Suffering is a loaded term. In Buddhism suffering – or rather: how not to suffer – is the crux of the practice. Many people associate suffering with physical pain, with the lack of a place to live, or with starvation, and therefore think that they...
It is the evening before Thanksgiving. I had planned to go to bed early. I wanted to go to a barre class in the morning, despite my recent knee surgery. I knew I wouldn’t be able to do the whole class. I thought it would...
I like to think I am a morning person. I love to get up early and meditate while the world is still quiet. I don’t like waking up with an alarm though. Already years ago I downloaded a song from my favorite movie as my...
In my previous blog I described that experiencing a - real or perceived - threat triggers the fight-or-flight response in our body. This reaction makes our brain even more hyper alert to threat. It works in reverse too: negative thoughts trigger stress responses in the...
After reading this first paragraph, close your eyes for a moment. Bring to mind your biggest fear. Imagine yourself being in a situation where you have to cope with this fear. What does the scene look like? Who is there? What do you see? What...