Written by David Nichtern

Seven years ago I was swimming in a lake in Tuscany. Nearby a small boy appeared to need help getting into his little boat — naturally I gave him a hand and he paddled off l...

Written by David Nichtern

Lately there’s been a lot of discussion about childhood, adolescent and young adult bullying in schools. The bullying can take the form of psychological, emotional, physical...

Written by David Nichtern

If you study history, it seems that conflict and warfare are part of the very fabric of our human existence.

To understand the basis of conflict, all you really need to do ...

Written by David Nichtern

One Saturday morning I was walking from my apartment in downtown NY up to lead a weekend meditation workshop. As I often do, walking through New York streets, I popped in my...

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 have ...

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 to find out. B...

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 mostl...

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 going...

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 uncertainty in ...