Why wait for Jan. 1 to try to change? Change comes in increments. And it usually takes at least 90 days of consistency for the brain to “catch up” to the deeper levels of change. So why not try something today that you were thinking of starting on Tuesday? […]
I had a remarkable exchange recently with a Canadian woman who bid on one of my Noble Jizo’s during Shambhala Sun’s auction, Bidding for Good. It made me wonder what each of us is giving birth to at the present moment… and what may be gestating within us that would like to be born. [...]
I am praying for peace as I write this, hoping that we aren’t too lazy and distracted to go up against the National Rifle Association as we mourn our country’s latest victims of gun violence. When I started writing these pieces, I was advised that I should not write about political issues. Jizo & Chibi, [...]
Now and then I have a series of emails with someone who has been shopping or breathing in circles on the Jizo & Chibi website. Sometimes they write about a technical problem or they have a question about a piece of jewelry. With Julie, our communication began on Etsy. She liked my work and I [...]
I always plan to meditate in the morning before going onto my phone, laptop or iPad. That way, I find the middle before being pulled in any of the other four directions. I once heard someone say that they had never met a day that could not start 20 minutes earlier — which is to [...]
Who is Jizo? Or first, what is cognition? Or maybe the first question is, what is mindfulness? Most of us want to cut to the chase. We want results and we want them now. When we can’t get what we want, we get anxious, depressed, angry. And if we get there, we want to Stay [...]
First, I wonder if anyone is reading this. I just spent half an hour Googling “Does Anyone Read My Blog?” and wandering around inside WordPress trying to find the stats page. I couldn’t. Next week, I will talk with my tech goddess and she will teach me. I am sure someone has figured out how [...]
Suzuki Roshi said there is no better instruction for how to meditate than just “Sit Still.” Buddha said there is no greater suffering than craving. In fact, his definition of Hell was just that: craving, desiring, hankering, longing. […]
A Tibetan monk has been declared the happiest man in the world by researchers at the University of Wisconsin. He credits meditation for his happiness and is showing the world what his mind looks like. You can learn more about it here. Please explore. Be curious. Work your frontal lobe, your decision-making center. […]
Take a breath. Another one. Another one. Take a moment to notice on the calendar what day you are in. Smile as you exhale and realize: it’s not Christmas. It’s not Hanukah. Not Kwanzaa. Not New Year’s. It’s today, some time in autumn, likely, when you are reading this. Now, look at the week of [...]
