Written by David Nichtern

When we practice mindfulness meditation, one of the first things we notice is how un-mindful we are. It is like going back to the gym and realizing how out of shape we...

Written by David Nichtern

I think it’s fair to ask ourselves early on, why are we afraid of just sitting still? Why are we terrified of that? Or irritated by it? Actually, it’s for you...

Written by David Nichtern

Our mouth is the gateway to so many kinds of karma. What goes in (food, drink, etc.) becomes inextricably linked with who we are and how we feel. What goes out (speech...

Written by David Nichtern

At Buddhist seminary near Vancouver in 1980, I requested a personal interview with my teacher, the late Tibetan meditation master, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. I had been...

Written by David Nichtern

My taiji teacher, Sat Hon, is a virtual lexicon of sage and colorful phrases. One of my favorite expressions of his is “embrace uncertainty.” There is always...

Written by David Nichtern

Sometimes our “negative” habits (like anger, pride, jealousy, craving etc.) seem to come up like a cyclone out of nowhere. Often we might feel powerless to...

Written by David Nichtern

In mindfulness meditation practice, we are instructed to rest our attention on our breathing as a way to focus and stabilize our mind. This is an ancient and...

Written by David Nichtern

“The entire Buddhist path is based on the discovery of egolessness and the maturing of insight or knowledge that comes from egolessness.”

— Chogyam...

Written by David Nichtern

I had a major epiphany once while playing with our family’s chocolate toy poodle, Leroy Brown. I realized that he’s just trying to be happy. Sometimes when...