Marc Lesser's Blog, page 44
April 1, 2009
Laughter, Humor, Zen, and Getting Things Done
laughter.jpg “Blessed are we who can laugh at ourselves for we shall never cease to be amused.”
“Be here now. Be someplace else later. Is that so complicated?” David Bade
March 30, 2009
Concentration: Just doing what you are doing – what an amazing idea!
Desert Landscape.jpg “You may think that if there is no purpose or no goal in our practice, we will not know what to do. But, there is a way. The way to practice without having any goal is to limit your activity, or to be concentrated on what you are doing in this moment.”
Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind Beginners Mind
Of course, having clear goals is important. And, equally important is just doing what you are doing, without rushing ahead to
March 25, 2009
Meditation Practice – Like Brushing Your Teeth
brush-teeth.jpg I understand how difficult it can be to incorporate a regular meditation practice into your life. I teach a meditation and mindfulness program at Google called Search Inside Yourself. Many of the people in the class find it difficult to meditate regularly. My suggestion, which seemed to work – treat meditation much like brushing your teeth. I don’t get up each morning and ask myself – “Do I want to brush my teeth this mo
March 23, 2009
Cultivating Composure
IMG_0141.jpg “You are perfect just as you are, and you can use a little improvement.”
- Shunryu Suzuki
March 20, 2009
Less Distractions/More Focus
IMG_0148.jpg “We can actually focus our minds in a way that changes the structure and function of the brain throughout our lives. . . . [B:]eing aware of the present moment without grasping onto judgments offers a powerful path toward both compassion and inner well-being. This is what science verifies and what has been taught over thousands of years of practice.”
- Daniel Siegel, The Mindful Brain
March 18, 2009
March 16, 2009
The Cure For Feeling Discouraged
IMG_0138.jpg There is a famous Zen dialogue in which the student says to the teacher, I’m feeling discouraged. What should I do?
The teacher responds by saying, “Encourage others.”
Of course, we all sometimes have the experience of feeling discouraged. It is only human for our expectations to not be met, to feel pain and difficulty, to want things to be different than they are. And, encouraging others is a simple, tangible activity -- wi
March 9, 2009
what is the secret to Happiness?
IMG_0121.jpg The Secret of Happiness
A student asked the teacher, “What is the secret of happiness?”
The teacher responded, “Good judgment.”
“Ah,” said the student. “How do I attain good judgment?”
“From experience.” Responded the teacher.
“Yes”, said the student, “and how do I attain experience?”
“Bad judgment” answered the teacher.
This short dialogue contains several different possible paths toward answering the original question about happine
March 6, 2009
Retreat To Get Ahead: The Benefits of Taking a Retreat, Especially During Difficult Times
IMG_0120.jpg We live in difficult times. There is no shortage of issues and situations to be concerned about; our lives and our world are filled with unknowns. Particularly stressful is the state of the economy – as blue chip companies become penny stocks, and job security becomes job insecurity.
