Tag Archives: Parabola Magazine

The Quiet Superpower

I love walking in the city, flowing along in a great river of humanity. But under ordinary circumstances I flow along in my own bubble of thought. Most of us live in some version of this contradiction most of the time. We yearn to be part of a larger life, yet we want to beContinue reading “The Quiet Superpower”

Holy Week

This is Holy Week, commemorating a great drama that included betrayal and death and new life. It is also Passover, celebrating the passing over of destructive forces and liberation from captivity. Why bring up these holidays to meditators? Some of us fled the traditions of our childhood, seeking fresh and real, something other than allContinue reading “Holy Week”

The Space Between

“Between stimulus and response there is a space, “ writes psychiatrist and Holocaust-survivor Viktor Frankl in his unforgettable memoir, Man’s Search for Meaning. “In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” When we practice mindfulness meditation, we enter the conscious space between stimulus andContinue reading “The Space Between”

Soft

The root meaning of heal is to make whole. It doesn’t mean to be made new. Healing often leaves a scar. Illness and mishap and even great tragedy can lead us eventually from the pain of isolation to a greater wholeness. There is such a powerful tendency in our spiritual aspiration to climb up outContinue reading “Soft”

Winter Solstice

The week before Christmas is here. Whether we celebrate Christmas or not, during the days and weeks ahead we will experience a suspension of the usual pace and routine of our days.  It is the Christian season of Advent, a time of waiting for what has not yet come. As I sit writing this byContinue reading “Winter Solstice”