Compassion may be defined as deep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the desire to relieve it. Our own suffering gives rise to compassion and can result in doing something for another without the expectation of return, often at a personal risk or cost. Without compassion our species would not have survived.
Understanding the concept of suffering helps us understand and develop compassion. Suffering usually has a negative connotation yet it is a natural part of living, our cyclic existence, samsara, the cycle of birth and death.
Even when the mere idea of walking around the block makes you want to crawl back under the covers and never surface again, exercise is essential for people with arthritis and fibromyalgia. Working through stiffness and pain requires accepting responsibility to become your own healer and summoning the courage required to stay the course. When […]
I am an admirer of Ani Choying Drolma, also known as Choying Drolma and Ani Choying. She is a Buddhist nun and musician from the Nagi Gompa nunnery in Nepal. Throughout the world Ani Choying is known for her compassion, her lovely smile, and her beautiful voice. Rather than just relying on prayer alone, she is […]
Mantras can be orally chanted, intoned, visualized and/or repeated mentally to oneself. Mantras can also be sung. I love singing. Vocal improvisation and mantras are a part of my practice. In this post I’m sharing two very different versions of the Om Mani Padme Hum mantra and I hoping you will give an ear to […]
“Fear is just an illusion and if you believe in this illusion, you are creating your reality. What can you believe in that is not fear? Love. Love is your essence. If you move from fear deep into your heart, you will discover that there is a beautiful little light that you have forgotten. The […]
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi describes flow as “being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you’re using your skills to the utmost.” The intensity of the flow experience is […]
