prep time

sorry for the brief haitus, i’m preparing to lead a day-long meditation class on saturday, modeled after the book “turning the mind into an ally” by sakyong mipham. mostly have my talks outlined and the schedule worked out, now just meditating extra and reviewing my notes. should be fun.

aren’t you supposed to be somewhere?

samadhi cushions, the non-profit who made the very cushions i meditate upon, has a hip new ad posted on youtube. who knew a meditation store could be so… up to date?

and they have another short video just about the store.

meditation in the press

today in the nytimes business section:

TOO ANIMATED? Edwin Catmull, who runs Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Animation Studios, just got back from his first meditation retreat, at the Shambhala Mountain Center in northern Colorado.

“I almost flunked meditation,” he said. “When things are intense and there’s a lot at stake, I have no trouble focusing. But when they’re not intense, my brain starts popping off in all sorts of places.”

Mr. Catmull is often painted as the left-brain businessman and technologist who runs Pixar’s nuts and bolts — and who helped develop RenderMan, the software behind Pixar’s animation, which has been commercially available for 20 years.

nice to see business leaders approaching meditation these days. but oh how often i hear the sentiment that one “almost flunked” meditation.

really it’s a training, like going to the gym. you can’t fail at going to the gym, it’s just great that you get there! nonetheless, we think we’re not “doing it right” unless we’re able to keep our focus in meditation. in my experience, you can train yourself to hold a laser like focus but that’s not necessary to get the benefit — which is seeing how your mind works from the inside out. all you need is to keep at it. especially when your mind is all over the place, when else would be a better time to learn how that monkey mind works?