Zen Moments

“He has said to us that we can keep it!” Elusive artist Banksy made his own addition to the collection of Gallery 49 in the British Museum. A drawing in the style of prehistoric cave art showing a caveman with a shopping trolley, appeared alongside finds from 4th Century Roman Britain. A British Museum spokeswoman [...]

“Without a doubt, that was the biggest surprise I have had in three years of this show…” Susan Boyle – Singer – Britains Got Talent 2009 “SHE lives alone with her ten-year-old cat, has never been kissed, and is teased by children in the street. But 47-year-old Susan Boyle could just be the UK’s next [...]

“Everything comes down to you and one moment and one action…” From www.soulbiographies.com featuring Morgan Fisher (duration 8 minutes. try full screen. scaling on or off. use headphones) There is something so simple yet so profound that it’s quite possible we find ourselves missing it completely. Morgan spent many successful and raucous years playing in [...]

“…the answer is staring you in the face – if only you can see it” Depression can appear to be without antidote. For years I struggled with it, even though I made a good living from my paintings and to the observer, my life typified the creative dream. Horses had always been my passion and [...]

“Mooring on Chien-Te River” The boat rocks at anchor by the misty island Sunset, my loneliness comes again. In these vast wilds the sky arches down to the trees. In the clear river water, the moon draws near. Meng Hao-Jen Translation from the Chinese by Gary Snyder Photograph kindly contributed to Zen Moments by Sam [...]

“A tree, would be enough Or even a rock…” …A tree, would be enough Or even a rock, a small creek, A bark shred in a pool. Hill beyond hill, folded and twisted Tough trees crammed In thin stone fractures A huge moon on it all, is too much. The mind wanders… Excerpt from Piute [...]

“It was palpable… I could feel his words…” I had an amazing thing happen last week. It all started with an innocent email from an old friend sharing a highly “web-circulated” story of miraculous magnitude. I may have seen this story before, seemed familiar, but this time “The Cab Ride I’ll Never Forget” hit me [...]

“More than anything else, attention is the act of connection.” The reward for attention is always healing. It may begin as the healing of a particular pain – the lost lover, the sickly child, the shattered dream. But what is healed, finally, is the pain that underlies all pain: the pain that we are all, [...]

“Hand in Hand – Beautiful Ballet Dancers” Li Ma was a beautiful promising professional ballerina when she lost her right arm in a car accident in 1996. She was only 19. Her handsome boy friend walked away from her. She tried to kill herself, only to be saved by her parents. Her love for her [...]

“The music takes me away…” As with many of us, music provides a wonderful means of escape for me. No matter what mood I’m in, I can always find a song that helps “accentuate the positive” or “eliminate the negative.”  I can sing golden oldies, gospel songs, show tunes, pop hits or something I just [...]