Gavril Nikolaev

I'm a freelance writer and mindfulness advocate behind this blog. I started my meditation practice in 2014, and in 2017 I launched this website to share what I learn with others.

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

Eckhart Tolle on Solitude vs. Loneliness

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What is the difference between solitude and loneliness? A beautiful answer to this question comes from “Touching the Eternal,” a recording of a seven-day retreat in India led by spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle. At the end of each daily talk, Tolle addressed some of the participants’ most pressing issues that had been passed to him … Read more

Adults Who Find Themselves Tuning Out in the Middle of Conversations are Frequently Misinterpreted as Detached or Impolite — When in Reality, Their Minds are Desperately Searching for a Brief Moment of Quiet Sanctuary

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We were sitting across from each other at our usual corner table, the afternoon sun cutting a sharp diagonal line between us. My friend—let’s call him John—someone whose intellect I admire and whose presence usually grounds me, was listening as I retraced a story about my week. Right in the middle of a sentence, I … Read more