Now, a Valentine’s Moment Right Now
While the world is barely recovered from the pressure of the perfect holiday season, I am noticing chocolate everywhere. Red boxes full of expressions of love and, allegedly, blasts of serotonin. […]
Adrenaline & Holidays: Slow Down & Seek Peace
Oh, gosh, but I wish the phrase Happy Holidays were not so loaded with tension and expectations. As you read this, you may be buzzing on sugar, experiencing pressure from inside and out, surrounded by speedy messages that drive us to the “give-me syndrome”. We may have family and friends who expect us to be [...]
Jizo Throughout Southeast Asia: What’s In a Name?
Jizo Bodhisattva has so many names, often more than one in each country where he is revered. […]
Jizo Haiku
The other day in meditation, I was gazing at a painting I had made of Jizo. I began lazily to count the brush strokes and realized there were approximately 17 in each painting. The word “haiku” drifted through my mind. 17 syllables for haiku, 17 brush strokes for Jizo. […]
Meditation Using Jizo Therapy
Jizo Therapy is in its infancy: an eclectic set of theories I have strung together since 1988 when I started graduate studies to become a psychotherapist. The therapeutic qualities of Buddhism were only spoken of by Thich Nhat Hanh and a few others. The brain-imaging of Tibetan monks was decades away and weekend workshops with [...]
The Importance of Mindfulness
Mindfulness has now been proven to help in the treatment of depression, anxiety, and Attention Deficit Disorder. But what, exactly is mindfulness? […]
Meditation Focus with the Jizo Icon
It’s easy to get inside your head and stay there. But so much anxiety and depression is governed by our thoughts. This is the paradox of living in a fast-moving world. We need to slow down to break out of the cycle of anxiety and depression. […]
Dennis Quaid & Jizo Jewelry
Dennis and Kimberly Quaid beamed with emotion as I told them the story of Jizo & Chibi. […]
“Californication’s” Madeline Martin & Jizo
I gave the awesome Madeline Martin a gold Jizo pendant at the DPA Golden Globe Gift Suite at L’Hermitage Hotel in Beverly Hills. Madeline plays Becca, the teenage daughter of two very lovesick parents on Showtime’s “Californication.” […]
“Mad Men’s” Kiernan Shipka is Mad for Valerie Johns’ Book for Little Buddhists
Kiernan Shipka, the darling daughter of AMC’S “Mad Men” met Jizo, Chibi and I on a couple of different occasions. The first time we met, we went though my book, “Why a Fly?” which teaches children about Zen koans, the unanswerable questions that teach us as we sit with their mysteries. […]