Zen Moments

“Why hadn’t he asked me to marry him?”

The time and the place were perfect. We’d been together for just over a year. We were deeply in love. We were sitting in a fabulous restaurant after a magical evening listening to the Prague String Quartet. (Bach – my favourite.)  We’d had a box (!) in [...]

“You watch it all, until the last sliver of golden light vanishes…”

Having taught meditation for many years, I’ve found that one of the most common questions I get asked is: “How do I get started?”
People often begin with a book and try to teach themselves. But in the beginning you don’t really know what you [...]

“Not-knowing is not easy, it’s not comfortable…”

“And what do you do?”
Back when I was 21, I was unemployed. I didn’t know what I wanted to do, and I hated that question.
“I’m unemployed” was the truth, but I would cringe each time I gave that answer. In those days maybe there was more of a stigma [...]

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life”

Commencement address by Steve Jobs
CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios
Given to graduates of Stanford University, June 12, 2005 (Duration: 15 mins)
“I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help [...]

“So – stand back and look at what it’s costing emotionally.
Forget the money for the moment…”

Having been a Buddhist monk, and now running an IT support business, I find that these two worlds sometimes overlap in surprising ways.
In running my business, I never sign contracts with people. Everything is done on trust, people come [...]

“If you’ve practised with the small things,
you’ll be able to deal with the big things.”

This one stopped me in my tracks. The Abbot said he was going to get his sleeping bag dry-cleaned, and I thought “Mine could really do with cleaning too”.
So I asked him “Could we get my sleeping bag dry-cleaned as well?”

I [...]

“…if you choose ‘life’, call me and I’ll be there. “

Today, March 12 2009, I celebrate my third year of sobriety. Today I celebrate life and 1,095 days free of drugs and alcohol.
Three years ago today was a dark day for me, yet a turning point in my life. It was the day I [...]

“In making our minds up, we set them up to be broken down.
We create the conditions for doubt by trying to create certainty.”

Once upon a time I knew what I wanted out of life. I knew where I was going. I was going to be a Great Inventor.
And I revelled in that sense of confidence [...]