Ed and Deb Shapiro

The Enemy Is Within, Not Without

by

We will always blame and condemn those we feel are responsible for wars and social injustice, without recognizing the degree of violence in ourselves. We must work on ourselves as well as with those we condemn if we wish to move towards peace. — Thich Nhat Hanh, nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Martin […]

Filed Under: awareness, happiness, inner life, meditation, mindfulness, presence, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

How Hot Is Your Anger?

by

Soon after Nelson Mandela’s release from twenty-seven years in jail Bill Clinton asked him if he was angry the day he finally walked away free. “Surely,” Clinton said, “You must have felt some anger?” Mandela agreed that, yes, alongside the joy of being free, he had also felt great anger. “But,” he said, “I valued […]

Filed Under: awareness, happiness, inner life, meditation, mindfulness, presence, relaxation, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Shut Up and Be Still!

by

Ed is a passionate and expert skier. When you sit for meditation and your mind drifts you can just bring it back to your practice and continue. But if you are skiing down a steep mountain and you lose concentration you could hit a tree. Ed teaches this, calling it inner skiing, where our perception […]

Filed Under: awareness, happiness, inner life, meditation, mindfulness, presence, relaxation, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Where Spirituality and Religion Do and Don’t Meet

by

There is no true religion or spirituality without kindness and love. Swami Brahmananda Ed was raised in the Jewish faith (as he says, on his parents side!), Deb was raised a Quaker. We both began spiritually seeking at the same time in the late 1960’s. Ed was in his twenties living in New York City, […]

Filed Under: awareness, happiness, inner life, meditation, mindfulness, presence, relaxation, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Meditation Is Not What You Think

by

However you try to define meditation, it’s not that. Swami Brahmananda Through many years of being involved with meditation we have seen how easily people miss the point, mainly because they take the practice and themselves too seriously. Many ‘try’ to meditate but their minds are so busy they get frustrated and quickly believe they […]

Filed Under: happiness, inner life, meditation, presence, relaxation, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

We Are Not Alone Here

by

If a butterfly becomes extinct in Australia, it affects the ecosystem of the whole world, because a third of our food supply depends on insect pollination. Caring for each other and the planet is, therefore, inseparable from caring for ourselves; we are both dependent on and a part of the earth and the woods and […]

Filed Under: happiness, inner life, meditation, relaxation, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , ,

THE GREATEST GIFT YOU CAN GIVE YOURSELF: MEDITATE

by

The word stress is a derivation of the Latin word meaning to be drawn tight, which is pretty much how most of us feel. The words meditation and medication have the same prefix derived from the Latin word medicus, meaning to care or to cure, indicating that meditation is likely to be the most effective and efficient remedy for a busy and overworked mind. Which is why meditation is the greatest gift you could give your self.

Filed Under: happiness, inner life, meditation, relaxation, Uncategorized Tagged With: ,

BE THE CHANGE: 7 Great Women Who Are Transforming The World From The Inside Out

by

You must be the change you want to see in the world, as Mahatma Gandhi so eloquently said. In other words, change has to start within ourselves; we cannot expect the world to change if we do not. Instead of focusing on the problems, we can start to live the solutions.

Filed Under: happiness, inner life, meditation, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , ,