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
I keep getting emails about enlightenment, or nibbana, or nirvana – how it happens and what it is, and how long it takes. And though I’ve written about it before, I figure it’s… Continue reading
Essentially, the path through meditation requires balance. Take the act of meditating for example – for sure, we need to apply effort – but if we use too much effort we create tension… Continue reading
When I first began meditating I had terrible difficulty with it, and almost gave up at one point, because I felt as if I just didn’t have what it took. It wasn’t… Continue reading
A while ago I was doing an online session with a meditator, and we were talking generally about what it is to practice meditation, and how difficult it can be to maintain a… Continue reading
“Most people, even though they don’t know it, are asleep. They’re born asleep, they live asleep, they marry in their sleep, they breed children in their sleep, they die in their sleep… Continue reading
Meditation can be summed up in one sentence: ‘Meditation is the skill of being still.’ The stillness I’m talking about is not the semi-comatose stillness we’re in when watching TV, nor is it… Continue reading
I’m sorry I’ve been absent for a while, but I’ve been working on my novel, “The Sweet Burn of Emptiness”. It’s taken eight years to get to this final draft, so right now… Continue reading
Question: ‘Hi Roger, I read something the other day about the Law of Attraction, which basically states: you attract what you think about. What’s your view of this?’ An interesting question, which gives… Continue reading
Question: What is the void? I sometimes go with a friend to a Zen meditation class and the Japanese monk who teaches there keeps talking about ‘the void’. Can you explain what this… Continue reading
In the two decades I’ve been teaching meditation, the common thread that runs through the motivations of most of the people I’ve taught, is they want to be released in some way. Whether released from a sense… Continue reading
G’day Roger, Sometimes while I’m meditating, my mind is full of instructions about what I should be doing – things like: pay attention to sensations of weight, now pay attention to sensations of… Continue reading
I was looking through all the emails I’ve received from meditators over the last few months, and it occurred to me that a lot of the problems we have in meditation, as varied as they… Continue reading
Well, I’m finally back online. I’m sorry I’ve been absent for a while, but I’ve been travelling in China, and until recently, was not able to get to my blog, because WordPress.com is blocked… Continue reading
In my last post, ‘Hurt’s So Good’, Leena asked a good question which I thought was worth another post: She asked: “Life is Pain, Highness. Anyone who tells you differently is selling you… Continue reading
Every so often I get asked about enlightenment, or nibbana, or nirvana – which Wikipedia describes as: “… a spiritual revelation or deep insight into the meaning and purpose of all things, communication with or understanding of… Continue reading
QUESTION: “Hi Roger … I’ve been having problems with meditation, in particular, watching the breath, for many many years and am at a loss to figure out what is wrong, and it’s only… Continue reading
Sartre once said in a play he wrote, “Hell is other people.” and indeed, when it comes to meditation, hell can sometimes be other people, particularly when they don’t understand what you’re doing,… Continue reading
There seems to be a pattern to some people’s relationship with meditation, and it goes a bit like this: 1. Enthused by the novelty of it all, they go at it like a… Continue reading
Question: “In the early stages of the meditation, I find there’s a lot of things happening at the same time – especially Thinking, Hearing and Rising or Falling of the breath. And I… Continue reading
Most people struggle with meditation, either with the posture or with an attention that just won’t sit still – not to mention the skeins of thinking that just won’t let you alone. It’s… Continue reading
Though I never had the opportunity to practice with Acharn Chah, I wish I had, because his understanding of meditation, and the tricky mental obstacle course it can be when we practice it,… Continue reading
The skill of meditating is not for its own sake. We are not meditating to be excellent meditators. We’re meditating to have excellent lives. Meditation’s just a method, a tool after all –… Continue reading
