Newsletters – 2023

In a candid interview between Dan and Mike D of the Beastie Boys on the 10% Happier podcast, the musician opened up about loss, grief, and the power of meditation in helping him stay open to life’s ups and downs. 

Sometimes, we have to take care of business—other times, ourselves.

When it comes to maintaining a meditation practice, negative reinforcement does not work. But mindfulness does.

I cried so much in the months after I had both of my two kids.I cried in banks, in coffee shops, and lord knows every room of my house. I’m not actually sure who cried more – me, or my colicky babies. It wasn’t quite post-partum depression –I prefer to describe it as the everyday gut-wrenching, confusing, disorienting, sleep-deprived vertigo of parenthood.Meanwhile, here I was, a meditation practitioner for almost two decades, with no clue about what my carefully cultivated spiritual practice had to say about this massive life shift.

Do I have your attention right now?I hope so, but even if I do, I won’t keep it for very long. As you read this newsletter, chances are that you’ll miss up to half of what I say. And on top of that, you’ll finish reading it, convinced that you didn’t miss a thing.

There are days when I feel that climate change is the only thing that matters, and that the tragedy of it is unbearable. At least I know that I’m not alone. According to a 2020 study by the American Psychiatric Association, over half of Americans said they were somewhat or extremely anxious about the impact of climate change.So what can we do?

For many people, meditation is like trying to put a wild animal into a tight little cage. But, says meditation teacher Cara Lai, this approach doesn’t work.

Even when we are powerless to change it, it is possible to bear witness to suffering, mindfully present and aware. Zen monk Koshin Paley Ellison explains how.

You can’t talk yourself out of imposter syndrome. Instead, try connecting with your body.

Meditation can help you relax, but more importantly, it can help cultivate an attitude of acceptance that makes falling asleep, or not falling asleep, more restful.