My new book: Making Sense of Meditation
Well, it’s been a long time since my last post on this blog, reason being, I’ve been writing two books – the first volume of a memoir, titled ‘This Perfect Life: Building a… Continue reading
Category Archive: Effects of Meditation
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Building Awareness To Change Habits
Everything we are, and everything we do, arises from a habit.All our skills and abilities, our cravings and addictions, whether good or bad, as well as our physical form, our emotional profile and… Continue reading
The Path To Enlightenment
In bumbling through YouTube last night, I happened upon an extraordinary video. I say ‘extraordinary’ because the information it conveys is so unusually lucid – particularly given the subject of the video is… Continue reading
How Do I ‘Watch My Thoughts’?
Hi Roger, I’m hoping you can help me with a confusing thing that happens when I meditate. I go to a local meditation group and the teacher told us to watch our thoughts… Continue reading
Knowing Yourself
Throughout a life, we accumulate habits. Some work for us, other’s don’t. And the key to a good life is being able to nurture those habits that work for us, and weed out… Continue reading
Just Do It
One day, I received an email from a woman asking if we could meet. She said she was eager to discuss Buddhist lore and exchange ideas. And it became clear in subsequent emails,… Continue reading
Am I Enlightened?
A few days ago I got this rather curt question from one of my readers: ‘Roger, I read your posts with great interest and I’m thinking of buying your book. I have a… Continue reading
Suffering And Kamma – A Wonderful Talk by Ajahn Jayasaro
The words ‘suffering’ and ‘kamma’, as core principles in Theravada Buddhism, are very much misunderstood by many. In this illuminating talk, Ajahn Jayasaro brings them to life as aspects of the path to… Continue reading
How Quantum Physics Intersects With The Buddhist Realization of Emptiness
When it comes to meditation, it’s rare that I find anything on YouTube that is both succinct and illuminating – but this video was both. In particular, it clarifies the Buddhist notions of… Continue reading
Embracing Anatta: The Wonderful Reality of Non-Self
I got an email the other day, with A very concise question:‘Hi Roger, what do you think of the Buddhist idea of non-self?’ So it occurred to me that, even though I’ve posted… Continue reading
The Way to Stillness
Question: Roger, I read your book and I get what you’re saying about how meditation isn’t all fairy dust and bliss, and how we’ve got to build a mental and physical skillset to… Continue reading
Using Mindfulness to Deal With Anguish
Question:Roger, I suffer from chronic depression. I’m not sure what triggers it – it can happen anywhere. All I know is it usually happens when I’m among crowds of people. When it happens… Continue reading
My Body, My Love
A few years ago I used to go to a nearby gym and, being physically rather unambitious, I’d do my leisurely routine with lots of rests in-between, then have a swim and go… Continue reading
Reactive Cycles
Question: ‘Hi Roger, in your book you talk about reactive cycles. I’ve not heard of them before and it’s an interesting idea, so I was wondering if you could flesh it out for… Continue reading
On Living To Forget
One day I received an email with this very curt question: “I read your book. Interesting. One question. Why do you talk so much about how hard meditation is?” Regardless of its curtness,… Continue reading
The Immaculate Inbetween
Question: ‘Hi Roger … In stories of the Buddha that I’ve read, enlightenment seemed very easy to people. Just by listening to the Buddha, they used to suddenly become enlightened. Is this just… Continue reading
Using Mindfulness To Temper A Quick Temper
I’m not sure if I’ve written about this subject before, but I got the following question, so if I did, I’ll do it again Question was: ‘Hi Roger … I’ve recently been meditating… Continue reading
Keep It Simple
Meditation is very simple – just sit still with your attention resting lightly on the breath. Notice what arises in the mind and body, accept that it’s there, let it go and return… Continue reading
Spiritual Or Delusion?
This question came thru today, and it’s an interesting one. ‘Roger, why is your view of meditation so unspiritual? As far as I know, meditation has always been a spiritual practice, yet you… Continue reading
It’s More Than Relaxation
So, let’s begin with a basic misconception about meditation and build from there. A friend once asked me a very simple question which, nonetheless, is an important piece of the meditation puzzle. He… Continue reading
Practicing Mindfulness During the Day
Got this question today: ‘Hi Roger, do you think a daily meditation is enough to develop mindfulness?’ And my reply: Put simply, no. Mindfulness must be actively applied during the course of each… Continue reading
The Trap of Wondrous Meditation Experiences
“Hi Roger … I notice in your book you deal with the presence of pain and anxiety and the lack of calm that most of us experience in meditation, but you don’t describe… Continue reading
The Main Game
A while back, while sitting in a café having a coffee, I overheard a group of people arguing about meditation. It seemed as if they’d been to some kind of meditation retreat, and… Continue reading