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"Don't Check!" = Coaching Cue = More Open / Choice-less Awareness
A coaching cue in weight training is a very short phrase a trainer will say to an athlete to correct the athlete's form during a lift....
Jan 31, 20222 min read


Bodhisattva Vows, Revisited
I practiced with the Kwan Um School of Zen, in Chicago, then in LA. They often recited the Bodhisattva Vows (a Bodhisattva is an aspiring...
Dec 19, 20211 min read


Free-form Awareness Gets More Free-form
Read a quote somewhere from the book “Cultivating the Empty Field” - about the Chinese Zen (Chan) Master Hongzhi: “Silent illumination,...
Nov 10, 20211 min read


Tired, Bad Mood, Curmudgeonly - It’s All Practice
Woke up really early the other morning - needed to get 3-4 more hours of sleep. Returned to bed, tried being aware of breathing, relaxing...
Jun 29, 20211 min read


Awareness is The Prime Directive: Empowering the “Oversight Committee”
(Had a very busy day, working with new software, tackling the learning curve, doing some necessary planning / decision-making. Toward the...
Mar 28, 20202 min read


The Practice of Non-Self
The Buddha taught that there is no ongoing, abiding thing in anyone or anything that can be called a “self”. That which we call “self” is...
Jan 13, 20201 min read


Taking Refuge in Awareness
In his book, “The Sound of Silence”, Ajahn Sumedho says that, better than taking refuge in changing conditions, like happenings, our...
Nov 25, 20191 min read


2 Important Meanings of “Let Go”
We talk about letting go of thoughts, letting go of clinging, etc. I think it’s important to distinguish “letting go” from making these...
Nov 25, 20191 min read
Letting Go of Thoughts, Feelings - Awareness of Them Comes First!
Practicing mindfulness in daily life is like a mix - a ratio of letting go and awareness. Yesterday, it felt like the letting go...
Nov 8, 20191 min read
Let Go, and Mindfulness Appears Without Effort!
Getting (back) into “A Still Forest Pool” by Achan Cha. On p. 2: “The heart of the path is so simple. No need for long explanations. Give...
Nov 5, 20192 min read


The Awareness Way of Life is a Coup d’Etat!
Making the switch from the very common mindless way of life to the mindfulness way is a radical change in who’s in charge - a coup...
Oct 26, 20191 min read
Aware of Thought, Let Go, Aware of Peace Mind
Open to thoughts that come in, even negative, complaining ones. Shining bare awareness on them, they are acknowledged, then they fade...
Oct 15, 20191 min read
The Mantra
(Said moment-to-moment) Drop your agendas and be here now!
Mar 30, 20191 min read
True Life Purpose!!
Reading stuff about Seuhn Sahn in Jon Kabat-Zinnʻs book “Coming Back to Our Senses”…today, remembered about his / Kwan Umʻs core...
Feb 8, 20191 min read
Mindfulness Practice Progression
Thinking a lot about what I want to do with my life next… Checking out my mindfulness songs and thinking about the talk-with-music thing,...
Jan 31, 20192 min read
True Life - from Mindfulness to Boddhisatva Action to Music, Speaking, Daily Life!
Main Purpose and Practice Doing mindfulness practice - being aware of thoughts that come, letting them go / coming back to this moment,...
Nov 30, 20185 min read
Mindfulness: How to Deal with Thoughts
We want to practice mindfulness, and that means being present in this moment, rather than lost in thought. But thoughts invariably come...
May 20, 20182 min read
Everything New!!!
Dropping concepts, living in direct perception, awareness. Doing this while playing music lately! I do a lot of gigs where I play the...
Feb 14, 20181 min read
Let It All In! Thoughts Are Just More Phenomena!
A.m. crabby thoughts, negative thoughts, crazy thoughts - unacceptable! Oh really? Well, unacceptable to act out on; unacceptable to...
Jan 26, 20182 min read
Non-Self = Tolerance!
The Buddha taught that there are 3 marks of existence: Dissatisfaction, Impermanence, and Non-Self. These are connected: there is no self...
Jan 6, 20182 min read
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