Meditate:Medicate
Go placidly amid the noise and the haste and remember what peace there may be in silence. From Desiderata, A Survival Guide for Life, a poem by Max Ehrmann We’re making our final descent into the darkest part of winter. The season of twinkling lights, hibernation, stillness. silence, festivities and renewal. Because there is a…
Continue ReadingGiving Thanks
If you want to have loving feelings, do loving things. If you want to feel happy, compliment people. Anne Lamott, American author, writing teacher I loved Anne Lamott from the moment I read Bird By Bird her book I adore about writing. She’s a survivor, a twelve stepper, and spiritual seeker with a wicked sense…
Continue ReadingSlowing Down
“For fast-acting relief, try slowing down.” – Lily Tomlin, actress As “The Season” creeps up on us, I decided to revisit old newsletters from this time of year. I love the Lily quote I used in 2022. It seems even more mindfully relevant this November. And I don’t know about you but just thinking of…
Continue ReadingIf You Don’t Use It You Lose It
Nothing will work unless you do. Maya Angelou, author, poet, performer, activist Let’s face it, it’s a challenge to commit ourselves to practicing meditation every day. But if I told you your life depended on it, would you do it? Right now, tenth month of the year 2025, I think it’s really true. Our lives…
Continue ReadingListening With Stillness
You should not have your idea when you listen to someone . . . Then you will understand what they say. Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Buddhist monk, author Zen Mind Beginners Mind When I read this quote, I immediately smiled and took a deep breath. I’ve been practicing for many years and still working on the…
Continue ReadingStillness and Silence
It is as important to cultivate your silence power as it is your word power. William James, psychologist, philosopher, writer Autumn is both the start of some things and the ends of others: holidays and harvest for some, the brilliant color of leaves and transition to less light for others. Each new year for many…
Continue ReadingExpectations
One of the reasons we think we want to meditate is to be less stressed. But I’m noticing that like so many other things we do in our lives, we make it a must. Then it’s just another should. When we notice the shoulda, woulda, coulda’s, it’s time to take a stillness pause. Look for…
Continue ReadingColors
A genuinely happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery of a detour. Tara Brach, spiritual teacher, psychologist, author When we look for joy, it’s hard to find. Joy is made up of all the … colors that exist. Joy is when we’re willing to surrender to all our experiences and all our emotions.…
Continue ReadingAugust Riffing
In the jazz world musicians use the word riffing to describe a kind of improvising. The technique is also used by poets, dancers, painters, authors, composers, comedians, politicians, actors, and even trial lawyers, in any context when improvising or riffing serves a desired result. I am sure you can think of situations you’ve been in…
Continue ReadingHeartfulness, Heartspace, Heartmind
When we speak of mindfulness, it is important to keep in mind that we equally mean heartfulness. Full Catastrphe Living by Jon Kabat-Zinn Each of us can learn the art of nourishing happiness and love. How To Love by Thich Nhat Hanh What do we need most right now? For one thing, a little more…
Continue ReadingPeace Is An Inside Job
If we are peaceful, if we are happy, we can smile and blossom like a flower, and everyone in our family, our entire society, will benefit from our peace. Thich Nhat Hanh, Zen Buddhist monk, activist, artist, writer Honoring independence day is an unexpectedly different challenge this year; not so peaceful on the outside. I…
Continue ReadingCourage
Courage is the price life exacts for granting peace. — Emilia Earhart, American aviator pioneer Each new day is an opportunity to make choices and live courageously. The root of the word courage means heart (Coeur/French, Cor/Latin). A lot of us listen to our hearts with hesitation but I find with daily mindfulness practices, calm…
Continue ReadingIt’s a beautiful day in my neighborhood.
It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood. A beautiful day for a neighbor. Could you be mine? Would you be mine? Fred Rogers, TV Host Mr. Rogers Neighborhood Remember Mr. Rogers? I was a big fan often watching his program with my baby son. I think what Fred was teaching children was mindfulness. He was…
Continue ReadingEveryday Mindfulness
Freedom is man’s capacity to take a hand in his own development. It is our ability to mold ourselves. Rollo May, psychologist, author As I get deeper into MBSR training, my understanding is that this idea of “molding ourselves” is perhaps at the heart of the mindful awareness required to live intentional thoughtful lives. Learning…
Continue ReadingDetermination 2.0
“First thing I do in the morning is I make up my bed. Then I make up my mind.” – Robert Frost, poet “Peace is possible in the middle of this life . . . now straighten the mind with your breath.” – Sylvia Boorstein, psychotherapist, co-founding teacher Spirit Rock, author Here’s the same question…
Continue ReadingDetermination
. . . (I) passionately believe that paying attention- Mindfulness- shows itself as goodness and kindness, as concern for others, as concern for the whole world. – Sylvia Boorstein, author, Buddhist teacher at Spirit Rock Anything is possible. You just have to believe. – Tao Porchon-Lynch, Yogini Master What if I told you there is…
Continue ReadingFear
There is no easy way to talk about fear. It’s pretty clear if you are alive you will experience its many varieties, colors, velocities, intensities, and dynamics in your life. It’s in the very air we breathe right now. Change does that. But rather than say much or discuss mindful techniques for releasing strong emotion…
Continue ReadingBenevolence and Valentines
Just saying the word benevolence makes me smile. In embodied mindfulness, especially in meditation, what we are often practicing is, in fact, the cultivation of benevolence. This week I led a transformative meditation on the benevolent body smile. We know that stilling the body stills the mind so we spend time learning how to be…
Continue ReadingVocabulary 2025
VOCABULARY:Each Day A New BeginningJust For TodayEvery Breath You Take Words matter. For the start of the new year I thought it would be meaningful to reflect on the vocabulary that inspires us to practice both mindfulness and meditation. As you read this, open your mind to taking a pause. Give yourself the gift of…
Continue ReadingKeep It Simple
One of my favorite meditation teachers talks a lot about how to keep the focus on ourselves. She reminds us that simplifying and being mindful in general is good. If we are experiencing strong emotions, difficulties, challenges, repeating this phrase to ourselves is a potent self-compassionate way to keep our tranquility in the foreground and…
Continue ReadingThanks and Giving
As we enter the season of lights, feasting, and celebrations, I want to say thank you to all of you who keep opening, reading, and passing on Wednesday Wisdom. It has given me so much pleasure to share the teachings of mindfulness, meditation, and self-empowerment tools for less stress, harmony, and health. You have given…
Continue ReadingDoing and Being
Pondering how to begin November’s Wednesday Wisdom, I felt hesitant, even a little afraid after events of November 5 in America. An email from a poet friend I deeply admire propitiously appeared in my inbox. At the bottom in tiny print was a Toni Morrison quote. It took my breath away. “This is precisely the…
Continue ReadingMore About Change
We are ending a gorgeous fall color riot in the northeast. It changes by the day; leaves falling in gobs soon to decay. In my lifetime, I can trust that spring will return with its blaze of color, beauty, and rebirth. The life-cycle described by the Buddha: birth, aging, decay and death. The stress and…
Continue ReadingCourage and Change
Courage is fear that has said its prayers. Attributed to Ann Lamont, American novelist and fiction writer Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear not the absence of fear. Mark Twain, writer, humorist, and essayist It takes courage to change. It takes courage to recognize when change is necessary. It takes courage to recognize…
Continue ReadingKindness
When times are difficult, I reach for kindness. When life is confusing, I reach for kindness. When all feels uncertain, I reach for kindness. Sharon Salzberg from her new course, Kindness in a Fractured World Kindness has been on my mind. There are many conversations going on about the disappearance of simple civil respect in…
Continue ReadingThe Sound of Silence
Silence is essential. We need silence just as much as we need air, just as much as plants need light. If our minds are crowded with words and thoughts, there is no space for us. Thich Nhat Hanh, Zen Buddhist monk. teacher and peace activist You cannot truly listen to anyone and do anything else…
Continue ReadingReflect, Repurpose, Refresh, and Reset
I’d like to get away from earth awhile And then come back to it and begin again. Robert Frost, poet Don’t just do something. Sit there. Sylvia Boorstein, psychotherapist, Buddhist teacher, author Here we are in the middle of August, which I sometimes refer to as the sacred idleness month. It’s my time to reflect,…
Continue ReadingLove and Freedom
Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony. Mahatma Gandhi February is a time to celebrate love and freedom. We’ve created holidays for both. I pondered for a while how I could connect the two. It was challenging to say in a few words what has often…
Continue ReadingLove and Patience
Patience is the art of waiting. Sarah Ban Breathnach, author Patience with all things but most of all yourself. Francis de Sales, French Cleric You may be familiar with the saying, “Love is not a noun, it’s a verb.” One of my spiritual teachers keeps reminding us that there are only two conditions in life:…
Continue ReadingNew Habits
Sometimes an inspirational line can trigger what we need to change. Old Habits Die Hard said Mick Jagger’s song. Carrying on the theme of renewal, rebooting, reframing for a new year, I was thinking about how habits can be so mindless. We are practicing what we don’t want. Enjoy the ancient, wise, current quotes I…
Continue ReadingNew Beginning
This is a new year. A new beginning. And things will change. Taylor Swift. singer Be willing to be a beginner every single morning. Meister Eckhart, philosopher Welcome 2023! We have a new year book of empty pages to be filled. A wise old practice is to pick a value, a character trait, and some…
Continue ReadingSAD & Silence
Know the secret of silence. . . Being silent doesn’t shut down your mind, it only activates a deeper type of intelligence. Richard Carlson, author The holidays of light occur during winter when darkness fills more of our wakeful hours. On December 7, the shortest day of 2022 (yes before the solstice this year),…
Continue ReadingFOCUS
Don’t be afraid. Be focused. Be determined. Be hopeful. Be empowered. Michelle Obama Here’s some abracadabra to practice. It’s the magical ‘focus’ experiment for less stress, fluttering, or fear at the luxurious moment between dark and light, unconscious and conscious when we wake up. The alchemy is determination to wake up a new way. The…
Continue ReadingSTAND STILL
In the midst of chaos keep stillness inside of you. Deepak Chopra As we glide into autumn, with winter’s imminent hibernation cycle approaching, we anticipate festivals, celebrations, and holidays. Life gets noisier, perhaps more chaotic than cozy or peaceful. I seek peacefulness every day just because I love knowing I can turn up the calm.…
Continue ReadingChange
If you keep doing what you’ve always been doing you’ll get what you’ve always gotten. When I first heard this, my body felt an impact. As a pianist who practiced for perfection, no mistakes, artful execution, it struck me clearly that this could apply to thinking or behavior I want to change. Building new habits,…
Continue ReadingI Am My Own Sanctuary
I am my own sanctuary and I can be reborn as many times as I choose throughout my life. Lady Gaga Sometimes in the deepest mindful moments of stillness, there can be discomfort. Often, it’s fear of the past or the future or the unknown pressing down. Maybe it’s a present pain or sorrow. Instead…
Continue ReadingMonkey Mind
Taming my monkey mind is a full-time job. Tara Brach, PhD, meditation teacher Here’s a social post I saw over Labor Day. “Summer isn’t over yet. So sit your happy Halloween pumpkin spice butt down until I finish drinking my margaritas!” LOL Oh my! Summer isn’t officially over until 9:03pm on September 22. Plenty of…
Continue ReadingListening Uncritically
It is the privilege of wisdom to listen. Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., physician, writer About twenty years ago when doing some deep inner work, I became aware that I talked a lot, an awful lot, often reactively anxious, sometimes because I thought I needed to say something about everything, sometimes not even breathing. I decided…
Continue ReadingKnowing Myself
Knowing MyselfKnowing others is intelligence,Knowing yourself is true wisdom.Mastering others is strength,Mastering yourself is true power. Excerpt from Tao Te Ching, verse 33, translated by Stephen Mitchell There are numerous translations of the Tao. I own several that I’ve been reading daily for years. I love the simplicity of Zen wisdom. Lao Tzu’s principles for…
Continue ReadingMeditation
Half hour of meditation is essential except when you are very busy. Then a full hour is needed. Francis de Sales, 16th/17th-century bishop and spiritual leader You get the picture. I believe slowing down when overwhelmed is the mindful way for less stress and more success. That’s why I teach you how. Happy meditating!
Continue ReadingBenefits of Smiling
Alice: “There’s no use trying. One can’t believe impossible things.” The Queen: “I dare say you haven’t had much practice. . . . Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland. A close friend shared this, challenging me to start each day with a little more…
Continue ReadingBuilding New Habits
If you keep doing what you’ve always been doing you’ll get what you’ve always gotten. When I first heard this, my body felt an impact. As a pianist who practiced for perfection, no mistakes, artful execution, it struck me clearly that this could apply to thinking or behavior I want to change. Building new habits,…
Continue ReadingPractice
Practice means waiting without anxiety. Patience with all things but first with yourself. Francis de Sales, French Bishop Practice, purposeful repetition, makes what we do feel effortless. One of the root words for practice means “training oneself.” Playing the piano well means daily practice. Feeling less stressed means practicing relaxation, maybe sitting meditation. Eliminating agitation…
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