Letter from Jac – What season are you in right now?
I often teach about our personal seasons. Summer being hot, full, lengthy and abundant, but also with the chance of burnout. Autumn being a time to pare back, and prepare for battening down […]
I often teach about our personal seasons. Summer being hot, full, lengthy and abundant, but also with the chance of burnout. Autumn being a time to pare back, and prepare for battening down […]
Our relationship to ourselves is the most important relationship we have. Yet it is often shelved due the demands placed upon us by our relationships to others. I want you […]
What conditioning of your mind might you recognise is robbing you of reality? What reactions are taking you out of your body and driving your mind wild? Are these reactions […]
I have of late been diving more deeply into studying the Tao Te Ching and the Heart Sutra. The wisdom infused within these texts is a soothing balm for a […]
If you have been a student of mine for awhile, or reader of these Letters, you will have at some stage encountered my love for the teacher Ram Dass. I […]
‘The perfume of sandalwood,Rosebay or jasmineCannot travel against the wind. But the fragrance of virtueTravels even against the wind,As far as the ends of the world. Like garlands woven from a heap […]
There’s so much preaching in spirituality and self-development, and far too much ego. We can use people as little points of inspiration, or to show us a direction, but no […]
It is easy for us to think ‘aaahhh, this is it’ when evolving. To joyously think we have found some solid ground in which we can stick a flag in […]
In Buddhism, everything is seen as impermanent, so grasping and holding onto things, like money is useless, as is craving that which is impermanent. This doesn’t mean you throw your […]
There is a Pali chant, a Buddhist chant that is often used with meals; ‘Sabe lokami Ye satah, Jivanta hara he tukumanunang, oh Jinungsabe labante mamaje tasah’ which translates as […]
‘You have to go further. You have to demonstrate the answer. You have to embody the answer. You have to show the Zen master how you live fully in the […]
Zen meditation teacher Susan Murphy writes in her brilliant book Upside Down Zen, “Meditation is lonely as any practice is lonely – no one can make it easier for you, no […]
‘Mushin’ is a Japanese term referring to no-mind. It’s embraced in martial arts, meditation and various creative arts. Mushin is present when the flow of activity is completely free-flowing, present, it’s […]
‘Fudoshin’ is a Japanese term used in Zen frequently, which means an unshakeable will, utter determination, the mindset of a Samurai. Even in the face of death, injury or pain, […]
On Wednesday now I am going to puddle about with Zen teachings, replacing our Tao Tuesday for awhile. There are so many beautiful aspects of Zen Buddhism that I would […]