I’ve spent years exploring what it means to live with intention. Like many of you who read The Mindful Word,...
Using the garden and flowers as a sanctuary and catalyst for meditation and prayer isn’t a new concept or discipline....
Accountability is a beautiful thing. The gym buddy who’s always psyched for weights at 6 a.m. can passively change your life with their presence, obliging...
As a Westerner, trying to develop on the eightfold path can be a head-scratching process. The Buddha’s teachings to renounce...
It was about 2 a.m., phone glowing on my face, when I typed four words that would change everything: “how...
When the mind begins to quiet, something beautiful happens. A new layer starts to appear—the intuitive mind. It’s hard to...
If you look closely, there is a kind of seeing that happens before the eyes open. Before recognition, before the...
The stories we tell about ourselves can become cages. Mine were lined with perfectionism and survival logic—a looping narrative that...
Step One: Sink like the lotus The first step in the Lotus Effect is to sink. This involves sinking into...
I could hear the white noise crashing in my ears. As my feet dangled, I could see the reflection of...
Everything in the universe denies nothing; to suggest conclusions to things is one impossibility. – Stephen King “Denial” doesn’t exist...
Kirtan Kriya (mudras) diagram: Yachna Yoga “Meditation is not so much an exercise as it is a certain way of...
“Perhaps we can train the brain and the mind to work better, so we can become more mindful participants in...
On one memorable late spring day, I took a day trip by high-speed train north from Tokyo to the Ibaraki...
In the bustling world of today, finding a moment of tranquillity can seem like searching for a needle in a...
Haven’t seen the first step? Visit RELEASE YOUR EMOTIONAL PRISONERS: The first step in meditation teacher Barry Long’s guide» Most...
This story isn’t that deep, because maybe I’m not that deep. Nope, not true. I’m as deep as I need...
![Garden with sun shining on it - Humanity and Nature Merge in a Rainbow Garden [Fiction]](https://www.themindfulword.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/well-loved-plants-garden-770x513.jpg "WELL-LOVED PLANTS: Humanity and nature merge through meditation 34")
The grass is richly green in the May family’s backyard, while the flowers laugh as they bloom down from the...
Nearly everyone has emotional prisoners locked in their chest or belly. These are emotional replicas of people you’ve resented or...
WELCOMING BEGINNER’S MIND: Zen and Tibetan Buddhist Wisdom on Experiencing Our True Nature Gaylon Ferguson [Shambhala, 248 pages] As I’ve...
Ever have negative thoughts? Some people can manage this better, while others have a hard time but eventually learn how...
Being diagnosed with OCD was something I knew would happen. I’ve always been someone who’s on the edge of my...
Shamata and vipassana The practice of meditation has two elements. The first one is calmness meditation. It’s called shamata in...
In grade 10, I was called to the Vice Principal’s office to explain why I was being disruptive in English...
