Category: Videos
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Maybe Karma’s Not the Bitch Around Here
Read time 2 minutes. Karma—Is she a goddess, or just a girl named Karma? Either way, the phrase “karma’s a bitch” hardly seems appropriate. Whenever a defendant loses on Judge Judy, they always say the same thing:“It is what it is.”As if everything is completely out of their control. Sure, stuff happened while I was walking my…
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Be Kind To Karma: Zen Drop 023
Read time 1 minute. Be kind to karma. It’s the only karma you’ll ever need. So karma’s a bitch, huh?Well, that’s one way to greet the universe.Let’s call it… a choice. The Germans have a word—schadenfreude—taking pleasure in someone else’s misfortune. Maybe if English had a word like that,we wouldn’t be so quick to call…
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Goth Zen and the Art of Melancholy: Living Disguised as Loss
Read time 2 minutes. The Art of Melancholy is a stand alone article in our ongoing Goth Zen series. We chase light.We idealize positivity as if it is synonymous with living. Meanwhile, every tradition whispers of balance, equality, and the middle way. There’s a feeling that washes in when summer turns to fall—a sense of satisfaction, of being…
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Goth Zen: Cleopatra Eyes—Drawing the Line Before Crossing It
Read time 2 minutes. Goth Zen isn’t costume worship. It’s the same instinct that made the ancients draw a sacred outline around the window of perception. Cleopatra Eyes is a stand alone article in our ongoing Goth Zen series. Goth Zen? Seems silly, right? Maybe.Until you realize that some rituals are as old as the pyramids. You know…
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SacredEffort: The Power of Devotion (When No One’s Watching)
Read time under a minute. Zen practice transforms all effort into SacredEffort. Ever wonder if it matters?If anyone’s watching? Some routines are just ruts.They disappear over time.But some…Some are sacred.You keep doing them even when no one thanks you.Even when nothing changes. Even when you’re questioning your faith. Because you remember what it means.And that…
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The Illusion of I and the Burden of Concepts and Ideas
Read time 5 minutes. The attached video opens with a quote from One Dharma by Joseph Goldstein: “Thoughts themselves are the thinker.” The Illusion of I is a stand alone article in our Who Am I series. At first glance, this statement is almost disarming in its simplicity. But if we sit with it, the implications unravel the very core…
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Video: Conscious Awareness and the Nature of Illusion
Redefining illusion There are two reoccurring themes referenced in this video. First, you are not your thoughts and emotions. You are the one that witnesses the thoughts and emotions. Second, there is an illusory quality to reality as we experience it. Orgyen Chowang makes a subtle yet profound point regarding illusion which I have often…