There should be a rule against writing about meditation retreats immediately after they’re over. In those first hours and days post-retreat, it’s as if I’m experiencing the world through a fresh set of eyes. The cosmos have aligned. Nothing could be a problem. It also smacks of a certain smugness.

Tags: awareness, contemplation, family, Forest Refuge, hope, Insight Meditation Society, Jack Kornfield, journey, meditation, mindfulness, mortality, Remember that you will die, Rubin Museum, wisdom

Fortunately for me, New York City is a very easy place to learn to meditate. In the midst of all the hustle, there are meditation centers of all stripes. I pretty much tried them all, finally alighting on the non-sectarian vipassana meditation as the one most in sync with my disposition. All these years later, what do I get out of meditation?

Tags: awareness, contemplation, faith, family, Father Laurence Freeman, Forest Refuge, IMS, life, meditation, mindfulness, personal, Pir Vilayat, Rabbi Marcia Prager, religion, Sister Annabel Laity, Sri Swami Satchidananda, vipassana, Wes Nisker