By all accounts the Dalai Lama is the embodiment of equanimity. In the face of persecution, a lifetime of exile, the responsibility of both an entire nation and an entire religion, he has always seemed grounded, open-eyed and to be acting from a base of strength....
Dear Friends, We finally kissed 2020 goodbye a few weeks ago, hoping for more peaceful, healthy, and productive times ahead. And yet as I write this, the U.S. is breaking tragic records for deaths from Covid-19 and Congress is debating whether to impeach President...
I have a strong preference for life to make sense, especially the part that involves human interactions. Do you find that, too? So much rides on our ability to see eye to eye and solve problems. I want everyone’s attitudes and actions, including my own, to line up...
by Jack Kornfield, A Path With Heart Select a quiet place where you can walk comfortably back and forth, indoors or out, about ten to thirty paces in length. Begin by standing at one end of this “walking path,” with your feet firmly planted on the ground. Let your...
To Forgive: (1) to cease to feel resentment against (an offender) (2) to give up any claim to requital (compensation or retaliation) (3) to grant relief from debt. [Merriam-Webster] “To forgive is to abandon all hope of a better past.” – author...
Dear Friends, Lately I’ve been thinking about how I can support myself better in living more deeply in the way I intend: to be more grounded and deliberate in my choices at home, especially. And since I’m home so much more, this matters. Work, play, rest,...
by Tim Burnett & Robin Boudette, October 2020 THE BUDDHIST ROOTS OF MINDFULNESS 2020 In October 2020, Mindfulness Northwest Executive Director and Guiding Teacher Tim Burnett co-led a 7-day retreat on the teachings on the foundational Buddhist teaching of the...
With my serenity, sense of well-being, and actual well-being assaulted on many fronts lately, I’ve been feeling desperate to make things better. At the same time, I’ve been feeling overwhelmed by the size and number of crises in our world right now. Maybe you can...
by Tim Burnett, September 2020 THE BUDDHIST ROOTS OF MINDFULNESS 2020 In August 2020, Mindfulness Northwest Executive Director and Guiding Teacher Tim Burnett co-led a 5-day retreat on the Buddhist teachings on patience with reference to the 8th Century Indian teacher...
Dear Friends, There’s a poem by William Stafford called “The Way It Is” that we share in class sometimes: There’s a thread you follow. It goes among things that change. But it doesn’t change. People wonder about what you are pursuing. You...
In my favorite holiday movie, Home for the Holidays, single mother Claudia Larson (the fabulous Holly Hunter) is living the full catastrophe. In the span of 24 hours, she gets fired, kisses her (now former) boss, and comes down with a cold. She’s headed to visit her...
by Tim Burnett & Robin Boudette, October 2019 LECTURES FROM THE FALL 2019 ROOTS OF MINDFULNESS RETREAT In October 2019, Mindfulness Northwest Executive Director and Guiding Teacher Tim Burnett co-led a 7-day retreat on the Buddhist teachings of the Seven Factors...
