Tag Archive: relaxation

The Seductive Dream of Beautiful Information

I got an email the other day, from a woman who was keen to bounce her knowledge of Buddhist lore off me, and engage in an exchange of ideas. And she knew a… Continue reading

Experience The Experience

‘Experience the experience’ was the epitaph my father wanted engraved on his headstone when he died. And indeed, it was the creed he tried to live by. He was constantly pushing himself to… Continue reading

Commitment Gives Life To Our Dreams

I was watching a movie the other night and something was said that annoyed me. A woman was complaining to a friend about her husband and how their marriage had become stale. To… Continue reading

Releasing The Breath

I recently spoke with a friend who had just begun meditating – she was having difficulty with using her breath as a main object. She said as soon as she turned her attention… 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

Making Mindfulness A Habit

I’ve been getting more emails asking about mindfulness – more than I have about meditation. So I’ll write another post about it to see if I can bring a bit more clarity to… 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

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

Life Is A Monastery

Interesting observation of my new book, ‘Being Still’ which I think I’ve commented on before, but which I think I will again:‘Hi Roger … read your new book and loved it, but I’m… 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

‘It’s The Body, Stupid!’

Got this question: “Roger, I keep losing myself in daydreams while meditating. I get so lost sometimes I even forget I exist, and the more I try to focus, the more intense the… Continue reading

Can Positive Thinking Work as a 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

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 it’s possible for things to always stay the same. We want things to stay the same –… 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