Zen Moments

“Because, you understand, they are sisters…” The Ladies have been trying lately. Trying to make me crazy by the end of summer vacation, I am convinced. They get along for brief periods of time – usually involving some sort mess and mayhem – which intersperse the fighting. Fighting over space on the couch, over which [...]

“…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 [...]

“Suddenly I was face to face with a swinging club…” For some years I taught Art to teenagers who had been excluded from school. You have to be so careful with kids like these. Especially when they first arrive. They’re often hostile – brittle, ready to fly off the handle at the least imagined slight. [...]

“We must be the change we wish to see in the world” – Ghandi This is a short summary of a powerful, inspirational video which documents the moving transformation of a group of teenagers as they follow Challenge Day’s “Be the Change” program. “The Be the Change movement inspires people to notice what’s happening in [...]

“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 [...]

“No-one has ever done anything like this for me, lady…” I had a very sad experience on Wednesday night after Yoga. It was about 8.15 pm and I was in a hurry to get back home. Just as the class ended it started to rain heavily, and I was cursing for not having brought an [...]

“If you’re going to be robbing people for the rest of the night, you might as well take my coat to keep you warm…” This is the amazing story of social worker, Julio Diaz, who was on his way home one evening. His normal routine was to get off the train one stop early, to [...]

“As Buddhist nun, I travel with no money. I don’t have so much as a dime, quarter or credit card with me “ I fly a lot and have done so for nearly a decade. Usually the connections go smoothly and I get where I need to, without incident. On rare occasions something crops up [...]

“How do you let yourself be that honest?” March holds a special meaning for me as this was the month of both the birth and the death of one of my best friends, and I’ve just gone back and relived the last days of his life.  I wrote this story and thought I’d share it [...]

“No thanks, I don’t need anything right now… was like shutting a door in their face…” I learned a lot about receiving when I was a monk. I lived as a Buddhist monk without money for 17 years – where everything I consumed (apart from water and toothpaste) actually had to be put into my hands [...]