All entries filed under this archive
The Liberation of Lowered Expectations – HIGHLIGHT
by Larry Barnett One reason I sometimes feel dissatisfied with life is that my expectations are too high. In fact, this is the primary reason. I expect, for example, that candidates for President of the United States will have been taught good manners like politeness and not ... continuePosted August 19, 2018 by CGH
Shambhala Shrine Amidst Crisis – HIGHLIGHT
Working with issues and concerns related to Shambhala Center shrines and images of Shambhala teachers by Barbara Heffernan The Shambhala community is struggling to determine the appropriate response to recent accounts of sexual misconduct on the part of our spiritual leader and lineage holder, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche. On a ... continuePosted August 11, 2018 by CGH
Suffering, Impermanence, Life – HIGHLIGHT
Reflecting on ways to respond to the many changes we inevitably experience by Susan Firer The world at large and our own personal worlds are always in transition. We can accept this truth or we can wish it were different – either way, the nature of reality is ... continuePosted May 17, 2018 by CGH
In Appreciation of Quiet – HIGHLIGHT
A few thoughts on the delights and sufferings associated with the sounds around us by Larry Barnett I like quiet. I don’t mean the complete silence of any sound whatsoever, but the quiet of the natural world. I find the sound of leaves rustling in the wind comforting. ... continuePosted January 8, 2018 by CGH
What is Suffering? – HIGHLIGHT
Some thoughts on suffering, in the Buddhist tradition and in the Shambhala teachings by Larry Steele It is said that the Buddha gave his first teachings at Deer Park, near what is now known as Varanasi, India. There, after years of searching and contemplation, he presented the four ... continuePosted November 5, 2017 by CGH
The Pathology of Happiness – HIGHLIGHT
A closer look at cultural conceptions related to happiness and contentment by Larry Barnett When an idea, an object, a substance, or an emotion preoccupies consciousness to the near exclusion of anything else, we call it an obsession. And when an obsession becomes a compulsion so powerful as ... continuePosted August 3, 2017 by CGH
Losing a Little Part of Myself – HIGHLIGHT
A reflection on the transformations encountered through the process of aging by Shastri Christine Heming It seems that everyday I lose a little part of me. As if a transformation is occurring, completely out of my control. This morning the liver spot on my left cheek deepened in ... continuePosted August 30, 2016 by CGH
Giving the Ghost a Voice, Part III – HIGHLIGHT
Coming to terms with personal identity through the spiritual practice of Buddhism by Bryan Mendiola Illustration by Yuko Shimizu Though I was not fully aware of it at the time, it was all this hatred that led me to psychology as my profession and to Buddhism as my spiritual ... continuePosted May 22, 2016 by CGH