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Most of us have had the experience of being bothered, irked or irritated by someone's behaviour. It's a common experience in life to get judgemental of others.

In fact, in some cultural niches of our society, the witty criticalness of others is admired.

As an example, when I was in the theatre I remember the usual practice in one troupe was to gather in a bar after a show and spend a good deal of time in a game of one up-man-ship in judging others.

Sometimes lunch-time conversations in many businesses become a breeding ground for criticalness of bosses or other employees. It can become a major contributor of stress and low moral at work....

CCTV (Chinese Central TV station)2010 documentary
Chinese Living Legend: Master Haikong and his human-centered Buddhism

There is one question that keeps recurring: "Where should I go to get started with meditation?" It stumps me every time, since the answer is different for each of us. First, it is important to ask why you are interested in meditation and what you expect to get out of it. There are many motivators to meditate. What are yours?

Why Meditate with Your Dog?

Meditation is extremely beneficial to you AND your dog.

As dog lovers, we value that special connection we have with our pet. Meditation is a fantastic way to solidify that unique bond between you and your dog by bringing you closer on a very different level. And it's good for you too!!

Learning Enlightenment - a Natural Life interview with Russell Scott of True Source

NL: One of the seminars you present is called TRUE AWAKENING - an Enlightenment Intensive. What does enlightenment actually mean to you?

Russell: There are many labels for the word “enlightenment.” In the East, it is called “enlightenment,” in Zen “satori,” in Hinduism “anubhava,” in Western mystical tradition “illumination” and in psychology “the Unitive experience” as per Abraham Maslow.

Many people have different definitions of the experience so it is important on just a conceptual level to define it even though it is not a concept. Enlightenment is...

Throughout the ages to the present time there have been many reports of a new form of consciousness arising in individuals. This form of consciousness has been called by many names. A few of these labels are “awakening”, “enlightenment”, “illumination”, “transcendence”, “self-realization”, “kensho” in Zen, “anubhava” in Hinduism” and “unitive consciousness” in modern psychology. It is often described as a life altering spiritual experience where one suddenly breaks through one’s normal mode of sensing to become cognizant of the true reality of one’s existence.

Dr. Kiran Bedi is an Indian social activist, a retired Indian police officer, the former inspector general of one of the largest prisons in the world and the glowing subject of a documentary film I saw last night at the Runnymede Library.

"Doing Time Doing Vipassana" is a dramatic account of Bedi's efforts to deliver a certain measure of psychological serenity to the inmates of the Tihar Jail, a sprawling complex west of New Delhi. As those who have worked with her expound enthusiastically in the film, Bedi was remarkable for the way she insisted that prisoners are deserving of the same respect as everyone else.

Lama Catherine Jetsun Yeshe, founder of Friends of the Heart, teaches only occasionally in Toronto. The next opportunity will be a special class to be scheduled soom in preparation for the 7-day retreat July 17 to 24.

In the meantime, you can view short videos of FOH founder Lama Catherine Jetsun Yeshe where she discusses the history and philosophy of FOH a well as the first Noble Truth: equanimity. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCe5LmSucFY

Things are crappy right now and everybody knows it.

The world's economy is coming apart like a flaky pastry and there ain't a baker in the place with a recipe for repair.

News report after news report clocks in with the latest devastation: every day there are more job losses, more company shutdowns, more bankruptcy announcements, more destitute souls.

I was thinking today, as I was rounding one of the heartbreaking early corners in my nightly running course, how meditation is not always a static enterprise.

Indeed, I would venture that I do some of my finest meditating in the rarified air above a pair of well-worn New Balance running shoes pounding the pavement. The enforced thinking periods my regular perambulations permit are a gift for someone like me, for whom "quiet time" is a compound concept of equally unlikely probability.