Chiang Rai’s White Temple

Not exactly the typical Thai temple, but if you are looking for some interesting art, and like skulls and fantastic scenes of death and destruction, the White Temple in Chiang Rai might be your ticket to enlightenment. It’s the kind of thing Hieronymous Bosch might have created in 3-D– lavish references to the garden ofContinue reading “Chiang Rai’s White Temple”

3 Tips for Mental Health and Well-Being during your Pilgrimage

So you packed up your home, put your life on hold, and now you find yourself traveling in Asia with an open stretch of time ahead of you. You plan to rest, take stock, and discover a new angle on life. Have a few adventures. Maybe make a transition in your career. No more boringContinue reading “3 Tips for Mental Health and Well-Being during your Pilgrimage”

To do or not to do

Here’s the big lesson I’ve learned in the past month: Relaxing is the key to doing anything. I didn’t set out to learn this lesson. I set out on an adventure with a friend, to take some time out and rest on one of the most beautiful islands in Thailand. We rented a small houseContinue reading “To do or not to do”

Second annual Contemplative Psychology Intensive in Phuket

Getting ready for our second annual Contemplative Psychology Retreat Intensive this week at Amanpuri Villas in Phuket. It’s not at all a bad place to have a retreat. Ten graduate students from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology will learn the foundations of Ashtanga yoga, shamatha sitting meditation, and practices of loving kindness and compassion,Continue reading “Second annual Contemplative Psychology Intensive in Phuket”

Inner Climate Change

Yoga is fundamentally a practice of working with the mind. Most people start with the physical postures, because that’s the easiest way to start to wrap your mind around the whole process of transforming mind. But yoga is much more than just what’s visible. So you work from the grossest to the most subtle levels,Continue reading “Inner Climate Change”

Foundation for a New Life

 I’m walking down a lazy dirt lane in the late afternoon heat of Northern Thailand. A gaggle of ducks waddle about, making their way to a large pond for their afternoon dip.  Rice paddy extends to low hills in the distance and as I approach the meditation hall where I am to lead the afternoonContinue reading “Foundation for a New Life”

Change your mind, Change your world

Though the word mindfulness has turned into a catchy buzzword recently, there is a powerful message behind the buzz. The ability to steady the mind and bring it back to the present moment—which is another way of saying back to the breath, as we practice in yoga– is an important aid to healing. When youContinue reading “Change your mind, Change your world”