What am I doing NOW? Whenever in stress, feeling insecured about the future or repentant about the past, I tell myself to get a hold of the present moment. It helps immensely. It is an amazing thing. In fact in my life so far I barely have come across something more amazing than this! It …
Author: Anonymous
A pure and simple practice
Reading a couple of different magazines that deal with Buddhism and meditation (and related matters) I could not avoid reflecting (once again) on how everything can become another “product” and how spirituality is the umbrella under which books, cds, seminars, dvds and many other things are sold. Masters, gurus and leaders of different groups/ …
Take Rest, Wherever You Go (Another Love Letter to Georgia)
“I long, as does every human, to be at home wherever I find myself.” ~ Maya Angelou Went back to my childhood home for Christmas. Slept in the same seaside bungalow I slept in as a kid and ate Grandma’s rum cake with my loving family 'round the same mahogany table. Then drove down to …
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Extending our meditation practice into different areas of my life.
Some easy things I've been trying lately: -Focusing on my breathing while driving, showering and other activities. Of course is not as intense as in Anapana when sitting in a quiet space, but I’m finding it a helpful practice to calm my mind. -Bringing awareness over my body several times a day: am I relaxed …
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Vipassana Research Project_2_Can humiliating past experiences distracts Vipassana Practitioners?
Let me start by wishing all the blog readers – a very happy, prosperous New Year!! Let me start by wishing all the blog readers – a very happy, prosperous New Year!! At times, we are told traditionally to divert the attention to positive thoughts when some undesirable memories occupy our mind. We are often …
Some Inspirational Words
My name is Sam Biggs, from New Zealand. I completed a 10 day course at North Fork, California some three months back and like many of you reading this blog I had a great experience with Vipassana. Now that I'm back home I really don't want to lose what I've gained. I've been doing two …
Seven Days of Christmas
On the first day, the 23rd of the month of December, on the road from the city did I go, laden with warm clothes, presents and intensifying thoughts of panic of thinking another CHRISTMAS! This will also change Next year I am to marry. The woman by my side is the water to my fire, …
Basketball, Buddha, and Sangha
So my gig as a basketball coach isn’t going very well. Not only do I find myself angrily whining and whimpering about the officiating like every single coach I ever made fun of during the 10 years I spent as a player did, but there’s this little thing called teamwork… That doesn’t come easily. You …
Vipassana Research Findings_1
As you might know, sometime back I have conducted a research on behavioural difference between people who practice Vipassana and people who don’t practice Vipassana. I have tested differences between these groups covering 4 dimensions – Ability to reflect and Change behaviour, Self-Awareness, Self-Regulation and Empathy. For example, I have asked participants to rate following …
I won’t run away
Sticking blindly to a practice does not make us liberated. Skepticism creeps in. Doubts hover over the tranquility. Through the dark alley behind a gloomy tenement the days pass by. One hour of silence seems to be a wall which can never be scaled. And rest 23 hours are of no respite. Facing the mundane …
Living Vipassana 