Category: Foundations
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Authentic Experience: Radical Acceptance and Absolute Freedom
Read time 4 minutes. Authentic Experience is a stand alone article in our series regarding Acceptance Today we return to the theme of radical acceptance. In doing so, several related ideas emerge: experience, purpose, freedom, and identity. A Zen mindset frames these differently than we are used to. Instead of “personal experience,” Zen speaks of authentic experience.…
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The Purpose-Driven Life of Zen: The Freedom of Allowing
Read time 3 minutes. Exploring the simplicity that accompanies the purpose-driven life. Arnold Schwarzenegger once described how his career began with a simple, uncompromising purpose: to win Mr. Universe, then build from there into celebrity. That clarity gave him parameters. He no longer had to question whether to get to the gym. He became, in…
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Nonacceptance: Acceptance’s Uneasy Bedfellow
Read time 4 minutes. Nonacceptance is a stand alone article in our series regarding Acceptance. Today we continue the discussion of radical acceptance, and what we find may be unsettling. Zen suggests that acceptance is the goal, but paradoxically, the entry point is nonacceptance. It is only by becoming intimate with our refusal to accept that…
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Radical Acceptance: Is It Just A Bit Too Radical For Me Right Now?
Read time 3 minutes. Radical Acceptance is a stand alone article in our series regarding Acceptance. When we talk about radical acceptance, it’s tempting to frame it as an all-or-nothing proposition. Zen teachings certainly suggest as much. Accept everything, without exception. But what if you’re not ready for that? What if the very idea feels…
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Neutral Observation Meditation in Review: Taking Back the Reins
Read time 3 minutes. Neutral Observation Meditation is a stand alone article in our series regarding mindfulness and meditation. In recent lessons we’ve explored what I’ve loosely called active meditations. One of the most accessible of these is neutral observation meditation—learning to step back and watch our thoughts and emotions even as we’re caught up in stories, games,…
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Active Meditation Practice: The Stories We Tell Ourselves
Read time 3 minutes. This active meditation practice is a stand alone article in our series regarding mindfulness and meditation. In earlier lessons I spoke at length about the practice of letting go. Today we merge that theme with our discussion of active meditation. The practice I’ll outline is simple: it can be done in leisure time,…
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Presence and Active Meditation: The Practice Field of This Moment
Read time 4 minutes. Presence and Active Meditation is a stand alone article in our series regarding mindfulness and meditation. In our last lesson we considered active meditations and their potential to lead us into deeper states of awareness. I suggested they can even open the door to Absolute Presence and Absolute Freedom. That is a bold claim, and perhaps a…
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Active Meditation: What Is It? What Are the Benefits?
Read time 2 minutes. Active Meditation is a stand alone article in our series regarding mindfulness and meditation. Today we take up the value of active meditation. Since all forms of meditation invite presence into our lives, we will also return to this theme in the next few lessons. Presence, after all, is at the heart of…
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Traditional Meditation: A Realistic, Come to Buddha, Conversation
Read time 2 minutes. Managing our expectations of meditation. Traditional meditation is a stand alone article in our series regarding mindfulness and meditation. We won’t be talking about technique today, but about the real value of traditional meditation—and the challenges that inevitably come with it. When I first began meditating, my expectations were sky-high. I thought traditional…