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Breathe Like Your Life Depends On It
When the breath is unsteady, all is unsteady. When the breath is still, all is still. Control the breath carefully. Inhalation gives strength and a controlled body; retention gives steadiness of mind and longevity; exhalation purifies body and spirit. – Goraksasathalam The sixth of Atisha’s contemplations on death, Your Body is Fragile and Vulnerable, is…
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The Suspense Is Killing Me
“Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone,” – Pablo Picasso The 4th of Atisha’s Nine Contemplations, Your Life Span, Like That of All Living Beings, Is Not Fixed has taken me for.ev.er to write about. Not because it’s a particularly difficult one but just, you know, life. The…
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Be Prepared?
Death will come whether you are prepared or not. This is the third of Atisha’s nine contemplations on death. What does preparing for death look like? There are certainly practical preparations to be made, and I strongly encourage anyone reading to get on it, regardless of age or health status. However, the mental preparation which…
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In September
In September, I’m going to the oceanAfter I walk away from the desertwhere I left your bodybecause tears will be scarceand I’ll choose water over grief In September I’m going to the oceanWarm sand stuck between my toesFilling up the cuts on my feetBreaking them open once moreJust before they threaten to heal In September…
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Hope
Somewhere, between now & the endBefore the heat deathOur atomsCould be strewn across mineral rings of gas giantsFor millennia -My friend, Colin
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Humanity In The Breath Of Life
Breathe in life, breathe out death. That’s how I began my meditation when approaching the second of Atisha’s nine contemplations on death, your lifespan decreases continuously. On my journey in this practice, I’ve settled on a level of peace about the fact that everyone dies sooner or later. The purpose of this exercise, to me,…
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Are You Well In The Suffering?
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. (Jesus) Imagine Jesus waking up the way many of us do, with a list of things we’re still stressed about from yesterday, all of the things we have to get done or go do today, and the things in our body that don’t feel…
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Finding Beauty In Impermanence
In the immortal words of Axl Rose, “Nothing lasts forever, even cold November rain.” I’m fairly certain he was referring to romantic relationships in that song but here I want to talk about my relationship with my Self. I’ve been meditating on death for years after having a glimpse of what that surrender can do…
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My Personal Grief and Ongoing Path to Peace
My dad is dead. My dad is dead. My dad is dead. My dad is dead. My dad is dead. For the first several days, shuffling about in a daze, these words entered my mind repeatedly and I couldn’t comprehend the meaning. My dad died on January 12th, 2021 of complications from COVID after spending…
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Let’s Talk About Death, Baby
I know, I know. I had to. But seriously, how much time do we spend thinking about how we want to die? Most people I know have an answer to this question. More often than not, it involves old age and being asleep. Or maybe during a favorite activity like drowning if you love water…
