Ed and Deb Shapiro

If There Is No Solid Me, Then Who Am I?

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The future is a concept—it doesn’t exist! There is no such thing as tomorrow! There never will be because time is always now. Alan Watts When Deb was a teenager in London, her mother was editor of The Middle Way, the journal of the British Buddhist Society. As a result, Deb met some fascinating people, […]

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Why Meditation Can Appear So Challenging

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What is it about something as simple as sitting still and watching our breath that evokes panic or even fear? No matter how much information there is proving the mental, emotional and physical value of meditation, there seems to be as many people who resist giving it a try. No doubt meditation can be challenging, […]

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What’s The Big Fuss About Mindfulness & Meditation?

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It’s really happening! Mindfulness and meditation are infiltrating our lives like old friends. But this poses a conundrum. With health reports saying we would all benefit practicing mindfulness and meditation, and with classes easily available, why do many of us ignore this or find excuses not to try? How ironic that the best things for […]

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If Nothing Ever Changed There Would Be No Cherry Blossom

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There is nothing more certain and unchanging than uncertainty and change. — John Fitzgerald Kennedy Do you notice how one moment you can be ecstatically happy and then, just as easily, you can be depressed or sad? Or how something is good and then turns sour, like a delicious mango that becomes rotten? The world […]

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Mindfulness Stops Negativity from Sticking Like Glue

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Did you ever get into a heated argument with someone over a meaningless issue, only to find it constantly replaying itself in your head, as if it’s stuck to you like glue? You don’t want to think of the other person yet now you’re attached to them; despite the situation or encounter being over, it […]

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Mindful Relaxation Will Change Your Life

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Our human life is the means we have to be deeply at peace and to realize our true nature. Yet it can often appear far too full of problems, disappointments and suffering to realize such truths; we get too preoccupied with self-survival and self-preservation to reach for a greater meaning beyond ourselves. And although we […]

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It’s My Ego, Not Yours

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Ever caught yourself trying to defend your words or protect your actions, despite them being clearly inappropriate or even downright wrong, but your egomind just won’t let you do it? No way will you admit you were off the mark! Sound familiar? The ego is the “me-centered” part that gives us a strong sense of […]

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Are You Hanging Out With Fear?

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There are many things to feel fearful about these days. While anger is hot and loud, fear is more subtle and pervasive. It also has many different disguises. On the one hand, fear is a natural response to physical danger, but on the other it can be self-created, such as the fear of failure, of […]

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How To Get Your Motivation Going

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We watched as an eager young CNN television reporter asked the Dalai Lama what was the first thing he thought of when he awoke in the morning. We thought that this revered teacher and probably the world’s most well known meditator would say something deeply profound or insightful, such as along the lines of vowing […]

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Why We Look For Happiness In All The Wrong Places

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Our search for happiness becomes ever more urgent in our increasingly crowded and competitive world. An article on the HuffPost stated there are “over 75 million Google search results for the term and 40,000 happiness-related books available for purchase on Amazon… And it’s not necessarily helping us to become any happier.” Maybe that’s because happiness […]

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