Relaxation

As someone who appreciates handmade Buddhist gifts, and enjoys giving and receiving them around the holidays, I couldn’t be more excited to introduce you to Shakya Handicraft. They’re a group of Newari artisans—the aborigines of Kathmandu Valley, Nepal—that are keeping centuries of tradition alive by making beautiful Tibetan and Nepalese handicrafts. All of their products

“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” ~Maya Angelou Color within the lines. Math, physics and chemistry—there’s absolutely no point in taking drama. A main meal of straight A’s and a side order of volunteer work. A four-year degree with a “safe” major from a reputable college. Then

NOTE: This post contains a giveaway. If you’re reading this in your inbox, click here to participate on the site! “If today gets difficult, remember the smell of coffee, the way sunlight bounces off a window, the sound of your favorite person’s laugh, the feeling when a song you love comes on, the color of

“I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.” ~Albert Einstein When speaking to a parent recently, she said, “I have made it a rule that my kids read every day for an hour. There are no two ways about it. They now do it and it is great, but I have noticed that

“Standing up for yourself doesn’t make you argumentative. Sharing your feelings doesn’t make you overly sensitive. And saying no doesn’t make you uncaring or selfish. If someone won’t respect your feelings, needs, and boundaries, the problem isn’t you; it’s them.” ~Lori Deschene In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the main character Atticus Finch says,

“The fruit of meditation is not the absence of thoughts, but the fact that thoughts cease to harm us.” ~Bokar Rinpoche My inspiration to start meditating came from one of the most unlikely sources—a Star Wars movie. When I saw the wise Jedi Master Yoda meditating, I thought that there had to be something more

“Forgiving someone doesn’t mean that their behavior was ‘OK.’ What it does mean is that we’re ready to move on. To release the heavy weight. To shape our own life, on our terms, without any unnecessary burdens. Forgiveness is pure freedom—and forgiveness is a choice.” ~Dr. Suzanne Gelb It happened, again. I was sitting opposite

Another surreal holiday in the books, for those of us in the US that is. I hope you all had a love-filled day yesterday, even if that love was sent from afar. I was 3,000 miles away from my family, though fortunate to be with my boyfriend’s parents. After I ate way too much tofurkey

I’m willing to bet that most of us spend far more time focusing on what we aren’t than appreciating who we are. We home in everything we think we lack and then feel bad about ourselves, when there’s actually a lot to celebrate if we take the time recognize it. It’s partly a byproduct of

The root cause of suffering for many of us is believing that there’s something’s wrong with us. Psychiatrists’ and therapists’ offices are filled with people who are carrying this false belief, most often stemming from traumatic or painful childhood experiences, or even people telling us this directly. Sometimes we inferred this idea because we were