Meditation, Mindfulness & Relaxation Blog for Peace and Inner-Strength

Are You Here And Now? If Not, Where?

June 12, 2017 by Ed and Deb Shapiro Leave a Comment

Do you live in your head? In your body? In your emotions? In your desires? Normally, we spend our time either living in what-could-have-been or what-might-have-been or if-only, or in the expectation of what-could-be or what-might-be, anywhere but here, constantly in either the past or the future. This is like being in a dream as […]

Filed Under: awareness, happiness, inner life, meditation, mindfulness, peace, presence Tagged With: awareness, compassion, freedom, happiness, inner life, kindness, meditation, mindfulness

Are You Happier Today Than You Were Yesterday?

May 17, 2017 by Ed and Deb Shapiro Leave a Comment

We were in Thailand, attending a ten-day silent meditation retreat in the middle of a coconut grove. Every day Ajahn Maha Dharma Tan, a Thai monk, would come to teach, and each day he would ask us the same question: “Are you happier today than you were yesterday?” As he said this, a wide smile […]

Filed Under: awareness, happiness, inner life, joy, meditation, mindfulness, peace Tagged With: awareness, compassion, happiness, inner life, meditation, mindfulness

Mindfulness & Meditation: What’s the Difference?

May 8, 2017 by Ed and Deb Shapiro Leave a Comment

“In any one day there are moments where there is nothing going on, but we link up what is happening from thought to thought without any space. We overlook the spaciousness that it’s all happening in,” Gangaji, from our new book The Unexpected Power Or Mindfulness & Meditation. Nowadays, mindfulness and meditation are often used […]

Filed Under: awareness, happiness, inner life, joy, love, meditation, mindfulness, presence Tagged With: awareness, freedom, happiness, inner life, meditation, mindfulness

The Unexpected Power of Mindfulness & Meditation

April 13, 2017 by Ed and Deb Shapiro Leave a Comment

There is a sanity and brilliance to mindfulness and meditation, from awakening inner strength, kindness and fearlessness to inviting radical change. As an activist in a Chinese jail, Kiri Westby used meditation to maintain her peace amidst the hardship. Seane Corn used yoga and mindfulness to work with teenage prostitutes in LA. Play therapist Megan […]

Filed Under: awareness, happiness, inner life, joy, love, meditation, mindfulness, peace, presence Tagged With: awareness, compassion, freedom, happiness, inner life, kindness, meditation, mindfulness

Seeing With New Eyes

March 21, 2017 by Ed and Deb Shapiro Leave a Comment

By paying attention you see all things just as they are. A monk asks, ‘Is there anything more miraculous than the wonders of nature?’ The master replies, ‘Yes, your awareness of the wonders of nature.’ Angelus Silesius We lived in Devon, on the south coast of England, and each day we would walk along the […]

Filed Under: awareness, happiness, inner life, joy, mindfulness, peace, presence, relaxation Tagged With: awareness, compassion, freedom, happiness, mindfulness, relaxation

The Art Of Patience

March 8, 2017 by Ed and Deb Shapiro Leave a Comment

On a recent trip to India we had tea with Mary and Don, a devoted couple from Texas who, for over twenty-five years, had been running a clinic for disabled and handicapped children, for the poorest of the poor, in Chennai, South India. We wondered how, when they first arrived, they had coped with the […]

Filed Under: awareness, happiness, inner life, joy, mindfulness, peace, presence, relaxation Tagged With: awareness, compassion, happiness, kindness, mindfulness, relaxation, tolerence

One Way Your Ego Trips You Up

April 6, 2016 by Ed and Deb Shapiro Leave a Comment

One Christmas, when we were living in Brighton, England, we volunteered at a church that regularly feeds the homeless and needy at that time of year. But it was more than the hungry ones who got fed that day. After we happily dished out large helpings of turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, followed by pudding […]

Filed Under: awareness, inner life, joy, meditation, mindfulness, Uncategorized Tagged With: anger, awareness, compassion, ego trip, happiness, judgment, kindness, mindfulness, tolerence

5 Ways To Enhance Your Relationship

March 27, 2016 by Ed and Deb Shapiro Leave a Comment

Shortly after we were married, we went to India and spent our honeymoon in ashrams and monasteries. We were fortunate enough to have a private meeting with the Dalai Lama at his residence in McCleod Ganj, in the foothills of the Himalayas. “After some thirty minutes of talking I was feeling so moved by this […]

Filed Under: awareness, happiness, joy, love, meditation, mindfulness, peace, Uncategorized Tagged With: anger, awareness, compassion, freedom, happiness, joy, mindfulness, negativity, tolerence

Finding Your Sanity in the Midst of Chaos

March 13, 2016 by Ed and Deb Shapiro 1 Comment

The question is, has the world gone nuts? It certainly looks like a lot of people are being driven by fear, hatred and greed. The protests in Chicago, the rising anger and animosity, is to the detriment of us all. Is it not time for some real sanity? Losing our sanity is about getting so […]

Filed Under: awareness, happiness, inner life, joy, meditation, mindfulness, peace, presence, Uncategorized Tagged With: anger, awareness, compassion, fear, freedom, happiness, meditation, mindfulness, negativity, tolerence

Why Saying Yes To Yourself Is The Most Important Thing You Can Do

March 4, 2016 by Ed and Deb Shapiro Leave a Comment

I have too much to do! My boss is so demanding! My mother-in-law always needs my help! I have so many meetings / orders to be filled / classes to teach / deliveries to be made…the list is endless. But in the midst of everything that is being asked of you, what happens to you? […]

Filed Under: awareness, happiness, inner life, joy, meditation, relaxation, Uncategorized Tagged With: anger, awareness, compassion, freedom, happiness, inner life, joy, relaxation, stress, tolerence