(23 Oct 2023) By Bobby Ahlander So far this year I have experienced the death of three people that were fully integrated into my life in one way or another. In March, my dad passed away from natural causes, just one day shy of his 80th birthday. In April, one of my closest friends died […]
A few weeks ago, my oven broke. It came with the house where I have lived for seven and a half years now. The oven had been here much longer. And it had chugged along well enough for that time. I don’t know what the little gold knobs were supposed to do, one was a
Dharma Glimpse by Frankie Serendipity – by definition good luck; coincidence; fortuity. I also define it in my own loose way as a coming together, a falling into place.In the last week I had been thinking about a question posed in a book by secular Buddhists Stephen and Martine Batchelor – What is This? It’s
By Maria Trotter The other day I was on the phone to my mum and we touched upon the topics of gender identity. In particular, I was trying to explain the concept of non-binary to her. There was a lot of cross-cultural work going on of course – my mum was born and grew up
Dharma Glimpse by Paramita Some months back, as I was considering my next career move after an unexpected complication had uprooted me in my then current employment role, I experienced a moment of synchronistic alignment that influenced my decision about how to proceed. The sudden interruption to my life plans had sent me into a
Dharma Glimpse by Dave Smith I am a very lucky man. As part of my job, I get to go out into the countryside and carry out ecological surveys. I get paid to look for bats, reptiles and dormice amongst other things. It’s a bit of a dream come true in some ways, but its
Dharma Glimpse by Dave Smith I spend a lot of time driving around as part of my work. Driving through towns and cities can be quite stressful especially if you have a deadline to keep to. I always try to leave ten minutes early to allow for hold ups and unexpected roadworks. This takes the
Dharma Glimpse by Philip Wallbridge I’m not sure if the title of this dharma glimpse works. Bear with me. It is a play on the word ‘transdecendence’; a concept I have been mulling over this year. Transdecendence is about going downwards into something, in comparison to transcendence which is about going upwards, above, over. At least
Dharma Glimpse by Paramita Denial can be a very powerful thing. At times my mind edits out important aspects of reality in order to protect me from painful truths, or to keep me engaged in behaviours that numb me out, so that I can survive the waves of tumult that flare up so frequently in
Dharma Glimpse by Paramita The first thirty seconds of Zazen meditation are where we get to sit WITH our problems. These are the words (paraphrased) of Shozan Jack Haubner, a reputable Buddhist teacher whose guidance I follow on various internet platforms. No judgement, no internal commentary, just being alongside whatever arises in a loving, compassionate
