Zen Moments

“…You think you can choose God like you choose a pair of shoes?…” There is something spiritual and magic about old book stores and libraries. Maybe it is just the smell of old books bringing back forgotten childhood memories, or maybe there is a deeper spiritual connection I can’t explain, but every time I am [...]

“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 [...]

“Having a child … can be an adventure all on its own…” When I realized that my life experiences are simply different and wonderful in their own way, I stopped feeling inferior due to wonderful stories of travel and adventure I hear from my childless friends. Having a child when you’re a still a child [...]

“I was tossing the coin to decide whether to buy an apple or an orange with our last dollar…” In August 1987, I left my job in Sydney, and hitch-hiked to Ayers Rock to see the Harmonic Convergence – a special alignment of planets which was supposed to usher in the New Age. My friends [...]

“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 [...]

“…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 talked to him about many things…” “My Heart Is Afraid that it will have to suffer,” the boy told the alchemist one night as they looked up at the moonless sky. “Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it [...]