doctor tea

The moment the woman who savored birdsong was wheeled into the classroom she asked me if we were going to be listening to birds again. It had been three weeks since we’d listened to my mockingbird and bluejay recordings, and the experience had clearly stuck with her, because from that point forward every time I saw her she greeted me with a plea for more birdsong. Last Thursday was no exception.

the woman who swayed to music

Last year I treated a woman who was in a minimally conscious state. This is what it's called when a brain has been so severely injured that it's hard to get more than primitive reflex responses from that person, and that person is able to perform only very basic behaviors, like reaching for an object that's wiggled in front of the face.

peacefulness isn't a lozenge

I was lining up groceries on the conveyor belt when some candy on the rack caught my eye. STRESS LOZENGES — 30 PER BOX. I had to chuckle. Peacefulness isn’t a lozenge. Peacefulness isn’t something you buy in a box and swallow. It’s something you do, a little bit every day, over and over and over until it becomes a habit. In other words, peacefulness is something you practice. That’s where I come in.

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tell me about the time you got upset with your kids and threw away all their toys

photo: jetheriot

When I was a kid I loved toys. I played with action figures until I was in the ninth grade. I loved moving their arms and their legs around and coming up with all these stories. In my mind they all had personalities. And they all had their place in the hierarchy of my toy box. I took really good care of them, knowing that I’d give them to my own kids one day. Vintage Matchbox cars from the 60s, action figures, cool stuff like that.

the difference between breathing and thinking about breathing

A teacher of shamatha meditation, after instructing a newcomer in the proper sitting posture, proceeds to the second instruction. The abbreviated form of this instruction goes something like this: "Having assumed the proper posture, now place your attention on the breath." Or, "Begin to notice the breath." The gist of the second instruction is to bring greater awareness to the breath, the vital fluid whose passage through your tissues, for the most part, escapes your attention, fading into the background unnoticed.

you gotta have a tingle

With a peaceful exercise and a duration selected from the two drop-down menus, the user of the app establishes a daily practice goal, for example, “I will enjoy tea mindfully for five minutes each day.”