From the July 2012 Shambhala Sun magazine: Waking Up to Happiness

From the July 2012 Shambhala Sun magazine: Waking Up to Happiness

From the July 2012 Shambhala Sun magazine: Waking Up to Happiness

Posted: 25 Jul 2012 09:00 AM PDT

Sneezing, coughing, blowing her nose — Natalie Goldberg was awfully sick yet she was happy. Happiness is available to everyone, she realized, but we can find it only when we're still.

"You don't do happiness. You receive it. It's like a water table under the earth. It's available to everyone but we can only tap it, have it run up through us, when we're still. A well that darts around can never draw water.

We misinterpret success, desire, enterprise, and the things we love as the state of happiness. Usually, we don't even consider happiness because we're too busy dashing after life, defending, building, developing, even fighting, asserting, arguing. We're in the scramble—lively, engaged."

Read a longer excerpt from "Waking Up to Happiness" here. And you can browse the entire July 2012 magazine here. For more from Natalie Goldberg, see our Natalie Goldberg Spotlight Page, which features all of her work from the pages of the Shambhala Sun.

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Seeing Fresh: Contemplative Photo of the Week

Posted: 25 Jul 2012 07:00 AM PDT

Here's another photo from Andy Karr's contemplative photography website Seeing Fresh, by Alain Walry.

You don't need an expensive camera to try contemplative photography — anyone can do it. To learn more about the practice, and to submit your own photos, visit the Seeing Fresh website and The Practice of Contemplative Photography's Facebook page. You can view all of our "Seeing Fresh" posts on Shambhala SunSpace here.

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Summer?

Posted: 24 Jul 2012 03:00 PM PDT

Dog_Rose1_0.jpg
Dog rose with moody Pennines

Ah how good it is to be out walking with summer wild flowers strewn around.

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Video: More meditation-inspiration from “Finding True Refuge”

Posted: 24 Jul 2012 01:00 PM PDT

Finding True Refuge is an exciting new web-video series spearheaded by meditation teacher Tara Brach. FTR takes you inside people's intimate journeys into meditation — why they began the practice, and how it has transformed their lives.

Previously, Jesse T. shared his inspiring story in this video, and in this SunSpace post, teachers including Brach and Tsoknyi Rinpoche shared their own meditation experiences. Now, four previous non-meditators explain how sitting has helped to heal and awaken their hearts.

Meditation helped Laura overcome an eating disorder, alcohol addiction, and the loss of a relationship. Now, she draws inspiration from her group meditation practice.

And there are three more FTR videos after the jump!

Janet shares the story of how meditation helped her accept the reality of her mother's death, and helped her create a special moment with her mother:

Terry, an incest survivor, used food as a source of comfort for decades. Now, her practice enables her to confront her trauma:

Cecile had to leave college because of her panic attacks, but since she found the Insight Meditation Community, she hasn't had another panic attack:

You can view all the Finding True Refuge videos here.

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