I had a great time talking on the Classical Ideas Podcast again. This time, tackling the elusive, often misunderstood zen koan. Really fun! Please Share it if you like, and support Greg! Thanks! From Greg Soden: Episode #108 with my friend (and returning guest), Corey Ichigen Hess discusses the elusive Rinzai Zen koan practice! We…
Tag: consciousness
Guidance of the Great Vow
Sentient beings are numberless I vow to liberate them The Head monk walked into the zendo on day six of Osesshin and announced that two planes had just crashed into the World Trade Center. This was on Whidbey Island. On the the right of me was one of my best friends, Chris, who I had…
Walking Emotional Energy Fields
We are walking emotional energy fields. When I came back from Japan, and Teresa was pregnant with Rose, we were living on a little herb farm in a cottage. Some friends from the monastery were visiting one evening, and we were talking about what was next in our lives. For me, it was a moment…
Ishin Denshin (Heart to Heart, Mind to Mind)
Ishin denshin means something like “Communication as if two people have the same mind.” This concept is a big part of my life, and in this post, I’d like to try to explain a bit about it. How can we become what we are doing more intimately right now? How can we remove…
Second Breath, Breath of Life: Craniosacral Therapy Meets Zen
“I can say that as the Breath of Life emerges from a depth of Stillness, one experiences heart-opening radiance and compassion, a sense of great spaciousness and peace, a depth of love and interconnection, and a perception of a Presence that seems to enfold, uphold and maintain life.” Franklyn Sills In this post, I’d like…
Simple Tips: Finding Joy in Daily Practice
My hope is to inspire people to find a way to daily enjoy engaging with their unique inner process. I’m talking about sitting down and feeling our bodies and being present. Or maybe, for some, it could be standing still. Or even with very simple movement. But to find a way to make it their…
Standing the in the Dark, Giggling
“Always now – just now – come into being. Always now – just now – give yourself to death. Practicing this is Zen practice.” Soko Morinaga Everyone wants to figure everything out. Everyone wants to have the real true thought to explain our lives with meaning. Most of us want some extreme, an absolute, to…
Breathing from the Belly: Tanden, a Great Rolling Ball
A friend recently asked me to help clarify the tanden, also known as lower Dantien. This is a big subject. I have written about it before here. I will try to briefly convey a sense of what it is like to feel the tanden, develop the tanden in sitting and everyday life, and what it…
Letting the Body Fully Express
Doing internal energy work throughout the day can be really simple. We can ask ourselves, “How is my body trying to fully express itself energetically right now?” Our bodies are like kinked hoses, and we are kinked where we are mentally and emotionally stuck. Allowing the body to fully express this energy means learning to…
