Infinite Smile

ISmile190 - Back From Silence

Michael McAlister — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 19:47:46 +0000

"The deep silence reminded me of how difficult this practice can be."

Off to sit…

Michael McAlister — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 08:10:29 +0000

For the next week I will be quieting down at a seven-day meditation retreat called a sesshin in Zen parlance. I'm looking forward to it but will miss my wife, my daughter, and my morning runs with my dog.

Discussions of Ken Wilber

Michael McAlister — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:13:29 +0000

I’ve enjoyed the controversy surrounding the Ken Wilber camp over the past few years. Some people worship Wilber, others can neither tolerate his personality nor his work. Situations like this breed attachment and attachment always leads to interesting situations. As far as I’m concerned, Wilber has had a significant impact on both the pedagogy and curricular [...]

ISmile189 - Perpetual Rest in the Fire of Life

Michael McAlister — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 07:00:49 +0000

"When we recognize that we are never separate from the Big Self, or Deeper Self, that has always been, we find that the small self is nothing more than an incomplete extension of Truth."

A Zen Retreat, A Buddhist Farm Offers A Place Away From Money, Stress And BlackBerrys - CBS News

Michael McAlister — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 09:52:54 +0000

This was a nice surprise. On CBS Sunday Morning, Green Gulch Farm was featured as a way to escape. Of course, if you’re really doing the practice, it’s not about escape, but about facing everything and avoiding nothing. (p.201) Read the article here. Share/Save/Bookmark

ISmile188 - Recognizing the One in the Many

Michael McAlister — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 07:00:35 +0000

"When we open ourselves to the 'Four A's' we are aware, accepting, available, and authentic, we can recognize the One in the many."

Obama’s Church Search - Lama Surya Das

Michael McAlister — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 22:26:28 +0000

In this clip, Stephen Colbert asks Lama Surya Das if it would be hard for Barack Obama to convert from a secret Muslim to a Buddhist.

Now that the fire has passed - Tassajara Zen Mountain Center

Michael McAlister — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:18:49 +0000

Tassajara Zen Mountain Center's director, David Zimmerman writes his account of the fire that nearly consumed his temple. Click here to read the full update.

What about tradition? (from: Awake in This Life)

Michael McAlister — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 22:11:15 +0000

This link regarding the Dalai Lama and the Karmapa, from AwakeinThisLife.com, is worth a look. Click here for the video clip

David Deida - Exploring Sexual Stages with Buddhists

Michael McAlister — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 11:10:32 +0000

David Deida is very controversial. I often find him to be quite stuck in all sorts of ways. He can be crude, brutal, and at the same time insightful. Take him or leave him, you still might find this audio clip interesting. In it, Deida explains how the three major schools of Buddhist thought reflect [...]

ISmile187 - Uncovering True Beauty in the Middle of Hell

Michael McAlister — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 12:25:44 +0000

"The minute we see ourselves in others and others in ourselves, we move into the space of true beauty from the contracted space of hell."

ISmile186 - Avoidance, Obsession & Presence

Michael McAlister — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 07:00:28 +0000

"What does it mean to really contemplate our own mortality?"

ISmile185 - How the Awakened Move in the World

Michael McAlister — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 07:00:37 +0000

"There is nothing we need to do in order to walk in the world with Awakened steps. There is, however, a lot we need to undo."

Still Suffering

Michael McAlister — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 15:43:24 +0000

Blogger Andrew Sullivan offers this post from James Wood's review of Bart D. Ehrman’s God’s Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question—Why We Suffer: Heaven, one of the tenderest verses in the Bible has it, is where God will wipe away all tears from our faces. In her novel “Gilead,” Marilynne Robinson [...]

ISmile184 - Herding Oxes

Michael McAlister — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 07:00:53 +0000

"While Awakening is not a linear process, the Ten Oxherding pictures are a great guide for how we can map the process of Awakening."

ISmile183 - Welcoming Negativity

Michael McAlister — Mon, 26 May 2008 07:00:18 +0000

"In stillness practices, where we face our lives fully, the negativity that we experience points us directly into the heart of Awakening."

ISmile182 - No Thing, No One

Michael McAlister — Thu, 08 May 2008 07:00:27 +0000

"A good teacher never lets your ego play its usual games."

ISmile181 - The Soft Smile

Michael McAlister — Thu, 01 May 2008 22:00:34 +0000

"When we meet situations without flinching, we can operate from places of surrender... and this changes everything."

ISmile180 - Free of All Stories

Michael McAlister — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 07:00:47 +0000

"When we adhere to roles, opinions, convictions, or anything else we are simply attaching to stories."

ISmile179 - Bringing It All Home

Michael McAlister — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 21:35:26 +0000

"I'm on this Path just like you. So are all teachers. Please remember this."

ISmile178 - When Buddha is Killed

Michael McAlister — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 08:00:01 +0000

At the essence of what we're doing, we are uncovering what has always been right here.

ISmile178 - Today’s Bodhisattva

Michael McAlister — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 08:00:58 +0000

"When we know that we can't know, we occupy as space that allows us to help others."

ISmile177 - Getting Done by Meditation

Michael McAlister — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 07:00:55 +0000

"Living in the world means that we let the world live through us."

ISmile176 - The Communication of Spaciousness

Michael McAlister — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 08:00:09 +0000

"There truly is nothing to teach."

ISmile175 - Undoing the Tangle of Karma

Michael McAlister — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 07:00:07 +0000

"Allow calm infuse the busy, alertness to infuse the distraction, and don't avoid anything. This is untangled, meditative living."

ISmile174 - Spitting Out Tea Leaves

Michael McAlister — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 07:00:26 +0000

"Questioning takes ego out of the way of the Universe's impulse to Awaken."

ISmile173 - Purification

Michael McAlister — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 07:00:47 +0000

"Meditation is a shortcut that reminds us of what really matters."

ISmile172 - Being Oceanic

Michael McAlister — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 07:00:54 +0000

"When the 'I' thinks it 'gets it,' we uncover an unenlightened ego that thinks it's Ultimate Truth."

ISmile171.5 - Year End Appeal

Michael McAlister — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 18:30:00 +0000

"Shaaaahkyamuuuuni!"

ISmile171 - ITP: 3 Levels of Awareness

Michael McAlister — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 07:00:33 +0000

"Head, heart, and gut, are inseparable to those on an authentic spiritual path."

ISmile170 - Dropping the Nonsense

Michael McAlister — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 07:00:20 +0000

"There might be horrible situations in your life right now. If so, practice there. There might be glorious situations in your life right now. Practice there as well.

ISmile169 - Birth and Death

Michael McAlister — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 15:58:48 +0000

"The birth of my daughter is something I'll never forget, especially since I know our time together is fleeting."

ISmile168 - Practicing With All the Crap

Michael McAlister — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 18:37:08 +0000

"When we feel like we get psychologically punched or dinged, that's the ego getting its rough edges smoothed over by the Universe."

ISmile167 - Forgiveness

Michael McAlister — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 17:36:13 +0000

"All authentic spiritual journey's start to deepen once we begin to forgive."

ISmile166 - Essential Sangha

Michael McAlister — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 19:15:03 +0000

"The job of Dharma practice is to remove the rug and expose what we've been sweeping under it... with others."

ISmile165 - The Ego’s Skin

Michael McAlister — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 06:00:51 +0000

"The Infinite wants to meet itself through us. But to do this, we need to let the ego lose its skin."

ISmile164 - Your True Nature

Michael McAlister — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 15:00:10 +0000

"Just watch your mind. That which is watching is what is True."

ISmile163 - Bloody Noses

Michael McAlister — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 06:00:41 +0000

"The loving space that we can create around even our most challenging circumstances, allows for us NOT to respond with egoic fire."

ISmile162 - The Beginner’s Mind

Michael McAlister — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 21:00:51 +0000

"Any teaching worth practicing is about openness."

ISmile161 - Nothing Needed

Michael McAlister — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 12:30:51 +0000

"Ultimately, a spiritual teacher will offer you absolutely nothing."