Zen Moments

“I don’t think that I have done anything more important in my life…”

Twenty years ago, I drove a cab for a living.
It was a cowboy’s life, a life for someone who wanted no boss.
What I didn’t realize was that it was also a ministry.
Because I drove the night shift, my cab became a moving confessional. [...]

“You no never mean to me…You a good person”

While babysitting and hanging out with my best-good friends’ children, I was picking and prodding pomegranate seeds from the shell, having picked some fresh from the girl’s backyard.
While the youngest, age just 2, was eating hers from a bowl while watching kid shows on the couch, the [...]

“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 like [...]

“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 [...]

“Nothing happens next. This is it.”

The Grass-is-Greener Syndrome:
Challenges to Being Present
Have you ever had an experience like this: you might be walking on a beautiful wooded trail, or watching a sunset over water, or relaxing with good friends at the end of a day’s work; you are doing something at least mildly enjoyable or pleasant, [...]

“…no difference between us except degrees…”

I recently volunteered with a group to treat 81 homeless people to a holiday party in San Francisco. The party was the culmination of a day of providing these guests various services that most of us can enjoy and sometimes take for granted, like a haircut, new clothes, a chair [...]

“May your Buddha Nature illuminate all your moments, especially the foggy ones, this new year and beyond!”

Happy New Year from NOT2WO!
My holiday travels along the California coast are officially over, and despite all the nice places I’ve seen and experienced along the way, it’s good to be back at home-sweet-home in NYC.

I must make a [...]

“He didn’t like to live in the past, no regrets or blame…”

A Perfect Moment – The Wisdom of Bert on New Year’s Eve 2008
Last night we played a quaint little local pub which had a pretty eclectic crowd. Both my husband Kevin and I enjoyed ourselves immensely as there was [...]

“…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 in [...]

“Is it Possible to Meditate in a Moment?”

The following is an excerpt from “One-Moment Meditation: Stillness for People on the Go” (Winter Road, May 2009) by Martin Boroson
Many people see mediation as an endurance test: the longer they can sit still, being peaceful, the more spiritual they are. Many people also believe that meditation must [...]