acceptance

“This is just how things are right now”

I've been practicing and teaching self-compassion for a long time now. My book on that topic, "This Difficult Thing of…

December 2, 2025

Self-compassion for troubling times

At the moment lot of people are suffering more than usual. They are anxious, exhausted, and overwhelmed about the awful…

February 24, 2025

Try gentler, not harder

There's an old story that goes something like this. A young man wants to learn to be an expert swordsman.…

November 9, 2020

Liking yourself is not the antidote to hating yourself

You might think that the antidote to self-hatred is liking yourself. But is that desirable, or even possible? We all…

May 8, 2019

From fear and denial to love and acceptance

In the opening words to his book “The Road Less Traveled,” the late psychiatrist M. Scott Peck says: Life is…

April 16, 2019

The miracle of being here

The main quality we're cultivating when we meditate is mindfulness. Mindfulness is just another word for observing. To observe our…

February 7, 2019

A “feeling crap” meditation

I'm sure that sometimes you feel crap. The other week I was feeling particularly crappy. I have an idea what…

September 20, 2018

Emily Dickinson: “The brain is wider than the sky…”

The brain is wider than the sky, For, put them side by side, The one the other will include With…

February 7, 2018

Fully embracing this present moment

It was late in the evening when my son told me he'd left his backpack in the car. That's not…

August 1, 2017

Enjoying the play of your inner toddler

We can experience different kinds of distracted thinking in meditation. There are obvious, compelling, and “in your face” thoughts in…

December 19, 2016