I was happy for my friend. I’ve known him for a long while. Now in his forties, he began to practice meditation a few months ago. After a few weeks, the leader of his meditation group invited him to attend an eight-day silent retreat focused on meditation practice. My friend… Read More »It’s Just Ordinary
Of the areas for personal growth that have been a challenge for me throughout my life, anger has been the most insidious. There are times when my anger flares and seems to take over who I am. I’ve also experienced attempting to not respond to the anger when I don’t… Read More »Anger: An Unexpected Blaze
Finding information on meditation and techniques is quite easy today. Classes are taught at Buddist sanghas, Christian churches, Jewish synagogues, yoga studios, health clubs, gyms…just about any place where people can gather. In metropolitan areas, there are often large outdoor meditation sittings where people of various traditions gather. From the… Read More »The Uniqueness of Christian Contemplative Prayer
I read and study a wide variety of literature on spirituality. While I am a Christian, my spiritual practice also draws on elements of Buddhism. It’s often been the case that Buddhist practice has helped me gain a better understanding of Christianity. Many people have drawn on both Christianity and… Read More »A Buddhist Christian? A Contradiction?
How do you conceive or understand prayer? Many of us understand prayer in terms of words: we ask for things. Whether the prayer is to God or the Universe, we make requests for something we believe to be good or to avoid what we believe to be bad. This is… Read More »Moving Deeper into Prayer
In many parts of the world, including the United States, there is a growing desire to eat food grown from seeds that were not genetically modified, i.e., non-GMO foods. Much of this food is organic. Monsanto, as well as other companies, make seeds that are genetically modified to resist the… Read More »Tending One’s Own Vineyard
The conversation was very thoughtful. She chose her words with great care. As I listened to her responses to my questions, I found myself going deeper into her life experience. Rebecca (not her real name) is a participant in a research study I’m conducting on spirituality and its relationship to… Read More »Spiritual Practice and the Fear of Death
Meditation is a spiritual practice that I was informally introduced to in my youth. A few of my teachers in Catholic school encouraged me to practice “quiet prayer” as they called it. Later, in college, I read some books about meditation and tried to figure it out on my own.… Read More »Things That Would Have Been Helpful To Know When I Began a Meditation Practice
