“….Pollution! Look at this rubbish!” he said vehemently, “Bloody vandals! Chucking their garbage about!…” I had been wandering along a path, savoring the clear afternoon stillness of a popular national park near Melbourne,… Continue reading
Just found this wonderful interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates on the writing process, in which he says: “I always consider the entire process about failure …” Like with any skill, I also believe this to… Continue reading
I’ve always found Alan Watts inspiring to listen to. When he speaks it sets off little explosions of insight in my head that feed my practice. In this video, he’s speaking about worry,… Continue reading
Most people, as they go through the process of learning how to meditate, pass through a number of stages, some pleasant, some unpleasant. And my view is, no matter whether pleasure or pain,… Continue reading
Neuroplasticity is a subject very pertinent to meditation – particularly meditation as consistent practice. Because rest assured, for all the difficulties you might experience as you meditate, and no matter how hopeless you… Continue reading
Following is a question concerning an unusual condition that keeps repeating each time Jacques meditates: “Hi Roger, I liked your book but I got a big problem meditating. I have given it… Continue reading
In the early ‘80’s a friend of mine began practicing a popular form of meditation being propagated by a famous Indian guru and his followers. This group had centers all over the world… Continue reading
“It is slavery to live in the mind unless it has become part of the body.” -Kahlil Gibran One time, in one of the temples where I was doing Vipassana training in Thailand,… 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
When I went to Thailand in 2000 to do the first of many silent retreats to train in Vipassana meditation methods, I was awash with information – things I’d read, accounts of other people’s… Continue reading
As much as I’ve covered this subject in numerous posts, people still consider compulsive thinking to be the main obstacle when they meditate. And its completely understandable. After all, in a culture such… Continue reading
A question came up from a previous post, and It is such a good question, I thought I’d make it into a new post. (Thank you Peter)” …I have some questions surrounding the… Continue reading
Interesting question came in during the week. “I started meditating recently. Today was my fourth time actually, about 20 minutes long. I was fine afterwards, calm, like I had been the 3… Continue reading
As much as I have covered this subject in numerous posts, I keep hearing meditators complain about thinking. ‘I cant stop thinking,’ seems to be the main complaint, and obstacle in almost everybody’s… Continue reading
There has been a lot of press about the relationship between meditation and neuroplasticity recently. What this means is, where before it was thought that after fully forming itself during childhood the basic structure… Continue reading
Hi Roger, Sometimes when I’m meditating and my mind is running away with itself, I find myself sitting with my mind all over the place. But I’ve noticed during these times, just sitting… 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
Hi … been taking a break over the New Year and now I’m back. A few questions have come in over that time which I’ll address over the next few days. The first… Continue reading
We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them. … Continue reading
A question came the the other day that made me think. It was about a very common problem to do with uncomfortable tightening of the breath each time the practitioner meditates. I won’t… 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
In most of the emails I’ve received about the variety of problems people have when they meditate, I’ve noticed a common thread. Whether it’s restless mind or restless body or an attention that… Continue reading
