five hindrances

If you keep falling asleep in meditation

One of my more popular guided meditations on the Insight Timer app is meant to help people get to sleep.…

May 12, 2025

“This is where peace is found”

Anyone who has meditated knows that over and over again we turn the mind toward the sensations of the breathing,…

October 4, 2021

Overcoming resistance to meditation (a self-compassionate guide)

There can be lots of reasons for why we avoid meditating. We might not want to experience particular feelings. We…

June 14, 2019

The most important thing right now, is <em>right now</em>

The problem with distractions is that they're compelling. They make us think that they're important. They draw us into their…

October 18, 2016

Letting happiness happen

The one emotion that we most commonly repress is joy. We don't intend to do this. Instead, it happens through…

July 27, 2016

Stepping out of compulsive thoughts, and into freedom

The moment when we realize that we've been caught up in a distracted train of thought is a valuable opportunity…

May 19, 2016

Dealing with creative distractions

Someone recently asked me about how to deal with useful distractions: As a creative writer, I think I get some…

March 25, 2016

Facing the demon of self-doubt

Someone wrote to me the other day, asking for advice regarding how to deal with a bout of self-punishing doubt:…

April 22, 2015

Being mindful of the effects of your thinking

Some kinds of thinking are helpful in terms of what we're trying to achieve in the meditation, and some kinds…

February 3, 2013

The opportunity of “the magic quarter-second”

In her book My Stroke of Insight, brain scientist Jill Bolte Taylor explains that the natural life span of an…

November 13, 2012