“The moment in front of you is not bothering you. You are bothering yourself about the moment in front of you.” – Michael Singer, Living Untethered. Yesterday I was driving home from my friend’s cottage. There was major traffic on the highway and, as we slowed to a crawl, it seemed like I inevitably found […]
How to Learn to Let Go
The following is the handout I give to students in my Living Untethered course. It assumes you have strong motivation to learn to let go. Your personal mind will try to trick you into thinking you should let go of the discomfort, of the reactivity, but that’s not what you should be trying to let […]
Thanks ChatGPT!
Lately I’ve been spending a lot of time on the subject of AI, artificial intelligence. It’s a combination of fear and excitement and, well, it’s so cool. Scary, but cool. Just now, I asked ChatGPT the question “Spiritually speaking, how do I balance self-actualization with letting go of concern for self?” This is something I’ve […]
Relax – Nothing is Under Control
I’m the oldest, but my mom was pregnant twice before she had me. First, she had a miscarriage. Then her second child died at birth. Her short umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck and strangled her on the way out. The loss was devastating. When I was born, a year to the day later, […]
Thay’s Continuation
My teacher Thich Nhat Hanh passed away a few days ago. His students lovingly call him “Thay” (pronounced “tie”), which means teacher in Vietnamese. Thay changed my life, and my deepest aspiration is to be a beautiful continuation of him. I first went to Plum Village in May 2002. I went for 3 days. I […]
My New Year’s Resolution
I’ve been having a tough time this past week. Worrying about omicron has been part of it, but there’s been more. Not much joy, and strong sadness and despair. I was face-to-face with my biggest samskara1 – the belief that there’s something fundamentally wrong with me. That no matter what I do, I’m screwed! When […]