Reading Archive (Meditation)
The Committee of the Mind
Thanissaro Bhikku
There are many different ideas of “you” in your mind, each with its own agenda. Each of these “you's” is a member of the committee of the mind. This is why the mind is less...
The Fish on the Camel
Gail Gustafson
As Hafiz says, "First, The fish needs to say, “Something ain’t right about this Camel ride – And I’m Feeling so damn Thirsty.” Most of us come to practice meditat...
Why Meditate
Suzanne Toro
Meditation is the act of getting quiet and settling the mind. It’s the process of slowing and eventually stopping your thoughts, at which point you can bask in and feel the silence, trusting all...
From Being Driven To Being Drawn
Richard Rohr
When I was a young man, I liked ideas and books quite a lot, and I still read a great deal. But each time I come back from a long hermitage retreat, I have no desire to read a book for the next few we...
Learning Not to Be Afraid of Things That Are Real
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Recently I've been looking through a field guide on nature observation. The author, when he was a child, was trained by an old Native American. One day the child asked the old man, "Why is it...
The Gift Of Threshold Moments
Sam Keen
The thrush’s song belongs to a family of experiences that usher us into a threshold where sound trails off into silence, time disappears into timelessness, and the known world is engulfed by the...
When Light Shines, Darkness Becomes The Light
Thich Nhat Hanh
From time to time you may become restless, and the restlessness will not go away. At such times, just sit quietly, follow your breathing, smile a half-smile, and shine your awareness on the restlessne...
Silence
Jean Klein
Silence is our real nature. What we are fundamentally is only silence. Silence is free from beginning and end. It was before the beginning of all things. It is causeless. Its greatness lies in the ...
What is Meditation?
Vimala Thakar
"This awareness of the so called outward and the inward movements of life, is meditation. The simultaneous awareness of the total movement is meditation. If I am aware of the nature of my reactio...
Bedrock On Which We All Stand
J. Krishnamurti
Do you realize, sir, that you are the world and the world is you? The world is not separate from you and me. There is a common thread of relationship weaving us all together. Deep down we are all tota...
Do You Direct Your Mind Or Does Your Mind Direct You?
Yogi Bhajan
You have to have an exotic sense of tolerance no matter what anybody does, what they say, how they attack you, what they want out of you -- you remain calm. That is the faculty of the ocean—how ...
Meditation: A Process Of Retraining The Mind
Bhante Gunaratna
Gently, but firmly, without getting upset or judging yourself for straying, simply return to the simple physical sensation of the breath. Then do it again the next time, and again, and again, and agai...
Green Mountains Are Forever Walking
Subhana Barzaghi
I've been fascinated by this process of birth and death. I was a midwife for seven years, delivering babies in the bush and it was always a great privilege and honor to be invited to a birth...
Live Intentionally, In Freedom
Eknath Easwaran
Modern psychology commonly asserts that we cannot enter the unconscious fully aware. The mystic responds, "Oh, yes, you can! I have done it." The journey cannot be adequately described, but ...
Being a Naturalist
Gil Fronsdal
In mindfulness meditation we learn to be present for things as they are. In doing so, it can be useful to assume the attitude of a naturalist. A naturalist simply observes nature without interfering ...