Tag: neutral observation
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Are These Gas Prices High or Something? — Zen Drop 26
Gas prices keep going up.So you’re standing at the pump, watching the numbers climb like it’s a horror movie. Suddenly, a wise old monk walks up and says,“Your resistance is only making this worse.” “Great,” you say. “Does that mean you’re buying?”Because then we might be getting somewhere. We’ve all heard it: grin and bear it.Which…
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Breathing In… Breathing Out… One Movement
Read time 1 minute. A uniquely subtle but important reframing of breath awareness practice as movement and transition. Breath awareness practice. The foundation of mindfulness.There are many methods. Here’s one you might not have considered. Something simple: Forget counting breaths.Forget inhale.Forget exhale. Forget the names entirely. Consider, instead, the qualities within a breath. Pressure.A subtle…
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Everyone Meditates: A Different Way to Understand Meditation
Read time 2 minutes. Meditation isn’t something you add to life. It’s what happens when you stop interfering. Do you meditate?Everyone meditates.Just not in the way we might think. If you’ve ever sat with a decision instead of forcing it—if you’ve ever let an idea breathe—if you’ve ever watched something unfold without touching it—you were…
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SexyIndifference: Zen Drop 016
Read time 2 minutes. SexyIndifference: All the effectiveness of dislike—without all that extra. Jason Bateman says it all the time on Smartless.“Sexy indifference.” You’re cool. You’re present.No applause expected, no applause required. That’s SexyIndifference. It’s presence without performance. But it’s warm neutrality.Not cold detachment. It’s the opposite of trying to act like you’re not trying.It’s just… not trying.…
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Active Awareness: Interested In Everything
Read time 5 minutes. Zen in not disinterested. Disinterest numbs. Active Awareness sharpens. Last week, while looking at acceptance, we discovered how easy it is to slip into subtle bias. We may force a kind of enthusiasm that isn’t really there, and when we can’t maintain it, frustration follows. Neutrality offers relief—but if we swing…
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Abundance: Receiving Life In The Face of Unrestful Distress
Read time 5 minutes. Abundance is a stand alone article in our Blocked Energy series. Some weeks press harder than others. Noise in the world multiplies, and our minds run with it. Today let’s expand the meaning and definition of blocked energy. There is something we often overlook, though it never stops offering itself: abundance. Life, meaning,…
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Mindful Listening: A Meditation Game
Read time 4 minutes. Mindful listening is a stand alone article in our Blocked Energy series. We’ve spoken often about the importance of accepting and allowing. Most of the time the focus has been on mental attitude—how we relate to thoughts, how we lean into letting go. Today, let’s turn the lens slightly and look at the…
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Blocked Energy: The Birth of Unfinished Business
Read time 4 minutes. This is a stand alone article in our Blocked Energy series. The teachings speak often about the benefits of remaining open to whatever life throws our way. We hear it said: let go, don’t cling. But the deeper message is not to become some idealized open person. The invitation is to practice in…
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A Knowing Glance Within: I See You
Read time 4 minutes. A Knowing Glance Within is a stand alone article in our Everyday Zen series. Let’s pick up where we left off with Everyday Zen. Today I want to focus on the act of a knowing glance within—a glimpse of allowing. Why another lesson on this? Because if you’ve been following these practices, the…