -Amit Ray It sounds so simple, childlike even, to say “just breathe.” You would think in the territory of suffering that our first best move might be something extraordinary, a momentous act, like “dial this number to directly reach the appropriate divine being,” or…
An inch of water wobbles in the handmade bowl cupped between my hands. I raise the clay vessel to the cloudless sky, praising rains long past for nourishing the land, for allowing streams to flow, for recharging the subterranean aquifer whose miracle waters runs through my household tap. Although right now no water comes through the tap; something has gone…
As part of our “Garrison Talks at the JCC” event series at the Marlene Myerson JCC Manhattan, meditation teacher and author Sharon Salzberg recently spoke with Dr. Chris Willard, a psychologist and educational consultant, and Dr. Mark Bertin, a developmental pediatrician and mindfulness teacher, about how to cultivate resilience in our children. Sharon Salzberg: Do you think it’s harder for kids these…
In Zen we say that everyone is already a buddha, an awakened one. But we don’t know we are until we are shaken out of our complacent habitual thoughts and see clearly that everything we encounter, including ourselves, has the same awakened nature.
Buddhist teacher Joseph Goldstein was once waiting for take-out in a restaurant and the man helping him talked about a dream of moving to Wyoming. He longed for the open space, the beauty. Joseph said to the fellow, “You know, there’s an inner Wyoming.” This story always makes me smile when I think of Joseph, in the middle of a…
We typically think of those in caring professions like health care workers, teachers, and social justice organizers engaging in contemplative practices to cultivate their resilience. A quite different perspective is to consider how those who are being cared for can contribute to the resilience of their caregivers. Through nearly 10 years of teaching mindfulness in prison, and mentoring prisoners in…
Final preparations are being made by the Contemplative-Based Resilience (CBR) Project team for our biggest operational moment of 2018 so far. From March 20th to March 29th, the CBR Project’s team of psychologists and meditation and mindful movement teachers will be on the ground in the Middle East offering direct support and building the resiliency skills of aid workers in…