Even a short period of retreat is a benevolent rest, a stepping outside of busy daily routines and our ordinary identity. Released from the tyranny of time, we are invited into the reality of the present, to see the mystery of life anew. My teacher Ajahn Chah called it food for the heart.

~Jack Kornfield

what you say matters….

inquiry for today~ how to both listen and hear…

find your voice

The most powerful tool we can bring is the light of mindfulness. We can leave our dogs home and send ourselves to this training. This is the place where we shine the light on such worrisome thoughts and they vanish as the empty bubbles they are. When we steep in a mind with poise, we do not climb into every thought that arises. We need not serve tea to the mind which undermines our well-being. In order to cultivate such calm, we need to be able to inhabit the present. The gift of mindfulness is that it empowers us to choose it. Ram Dass spent much time on Vipassana Meditation retreats. I remember being on staff of a center, bringing him a food treat and his opening the door in the moment I placed it there. He gave me a treat.

Another superpower we can bring is the deep reflection on what truly matters to us. When we commit to these priorities, we do not get lost in concerns about whether we will get a parking space at the movies. Ease of being cannot be ordered on Amazon. We must cultivate it. This moment is a precious grain of sand in the hourglass of life. Let us honor it by not killing time with unnecessary worry. It really will all be ok. When it isn’t we can come to that moment with an open heart.

~Mitch Davidowitz