“When you accept writing as what you are supposed to do, after you’ve tried everything else–marriage, hippiedom, traveling, living in Minnesota or New York, teaching, spiritual practices–there’s finally no place to go.” –Natalie Goldberg, Writing…
In October, Susan Clark and Chris Wallach attended the Mind and Life International Symposium for Contemplative Studies. The Mission Statement of the Institute states: The Mind & Life Institute is a non-profit organization committed to…
Dear Abbie and Liz, Given your love for theology, I thought I’d share the following reflections on someone you should at least be acquainted with. His name is Helder Camara, former archbishop of Recife, Brazil…
Thomas Merton is perhaps the single most important American Catholic writer of the 20th century, and his writings continue to remain startlingly relevant today. In this course, we will read and discuss a broad sample…
Gassho is the Japanese equivalent of the Sanskrit Anjali. It is the greeting, palm to palm, found among people throughout Asia, from the Dalai Lama to the Singhalese peasant, from the Pakistani weaver to the…
My good news is I’m still employed My good news is I have loads of work that isn’t for pay My good news is I get to meet ordinary, fascinating people like the ones at…
We practice to have enough strength to confront problems effectively. To do this, we must be calm, fresh, and solid. That is why we need to practice the art of stopping. When we learn to…
For many years, four women from different parts of the world have been meeting several times a month to read and discuss classic texts from the religions of their childhoods: Jain and Hinduism from India,…
Dear Fatima, You’re one of the most enthusiastic, ardent devotees of reading I know. So I’d like to introduce you to a person who is an amazing reader and recommend his short book to you…
Join us this fall for a writing course that focuses on the 59 mind-training slogans as taught by beloved Buddhist teacher Pema Chödrön in her book, Start Where You Are: A Guide to Compassionate Living….