fbpx
Menu

Blog Posts

What You Need to Know Before You Start or Quit Meditating

By in Blog, mindfulness & peace

ā€œMany paths lead from the foot of the mountain, but at the peak we all gaze at the single bright moon.ā€ ~Ikkyu

I was the kid who didnā€™t like to sleep. In nursery school, I would pretend to be asleep at nap time, while the other kids were sleeping. Iā€™ve always thought life was full of exciting things to explore and learn, and I didn’t want to sleep through it.

So, it shouldn’t surprise you that traditional meditation didnā€™t sit well with me (pun intended). I remember my Buddhist grandmother chanting and meditating twice a day. Yet I never had …

Why I Appreciate Simple Things in Life After The Coronavirus

By in Blog, happiness & fun, mindfulness & peace

ā€œIt’s not a bad idea to occasionally spend a little time thinking about things you take for granted. Plain everyday things.ā€ ~Evan Davis

Let me go back in time. Not too long, but only six months ago when the virus outbreak hadn’t occurred yet. I was cursing the traffic, complaining the beer in a bar was not chilled enough, and hating that the supermarket next to my house did not have my favorite deodorant.

Soon after, due to the global pandemic, my country was under lockdown like many others. When I was indoors, I realized how beautiful and blessed …

How to Avoid a Soul-Crushing Life Crisis

By in Blog, change & challenges

ā€œSometimes it takes an overwhelming breakdown to have an unbelievable breakthrough.ā€ ~Unknown

I had hit rock bottom.

Now that means different things to different people, so let me explain what my rock bottom meant.

Iā€™ll start with my physical health. I was underweight, about twenty-five pounds. My face looked gaunt and scrawny.

I was hypertensive, even though I was eating a healthy diet. I also had severe eczema. The itching was so bad that I woke up in the middle of the night with my legs covered in blood from the scratching.

The only thing that helped make the …

Why Joy Is Important for Healing Developmental Trauma

By in Blog, change & challenges, happiness & fun, mindfulness & peace

ā€œWe all have everything we need within us to create our fullest potential.ā€ ~Abraham Maslow

Did you grow up with a critical, distant, or ignorant mother?

She probably made sure that your physical needs were covered, but she never noticed or understood your emotional needs. If she was anything like my mum, she may even have shamed you for having them!

Youā€™re an adult now, and you have everything you need to be happy. So why arenā€™t you? Instead, you feel unworthy, disconnected, and lonely even when youā€™re with people you love. Thereā€™s this constant emptiness inside that makes …

What Iā€™ve Learned Since My Years Feeling Stuck and Unlovable

By in Blog, change & challenges

This writing is in memory of my father, whoā€”without knowing itā€”helped make me the man I am today.

When I was a young boy, my father seemed bigger than life, like most fathers seem to young sons. I looked at him in the same way that I imagine my son Jeremiah looked at me at that ageā€”like a superhero, a towering giant who could fix anything, do anything, and make anything seem better than it was. We see what we want to see, until we donā€™t.

Life took him away from me very early in my life, so we never …

Giveaway: Tiny Buddhaā€™s Worry Journal – A Tool to Calm Your Mind

By in Blog, change & challenges, mindfulness & peace

THE WINNERS HAVE BEEN CHOSEN!Ā 

Thank you, everyone, for opening your hearts and sharing a piece of yourself and your journey. I am amazed and inspired by all of you, and so grateful that you shared your strength and your stories here.

I wish you all peace, joy, and so much love!

The winners are:

Please send your address to email@tinybuddha.com so I can send you a copy of the Worry Journal!

—

Though life has become a lot less busy for many these days, I suspect a lot of us have incredibly busy …

What It Means to Love: 9 Steps to a Strong Relationship

By in Blog, love & relationships

“Be there. Be open. Be honest. Be kind. Be willing to listen, understand, accept, support, and forgive. This is what it means to love.” ~Lori Deschene

They say your heart pounds when youā€™re in love.

But the very idea of opening up and letting love in can bring on the wrong kind of palpitations.

Saying yes to loveā€¦ thatā€™s like standing naked, bare naked, every inch of you on show.

Completely vulnerable.

Or so I thought.

My Impregnable Force Field

Ā “Of all forms of caution, caution in love is perhaps the most fatal to true happiness.ā€ ~Bertrand Russell…

A Buddhist Chaplain Shares How to Cope with the Pandemic

By in Blog, change & challenges

EDITORā€™S NOTE: You can find a number of helpful coronavirus resources and all related Tiny Buddha articles here.

When I decided over two years ago to become a Buddhist Chaplain, I couldā€™ve never dreamed that I would be experiencing our current pandemic crisis.

I chose to become a Buddhist Chaplain after I lost my son in 2010. The experience of losing a child forever changed how I related to the world and how I relate to grief, suffering, and compassion.

One of the most profound lessons I learned about grief is that it doesnā€™t have to follow the …

6 Things I Do Daily to Feel Good About Myself and Life

By in Blog, healthy habits

All I have ever wanted is for somebody to put their hand on my shoulder and tell me ā€œEverything is going to be alright.ā€

I couldn’t tell anybody of my needā€”my yearningā€”for this simple act, or why it mattered so much to me. This was something I prayed for. This was something that could not be bought.

In the deepest hours of my life (when I was out of work for a long time, grossly overweight, and with my father critically ill in hospital) I longed for a pat on the shoulder to tell me things would be okay. …

How to Recreate Meaning Now That the Pandemic Has Upended Life

By in Blog, meaning & passion

EDITORā€™S NOTE: You can find a number of helpful coronavirus resources and all related Tiny Buddha articles here.

ā€œItā€™s not the events of our lives that shape us, but our beliefs as to what those events mean.ā€ ~Tony RobbinsĀ 

Like millions of others, I lost my job in the wave of the coronavirus pandemic. I was teaching on a small island in the Caribbean. I discovered a purpose through my work, loved the peaceful nature of the island, and, true to my introverted nature, loved living in my too-quiet community. It was a job and a life that I …

What Hurts Us the Most in Unhealthy and Unloving Relationships

By in Blog, love & relationships

“Once we make our relationship choices in an adult way, a prospective partner who is unavailable, nonreciprocal, or not open to processing feelings and issues, becomes, by these very facts, unappealing. Once we love ourselves, people no longer look good to us unless they are good for us.” ~David Ricco

One thing I particularly love is caring about someone and loving them. Being able to do so gives me a great sense of connection, satisfaction, and purpose. Itā€™s fulfilling, life-enhancing, and simply feels wonderful.

All my life Iā€™ve chased relationships so that I could get the love I need. …

8 Quick and Easy Meditation Techniques to Calm Your Anxious Mind

By in Blog, mindfulness & peace

Have you ever found it hard to motivate yourself to do something that was good for you, only to eventually do it, feel amazing, and wonder why you waited so long?

Thatā€™s what meditating was like for me. Even though I knew I could do it for only five minutes each day to feel calmer, less stressed, and more present, I found excuses not to do it regularly for years.

Iā€™d tell myself five minutes wasnā€™t enough; I really needed thirty or more, and I didnā€™t have that time, so why bother?

Iā€™d lament that I was too anxious to …

How I Know Iā€™m Strong (and You Are Too)

By in Blog, change & challenges

ā€œIf there’s ever a tomorrow when we’re not together, there’s something you should remember: You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we’re apart, I’ll always be with you.ā€ ~A.A. Milne

Two years ago, I was anticipating a monumental shift. I couldnā€™t tell you what had changed around that time, but my mindset was moving away from the brasher side of my natural, projected extroversion and seeking solace in the comforts of solitude.

It felt like the waves drawing back before a tsunami, and over …

Family Estrangement: 3 Stories and the Advice You Need to Hear

By in Blog, love & relationships

ā€œHome is not a place, itā€™s a feeling.ā€ ~Cecilia Ahern

This post is written by three people from different parts of the world who came together to share their story of family estrangement and their choice not to reconcile.

To the outside world, it seemed none of us were neglected. Our parents were well-educated. We grew up in decent homes, were given good educational opportunities, and had financial support. We looked like we came from perfect families, butā€¦.

Jenā€™s Story

On March 24, 2019, I received a chilling text from my sister that Grandma was found unconscious in her …

How to Successfully Cope with a Crisis Using Surrender

By in Blog, change & challenges, letting go

EDITORā€™S NOTE: You can find a number of helpful coronavirus resources and all related Tiny Buddha articles here.

ā€œSurrender to what is. Let go of what was. Have faith in what will be.ā€ ~Sonia Ricotti

The scent of sanitizer once again pervades my home. And as much as I am grateful for it, every time I use it, that astringent, alcoholic smell takes me straight back to the out-patient chemo ward at the hospital.

Itā€™s been nearly seven years since I was a fortnightly visitor there, but the sanitizer and masks make me feel like Iā€™m in a weird …

When You Donā€™t Like Being Nice: What to Do Instead

By in Blog, love & relationships

ā€œDonā€™t trade your authenticity for approval.ā€ ~Unknown

As a nice person, I am often conflicted because sometimes I donā€™t enjoy being nice. Sometimes I act nice out of moral obligation or because Iā€™m trying to be consistent with my perceived identity.

Do you view yourself as ā€œniceā€? Do others describe you as ā€œniceā€? Do you always enjoy being ā€œniceā€? If you are unsure how you are perceived by others, ask friends and family to describe you.

Iā€™ve been told how nice I am all my life, by family, friends, coworkers, and even bosses. It was a huge part of my …

How to Appreciate Your Body (During COVID-19 and Always)

By in Blog

EDITORā€™S NOTE: You can find a number of helpful coronavirus resources and all related Tiny Buddha articles here.

ā€œImagine if we obsessed about the things we loved about ourselves.ā€ ~Unknown

I used to have a plaque with this quote prominently displayed in my waiting room. Sadly, itā€™s somehow gotten misplaced over the years.

What I remember most about the plaque was how it engaged, or disengaged, the people who noticed it. Did they mention the quote when they came into my office? Pointedly ignore it? Let me know that self-love is what they want for themselves? Or express skepticism …

The Most Important Lessons We Can Take from This Pandemic

By in Blog, change & challenges, love & relationships, mindfulness & peace

EDITORā€™S NOTE: You can find a number of helpful coronavirus resources and all related Tiny Buddha articles here.

ā€œAnd the people stayed home. And read books, and listened, and rested, and exercised, and made art, and played games, and learned new ways of being, and were still. And listened more deeply. Some meditated, some prayed, some danced. Some met their shadows. And the people began to think differently.ā€ ~Kitty Oā€™Meara

While this pandemic is turning out to be a very confusing and difficult time for many people, it is undoubtedly giving humanity an incredibly rare opportunity to learn some …

Why I Want to Stop Judging and How This Opens My Heart

By in Blog, love & relationships

ā€œThe quicker you are in attaching verbal or mental labels to things, people, or situations, the more shallow and lifeless your reality becomes, and the more deadened you become to reality.ā€ ~Eckhart Tolle

Things are hard right now, arenā€™t they? When I first started writing this article about my goal to drop labels so I could live without judgment, I was thinking I didnā€™t want to judge people at the gym based on what their T-shirts said.

Now Iā€™m trying not to judge people in my local community and around the country for taking actions that make me feel …

The Challenge of Doing Less When Youā€™re Used to Doing More

By in Blog, change & challenges, mindfulness & peace

EDITORā€™S NOTE: You can find a number of helpful coronavirus resources and all related Tiny Buddha articles here.

ā€œI became an overachiever to get approval from the world.ā€ ~Madonna

I have spent my entire life looking for more. More to do, more to achieve, and more to see.

I have always been a plannerā€”meticulously planning everything from vacations to visits with friends to my life months (or years) ahead.

I plan because Iā€™ve always wanted to fit in as much as possible in the finite time I was allotted. I never wanted to feel like time was wasted or …