You should sit in meditation for 20 minutes a day. Unless you’re too busy, then you should sit for an hour. Ancient Zen Saying
Category: The Spirit
How I Motivate Myself to Meditate: Take 20 Breaths
True Confession: I’m terrible at making time to meditate. As a college student, I was probably my most diligent at meditation, or prayer as I called it then as a born again Christian. I had a regular morning practice I followed, a list of people and concerns I prayed for, sacred texts that I read,…
My 50th: Best Birthday Ever!
Last December, it hit me out of the blue what I wanted to do for my 50th birthday. I was having dinner with my mother in a Filipino restaurant. In an adjoining dining room, we could hear some kind of party taking place. There was music, cake, food, dancing — the works. I thought to…
Learning to Play Nicely with Others
I was hanging out by a public pool the other day and was watching the little kids playing and interacting with each other. There was one young boy, maybe 5 or 6 years old, who seemed to be by himself. The other kids had siblings or friends that they were with. The boy REALLY wanted…
A Vacation Can’t Make You Happy: Wisdom from SNL
“Wherever you go, there you are.” I’m crying laughing because it’s true.
World of Peacecraft: That Time My Fake News Story Went Viral
About ten years ago, I was actively blogging about virtual worlds, focusing on developments in this technology, what people were creating in online worlds, and how this interacted with the real world. I was fairly well known, particularly in the Second Life subcommunities. I was also active in the Quaker faith, blogging frequently about my…
In the Wise Words of Mother Flawless Sabrina…
Last weekend, I had the pleasure of watching the show “Taylor Mac’s Holiday Sauce” at the Curran Theater with my friend Liz. Taylor Mac is a performance artist, drag queen, singer, and MacArthur Fellow. “Holiday Sauce” takes a fresh, critical, queer / liberal / feminist view of Christmas traditions and music, as told by a…
Remembering Bettina
Bettina was a passionate, young human rights lawyer who I loved very much. In 1994, she and I worked at the World Federalist Association, a peace organization in Washington DC. I was a research fellow focused on transnational financial institutions. Bettina was hired to work on global human rights issues, including the proposed International Criminal…
The Ice Cream Sundae Revelation
I had a revelation the other day about ice cream sundaes. Bear with me here. I was eating an ice cream sundae at one of my favorite ice cream shops in the city, Hometown Creamery in the Sunset. Hometown always has a fascinating, often weird, array of flavors that they make in the shop. I…
On Lindy Hop and Loneliness
DISCLAIMER: I am not a mental health professional. These are just my personal views and experiences as a “veteran” dancer. If you are experiencing intense feelings of depression or anxiety, please see a mental health provider in your area. I’m a “social dancer.” Which means that I dance a style (lindy hop) that requires two…