Eckhart Tolle Said That We Live Under an ‘Assumption That the Now Needs to Be Filled with Something All the Time,’ and That Made Me Think About How Much of My Free Time I’ve Spent Choosing Distraction Instead of Cultivating Attention

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Twelve years ago, I deleted every tweet I had ever written and walked away from my account, leaving behind a blank profile. I did it because I was worn down by the constant chatter of a platform that demanded my attention every hour. Yet, even now, the urge to log back in visits me during … Read more

How to Practice One-Minute Mindfulness

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How to Practice One Minute Mindfulness

Do you want to learn how to practice one-minute mindfulness? I’ve been reading 8 Mindful Steps to Happiness, one of the most accessible and lucid guides to cultivating awareness, by the beloved Buddhist teacher Ven. Bhante Henepola Gunaratana. In the chapter titled “Beginning a Practice of Mindfulness,” in discussing what beginners can do to be … Read more

What Are the Three Types of Kindness?

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What Are the Three Types of Kindness?

  None of us are immune from adversity. At some point, we’ll be desperate for a moment of human kindness and connection; we’ll need someone who’d be willing to lend a helping hand without expecting anything in return. But for that to happen, we need a world that believes in kindness as the single most … Read more

Pema Chodron Wrote That Your Courage Is ‘Always Waiting to Be Discovered,’ and That Made Me Think About How Much of My Social Life I’ve Spent Rehearsing Instead of Interacting

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The train car was doing its usual rhythmic swaying, the morning light cutting through the glass in predictable geometric shapes, when I looked down at the dog-eared page of Pema Chodron’s “Taking the Leap: Freeing Ourselves from Old Habits and Fears.” I was on my way to host my weekly English speaking club, a casual … Read more