Yoga and hiking are the only two forms of exercise I enjoy that also help me stay present. Yoga naturally encourages you to be present with your sensations as you adjust your pose to maximize the lengthening and stretching. When I'm hiking the beauty of the outdoors reminds me to get out of my own …
Category: Observations
Where Are The Easy Goals?
Finite goals are wonderful because you can set them, work on them, complete them, and check them off your list. You feel good because you've accomplished something and it doesn't necessarily matter what it is. I have friends who make lists just because the like the feeling of crossing things off. Its visual proof of …
Social Pressure
Sometimes it's difficult to navigate between what is generally accepted and what is true. Peer pressure is real and it's often painful to stand alone. We don't always have the luxury to just evaluate what is right or wrong, true or false, important or unimportant without worrying about how other people will respond to our …
Contributing To All My Communities
I've rambled in several posts about self-confidence issues, feeling disconnected and isolated with my practice, a desire to connect with people, and confusion about why things seem different since learning to meditate but I haven't been able to clearly pinpoint the core agitation. I'm not sure I've reached the core yet but I think I've taken …
Technology Is A Distraction
I left Dhamma Patapa a little over a month ago and the most dramatic shift I've noticed is the number of distractions available to me. Now that I have access to all forms of technology I've discovered that my samadhi (concentration) has taken a huge step backwards. I started thinking about my childhood growing up …
Vibrations
This post is going to struggle to have a linear path because I don't really understand vibrations as a whole. Instead I've experienced little bits of the reality of vibrations that I'm going to attempt to piece together here. Everyone knows what emotions are and everyone knows that emotions can be contagious. When one person starts …
The Seed Of Truth That I Can’t Escape
Vipassana meditation reminds me of the movie The Matrix. Morpheus explains to Neo, "This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill - the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill - you stay …
Sex, Drugs, And Alcohol
I'm about to open up a can of worms. This is a loaded subject that can be controversial and is often avoided but sex, drugs and alcohol are such huge parts of our society that I want to give my two cents. I want to emphasize that the following thoughts are mine alone and not …
I Think Therefore I Am Not?
In response to my "Trusting The Rip Tide" post Trygve wrote about accepting that there is no self makes letting go easier. Intellectually I understand where he's coming from but experientially I'm not even close. Trygve warns against seeking rational answer because it will result in chasing my own tail but since this blog is about …
Helping Others Live The “Right Way”
I've been fascinated by the diversity of people, their lives, and their choices since I left protected and sheltered cocoon of my parents house to work for a non-profit in Harlem, NY. When my best friend became a 50-year-old happy black ex-con my bubble was officially burst. I was raised in a culture that described a …
Living Vipassana 