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New translations of “This Difficult Thing of Being Human”

https://www.wildmind.org/blogs/on-practice/new-translations-of-this-difficult-thing-of-being-human

Published: September 20, 2024 11:30

I was delighted to discover recently that “This Difficult Thing of Being Human” — my book on self-compassion — has been translated into Chinese and Korean. That’s in addition to a Romanian translation I learned about three years ago. It’s an odd story. I…

Understanding non-self – an audio preview

https://www.wildmind.org/blogs/on-practice/understanding-non-self-an-audio-preview

Published: September 19, 2024 19:00

I’m curious what you think about this conversation, on the topic of non-self. It’s a podcast-style explanation of an article I wrote years ago, called Understanding Non-Self: The boys in the basement, the empty room, and the plagiarist. I was fairly…

12 Ways to respond to unkindness with kindness

https://www.wildmind.org/blogs/on-practice/12-ways-to-respond-to-unkindness-with-kindness

Published: September 3, 2024 20:15

I came across this on Mastodon (the BEST social media platform), shared by user Vee, and thought it was really useful. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to find out where it’s from. Here’s what it says: UNDERSTAND THE SOURCE Unkind behavior often stems…

Great news about my writing

https://www.wildmind.org/blogs/on-practice/great-news-about-my-writing

Published: August 13, 2024 18:48

Exciting things have been happening recently. In the space of just a week or so I was been offered two publishing contracts, one for a book coming out next year, and one for the following year. “The Heart’s Awakening” The Heart’s Awakening” is scheduled to…

“Unyoking” ourselves from feelings

https://www.wildmind.org/blogs/on-practice/unyoking-ourselves-from-feelings

Published: August 2, 2024 11:00

Feelings are a very ancient part of us. They are evolution’s first attempt at thought. While conceptual thought takes place in the mind, feelings take place in the body. While thoughts are in general mainly visual and auditory representations of external…

Mudita is not “sympathetic joy”

https://www.wildmind.org/blogs/on-practice/mudita-is-not-sympathetic-joy

Published: April 23, 2024 13:12

This is an extract the from the introduction to my course on Mudita, which is part of a longer series of teachings on the brahma-viharas — also known as the “immeasurables.” The third of the Brahmaviharas, after lovingkindness and compassion, is mudita.…

Forgiveness as a practice of compassion

https://www.wildmind.org/blogs/on-practice/forgiveness-as-a-practice-of-compassion

Published: March 24, 2024 18:19

One of the emotional drivers of cruel and unkind behavior is resentment. Resentment is when we hold onto past hurt, locking ourselves into a pattern of blame. Unable to let go of the past we keep bringing up a memory of someone hurting us, betraying us, or…

Remember others’ acts of compassion

https://www.wildmind.org/blogs/on-practice/remember-others-acts-of-compassion

Published: March 15, 2024 19:54

In some versions of the  lovingkindness (metta bhavana) practice we start by calling to mind a benefactor — someone who has been kind to us. The significance of this is that we’re remembering what kindness is like, connecting experientially with it so that…

Why it’s important to meditate every day

https://www.wildmind.org/blogs/on-practice/why-its-important-to-meditate-every-day

Published: January 13, 2024 22:08

I used to envy people who were able to meditate every day, because it was something I struggled with. Certain people just didn’t have a problem with meditating daily, but I found it hard. I’d have successful runs of a few weeks, and then I’d end up not…

Reflections on the death of my mother

https://www.wildmind.org/blogs/on-practice/reflections-on-the-death-of-my-mother

Published: January 4, 2024 18:27

It’s my birthday today, and it’s unlike any I can remember from my now 63 years on this planet. It’s the first birthday I’ve had since my mother* passed away on Christmas Eve, just 11 days ago. My younger sister died just over a year ago, and I wrote then…