Perspectives from the Mountain: Scratching your own back
I recently visited Sonoma Mountain Zen Center with Jun Po Roshi. I went through all the normal stages of hindrance (doubt, aversion, pain, etc) during the first real day, Sunday. On Monday, I was surprised with a private Dokusan with Jun Po. A Dokusan is…
Witness the relationship to yourself and thoughts
“The Varaha Upanishad (Part IV) refers to the Bhumika (‘stage of development of wisdom’) which is of the form of pranava (Aum or Om) as formed of or divided into – akāra, ukāra, makāra and ardhmātra, which is on account of the difference of sthula (‘gross’), sukshama (‘subtle’), bija (‘seed’ or ‘causal’) and sakshi (‘witness’) whose avasthas (‘states’) are – ‘waking’, ‘dreaming’, ‘dream-less sleep’ and…
Zen: Why mindfulness meditators might be missing out
People often ask me: “What is Zen?” and “What is the difference between Zen and meditation?” Have you ever had a really, really tough problem, that you just couldn’t think your way through? Have you ever tried just letting go of the problem for a…
Let Go
Letting go seems to be The last piece blocking me Sitting here I just don’t know How to get back into flow All I can do is sit right here Not focused on things far or near Why do I need to control When the…
Uncontrived spaciousness
With a wide, open mind, the light seeps in. First just a flash, but it grows and throbs. In time, it will begin to highlight everything you see, the world becomes luminous and shiny. Brilliant and beautiful. Sitting at ease, resting in uncontrived spaciousness this…
Why anticipation is something to forget
There’s a trap hidden inside the anticipation of things. We’ve all been there. While it can be exciting to anticipate something in the future, it can also cause us to waste time and energy on something that might not even happen. You know that feeling…
Amp up your Mind in just 10 minutes a day
In the last post I promised this time around I would to get into how your mind is like the CPU of a computer, how meditation is like cranking up the MHz of that CPU, and what you can do with that extra brain power….
Not Mine
When I move I move with the notion That its my own Volition How can it be other Than this Knowing from experience And feedback Knowing from feedback Is circular defense Of my argument for Choice The pattern of choice Is built with feedback As…
The one mistake nearly everyone makes during meditation
The first thing new students say to me is “Meditation is too hard. Every time I sit down, I keep getting distracted by my thoughts. My brain is just too busy to meditate, it must not be for me.” My response to this is “Wonderful!…
Open Source Enlightenment: A proposal for rapid evolution of knowledge
Background For thousands of years Enlightenment has been what I’ll call Closed Source Enlightenment. What this means is that the methods by which the technology of Enlightenment is preserved, protected, and evolved is opaque to outsiders. The monastic systems of the past have done a…
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