Reflections on turning 79 — I’m still here after all these years. — Today is my birthday, and I feel like the luckiest person in the world. I haven’t taken very good care of myself for most of my life, yet I’m still here. I haven’t avoided sugar, wine, or meat, but I’m still here. About 40 percent of people born in my…

Here are seven myths about meditation that frustrate beginners — I have been practicing Zen for 25 years and meditating daily for the last three years, and I’ve long been confused as to why more people don’t meditate. It has so much to offer. After all those years, I’ve come to some conclusions about why more people don’t meditate, and…

It has helped me a lot, and I want to share — I try to live by these words of the Buddha, translated by Thich Nhat Hanh. “Don’t get caught in the past because the past is gone. Don’t get upset about the future because the future is not yet here. There is only one moment for you to be alive, and…

Find the moon in your dishwasher — You are probably using one of the most effective mindfulness training devices every day, but you don’t know it yet. Your dishwasher. You’re likely thinking that’s one of the stupidest things you’ve ever heard. It might be, but hear me out. Of course, the world’s most effective mindfulness training is…

It’s time to wake up and smell the coffee — Ancient Indian tradition views old age as the pinnacle of a lifelong rising of fulfillment and happiness, ending in spiritual liberation — not a long, steady decline into decrepitude and death. In ancient India, this is called the four stages of life, or the four asramas. It’s fun to party…

This is not just another day — it’s a gift — A man was telling his friend about his new home. “I have a beautiful place on a San Francisco hill. In my living room, wide windows look out across the bay. Why, I can see all the way to Oakland and Berkeley. It’s wonderful.” His friend replied, “I have just…

Ageism is the one civil rights violation we’ll all suffer if we live long enough — As a white American male, I’ve never felt the sting of discrimination. My parents never had to sit me down and tell me how to act if a cop pulled me over to avoid getting shot. Police officers were my friends. In the 1950s, I never had to sit in…

It was a silent lesson about accepting life — and death. — Thirty years ago, I sat with my father on the day he died. I spoke, and he listened because that’s all he could do. But we bonded in a way we never had before. I flew in from the East Coast just in time to see him one last time…

Five qualities that develop after months and years of meditation practice — We all know intellectually that happiness comes from the inside, but we still look for it outside. But that doesn’t work. The happiness of a new car or a new relationship is momentary. Soon, that new car smell will fade, and it becomes just a means to get you from…