Tag Archive: calm

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

Coping With Insomnia

The following question about insomnia came through the other day, and I wondered why I’ve never addressed it before. So here it is: ‘Hi Roger … I’ve suffered from insomnia for the last… Continue reading

What Are You?

Everywhere I go, in various iterations, I keep hearing the same question: ‘Who am I?’ People pose this question as if somehow, if only they could find an answer, it would solve all… Continue reading

The Monk and The Bell.

Back in the 90’s, when I was researching stuff during the writing of my first book on meditation, ‘Happy to Burn’, I happened to find a fascinating article, (long since lost) which clarified… 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 Not About Relaxation

I think for this post I’ll get back to basics. It’s in response to a question a friend asked me the other day … a very, very … very … basic question which… Continue reading

Being Mindful

I replied to this on Quora, and thought it might make a good addition to this blog (the drawing to the right has nothing to do with it … it’s just something I… 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

Be Here Now

Recently someone emailed me the following question: Hi Roger, I’ve got this friend who drives me nuts because every time I do something stupid, he pipes up with this cliché, ‘be here now’,… 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

Meditating Without Faith is Like Breathing Without Air

It occurred to me today, that one thing I’ve neglected to write about on this blog is perhaps, one of the most important requirements of efficient meditation. And that is the notion of… Continue reading

Why Does Meditating Make Me Anxious?

Got this question in an email from Marc. “Hi Roger … I recently started meditating and frankly I find it makes me even more anxious than I usually am. But I persevered and… Continue reading

Can Positive Thinking Work as Powerfully as Meditation?

This was another Quora question, which prompted my following reply. There’s a problem with positive thinking – and that is, your mind is not an idiot. It knows all of you, both positive… Continue reading

Excitement from Meditation?

Got this question from someone on Quora, and I thought it might make an interesting post. They asked: ‘How do I get an exciting experience from meditation?’ And my reply?Put simply, you don’t.… Continue reading

The Unthinkingness of Not Thinking

Got this interesting question on Quora: “If during meditation you reach a point of no thoughts, then how do you recognize that state without thinking?” You know it. You see, what we call… Continue reading

Clinging

Clinging creates tension because it flies in the face of change. When we cling, we presuppose its possible for things to always stay the same. We want things to stay the same –… Continue reading

Happiness Schmappiness

Got this question from Barry – he says: “Roger, I’ve been meditating for weeks now and I’m still unhappy. I’ve been unhappy all my life, and I’m losing hope that it will ever… Continue reading

Checking In

‘Be here now. Be someplace else later. Is that so complicated?‘ – David M. Bader One thing that makes meditation easier is if you blend the practice into your day. And, aside from… Continue reading

Routine

‘The big things that come our way are the fruit of seeds planted in the daily routine of our work.’– William Feather One of the biggest problems people have with meditation is it… Continue reading

Practicing Mindfulness

‘Mindfulness isn’t difficult. We just need to remember to do it.’ – Sharon Salzberg Mindfulness gets a lot of media attention these days. Everybody’s talking about it, books have been written about it,… Continue reading

Going On Silent Retreat

If you’re as fascinated with meditation as I am, at some point you’re going to want to do it more intensively – to go into silent retreat and meditate for some days or… Continue reading

The Skill of Being Still

As you’ve probably noticed, I’ve not been posting over the last year, largely because I’ve been preoccupied with other things – but also because the answers to most of the questions I’m getting… Continue reading