Summer reminds me of childhood, does it you? There is something about the smell in the air in the morning that reminds me of climbing trees. There was one tree in particular in the backyard of the house I grew up in that was easy to climb–inviting me, it seemed. It had a limb atContinue reading “Hanging Out with Trees”
Tag Archives: Space
Seeing as Acceptance
Deep down most of us know that it is not what happens outside that shapes us so much as our inner responses. There is an ancient African proverb that tells when we have no enemy within, no enemy without can really harm us. Really? Not even a great white shark? But seriously, can this beContinue reading “Seeing as Acceptance”
Be an Island: Exercise #1
“Be islands unto yourselves, refuges unto yourselves….” As he lay dying, the Buddha gave this advice to his beloved disciple Ananda, who was imploring his great teacher for guidance for himself and for his fellow monks. Some versions of this teaching use the word lamp. The word diipa means both island and lamp, Island isContinue reading “Be an Island: Exercise #1”
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”
Tracy Cochran 