Have Portable Feeding Pump, Will Travel
Or: Wherever you go, there you – and your special needs child – are. Traveling these days can test the equanimity of even the most experienced meditator. Add in a special needs child with sensory issues, mobility limitations, a bunch of medical equipment, and the potential for seizures or other emergencies, and you have the […]
The Prison Is Made Of Wanting
Over the summer I had the opportunity to do a ten day meditation retreat in New Mexico at the Vallecitos Mountain Ranch with teachers Michelle McDonald and Jesse Vega Frey. During one of his dharma talks, Jesse said something that resonated with me and has become a bit of a koan over the last few months. This post is […]
Hope & Doubt
hope |hōp| – a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen: I hope this new medication works; a person or thing that may help or save someone: This new medication is our only hope; grounds for believing that something good may happen: The medical evidence gives us some hope that this medication will help. doubt |dout| – a feeling of uncertainty or lack of conviction: Some doubts exist regarding the effectiveness of this medication; feel uncertain about: I doubt we’ll see an […]
Kindfulness
I was fortunate enough to get away recently for a 3 day silent meditation retreat at the Margaret Austin Center near Houston, Texas. A few words about meditation retreats for my non-meditating friends: In the Vipassana tradition, practitioners come together and follow a schedule of alternating periods of sitting and walking meditation interspersed with meals. Sitting meditation […]
What I Learned About Mindfulness From ABA Therapy
In my previous two posts, I talked about how my meditation practice has helped me cope with the struggles of parenting a disabled child. Sometimes, however, the opposite happens and Sarah becomes my teacher. Ask any parent of a special needs child what factors generate the most stress and frustration in their day-to-day lives and […]
Beautiful and Non-beautiful Elements
For many people, a significant part of self identity is based on the appearance of the body. I am pretty. I am fat. I am black. I’m a red-head. We tend to make judgements about ourselves and create an entire persona around a few physical characteristics. TV commercials and magazine ads would have us believe that we […]