Category: Articles
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Advent detox
Last spring, I did a 40-day social media detox. I chose the dates so that they overlap with lent. I live in a world of abundance, and have almost everything I could dream about at my fingertips. Consciously removing some options for some of the time is a great to remind myself about what matters…
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Relax into discomfort
My yoga teacher often says that. Usually when I’m twisted in an unearthly position, desperately trying to keep my weight off the ground, my muscles suddenly starts shaking, and it’s so uncomfortable that I’m about to give up. Relax. How can you relax when your body is in pain? Years ago I’d probably try pushing…
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Can people ever change?
When I think of my life just a few years ago, the answer is a definite yes. Unlike today, I was depressed and miserable, drinking and smoking a lot, and acted in ways that were needy, unpleasant, and often outright hostile. I like to think about myself as a reasonable grownup person who behaves in…
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One Story to make sense of them all
If aliens landed in your backyard today, and asked you to introduce yourself on behalf of the planet, what story would you tell them? What if they asked everyone on Earth the same question? Do you think there is the slightest chance that if we got all people to work together, we could come up…
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Falling down
You’re sitting in your room, meditating. The floor is covered in dense fog. As the fog floats away, so does the floor. And walls. And ceiling. You’re falling through endless dark space at the speed of light, trying to hold onto anything. You realize you have wings. You are flying.
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Who are you, if you don’t count work?
This question may sound strange, until you think about how you normally introduce yourself. I bet one of the first things you’ll say when meeting a new person will be about your job and occupation. For better or worse, what you do for a living is a significant part of everyone’s identity. But if you…
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Oh dear!
Going to Nara, I knew it’s famous for sacred deers living around one of the temples. But I had no idea there would be this many of them! There are literally thousands, roaming free around the city, crossing streets, and stealing cookies from careless tourists. They’re also completely unafraid of people, even the little ones.…
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Mind mapping
Staring at a blank page terrifies me. I’m only comfortable writing about things I can place in a larger context, and understand how they relate to everything else. At the same time, I get to understand new concepts mostly through writing and talking with other people. I often have a vague feeling that I know…
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Asking powerful questions
When I’m feeling useless, unproductive, and stuck, taking a short break for journaling is often enough get me out of this state of mind. Over the years I’ve experimented with different journaling techniques, and recently I’m especially enjoying the help of Soul Cards. But even when using beautiful art as a prompt, I’m sometimes lost…
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Japanese calligraphy
I love calligraphy. It’s fun to do, aesthetically pleasing, and in my case utterly impractical, one of the few things I do just for their own sake. I started playing around with calligraphy when I lived in Korea, so now that I’m in Japan I couldn’t miss the opportunity to learn a bit about the…
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