When meditation becomes another item on the to do list, something essential goes missing. But when we approach practice as ritual, the magic has somewhere to land. I share more about my own ritual and shrine here: https://openheartproject.com/how-and-why-to-have-a-meditation-shrine/

How do we navigate life with wisdom, compassion, and fierce courage in a complicated time? We'll explore how on retreat. Please join me and Michael Carroll at Drala Mountain Center from August 10–18: https://www.dralamountain.org/program/pbs826-proclaiming-basic-sanity-living-the-bodhisattva-path/

In the latest podcast episode, I talked about ritual, consistency, and the three elements that help a spiritual practice actually take root. And also this: eventually meditation becomes boring. Most of us assume that means it’s not working. But that’s often the moment when something deeper unfolds.

This week on the podcast, I’m talking about the first principle of spiritual practice from my new book, Inexplicable Magic: ritual. Not religion, but the steady rhythm of wakefulness, reflection, and companionship that helps a practice deepen over time.  Listen wherever you enjoy podcasts.

Join Kevin Townley on May 23 for Selfless Expression & The 5 Buddha Families, a 3-hour course on working with emotion as creative energy. All are welcome, including cats. https://openheartproject.com/event/selfless-expression-a-creativity-workshop-with-kevin-townley/

New, live 3-hour workshop with Kevin Townley on May 23: Explore how to work with emotion as creative energy through the lens of the 5 Buddha Families. Sign up here: https://openheartproject.com/event/selfless-expression-a-creativity-workshop-with-kevin-townley/

Meditation isn’t about fixing yourself. This has always been true—for thousands of years. It begins with recognizing that you are already whole, and learning to meet your life from that place.

IN-PERSON EVENT TOMORROW Self-understanding doesn’t come from fixing yourself. It comes from meeting yourself exactly as you are. Join me for a conversation and book signing on The Buddhist Enneagram. May 12 · 6:30pm Boulder Bookstore I hope to see you there.

Your habits, your patterns, your questions—they are not obstacles. They are the way. Let’s look at them together through the lens of the enneagram + dharma. Join me for a talk and book signing at Boulder Bookstore on May 12 · 6:30pm. I hope to see you there. Grab tickets through l1nk !n bi0.

New podcast episode is now live! Meditation can make you feel better, yes, and it can also wake you up to a deeper, more vivid way of being alive that includes your heartbreak, your relationships, and the world around you. Listen wherever you enjoy podcasts.

I loved this conversation with Erica Bassani and the Women Awakening Project. We explored the Enneagram as a way of seeing that who you are is not a problem to solve or a pattern to fix. The Enneagram speaks to qualities with which you were born: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbLEIrcWLew

What if your personality isn’t a problem—but a path? Join me to explore The Buddhist Enneagram and the wisdom already within you. May 12 · 6:30pm Boulder Bookstore I hope to see you there.

What does prayer mean, from a Buddhist context, when there’s no one to ask for anything?  In my own practice, I explore a different approach, one that shifts from seeking to relating, and from asking to simply being with what’s already here. Learn more on my blog.

In this week's podcast episode, I explore what prayer means in a Buddhist context. It's not really about asking for something. It is a way of relating to the aliveness in your experience. I talk about how attention, presence, and even the spaces we inhabit can become a kind of prayer.

Do Buddhists pray? In this tradition, there is no one out there to ask. No external source keeping score or granting requests. And yet, there is something that looks a lot like prayer. Not asking, but relating. Not reaching outward, but recognizing what is already here.

I’ve been moving between two houses and neither one quite feels like home at the moment. One is no longer mine, the other not yet familiar. Even the smallest things feel uncertain. Not settled. Still here. That’s the practice: https://openheartproject.com/newsletter-4-27-26/

Kindness toward yourself is not a detour from the path. It is the path. Join me and Michael Carroll for an in-person retreat from August 10–18, 2026, at Drala Mountain Center in Colorado. Learn more: https://www.dralamountain.org/program/pbs826-proclaiming-basic-sanity-living-the-bodhisattva-path/

I’m posting today from a new home.   Moving reveals everything at once—the thrill of beginning again, and the disorientation of boxes and a life briefly reduced to its essentials.   Both are here.

The Noble Eightfold Path isn’t about fixing yourself. It’s about how you meet the world.  From right view to right concentration, this week's episode of the Buddhism Beyond Belief podcast is a recap tracing a path of clarity and action rooted in presence, connection, and letting go.

Many people see the enneagram as a tool for self improvement. I see it as something deeper. Combined with Buddhist teachings, the enneagram can be a path of insight into our basic goodness. Explore more this Saturday: https://www.shambhala.com/courses/the-enneagram-as-a-path-to-love/

We cultivate an inner observer in meditation; watching our thoughts, noticing what arises, gently coming back.  But at some point, even that can be released. What remains when there’s no one noticing is only noticing itself. I don’t claim to understand it. But it might be worth pondering.

What if your life is workable, just as it is?  Join me and Michael Carroll, August 10–18, 2026, at Drala Mountain Center to practice living the bodhisattva path in real time.  Register here: https://www.dralamountain.org/program/pbs826-proclaiming-basic-sanity-living-the-bodhisattva-path/

Join me for a new 4-week course, The Enneagram as a Path to Love, to deepen your understanding of yourself and bring more clarity to your relationships. This live online course begins April 18: https://www.shambhala.com/courses/the-enneagram-as-a-path-to-love/

Right concentration isn’t about forcing your mind to stay put. Over time, the effort begins to fall away. And what remains isn’t you focusing on something, but a kind of seamless being, where the separation you’re used to holding starts to blur.

The enneagram does not exist so we can label ourselves; rather It exists to help us understand patterns that shape how we relate to ourselves and others. Explore more in a new course I'm teaching starting April 18th: https://www.shambhala.com/courses/the-enneagram-as-a-path-to-love/

I’ll be going live on April 8th to share the new edition of, The Buddhist Enneagram, and explore what it might mean to see ourselves—and each other—with more clarity and tenderness. I'm looking forward to talking it all over with Elena Brower on her Substack. I hope to see you there.

"Now" is the only time that actually exists. True change comes from being present, not from thinking about being present. When the mind settles into the present, a natural relaxation begins to unfold. Not because anything is resolved, but because you are no longer somewhere else.

Meditation is not about becoming good at meditating. What matters is learning how to place your attention with intention and returning when it wanders. That’s the practice. The mind drifts. You notice. You let go. You come back. Again and again.

This week, I talk about the eighth and final step on the Noble Eightfold Path. In this episode, I look at what it means to truly listen, step outside of self-focused awareness, and explore the possibility of awareness without subject or object. Listen wherever you enjoy podcasts.

Whether we notice it or not, life is happening. Losing touch with it isn’t a mistake—it’s part of being human. Right Mindfulness, the seventh step on the Noble Eightfold Path, is not about holding perfect attention, but about returning to the present moment, again and again.

For types 2, 3, & 4, feeling loved often begins with being seen as they see themselves.  I'm teaching a 4-week online course, The Enneagram as a Path to Love, starting April 18th. We'll explore how each type experiences connection: https://www.shambhala.com/courses/the-enneagram-as-a-path-to-love/

It takes a surprising amount of energy to push life away. When you stop retreating, even a little, that energy becomes available again. Right Effort is the willingness to stay with whatever is happening so you can be of benefit to yourself and to this world.

Join me and Michael Carroll at Drala Mountain Center, August 10–18, 2026, to explore the bodhisattva path in everyday life.  Sign up here: https://www.dralamountain.org/program/pbs826-proclaiming-basic-sanity-living-the-bodhisattva-path/

Right Effort is not about doing more. Most of us are already trying very hard. It is about not giving up. Not turning away from yourself, from others, or from the world.

Learn more in my new course, The Enneagram as a Path to Love, starting April 18th: https://www.shambhala.com/courses/the-enneagram-as-a-path-to-love/  Want a free chapter of my book? Join my monthly newsletter: https://openheartproject.com/get-a-free-chapter-of-the-buddhist-enneagram/

In this episode, I talk about the seventh step on the Noble Eightfold Path, Right Mindfulness. I explore what mindfulness means in practice. It's not a way to fix yourself or achieve a certain state of being. It's a shift in how you relate to your mind. Listen wherever you enjoy podcasts.

In a 4-week course, we will explore the enneagram through the lens of Buddhist practice.  Join me for The Enneagram as a Path to Love. Starts April 18th: https://www.shambhala.com/courses/the-enneagram-as-a-path-to-love/

It takes a lot of energy to push experience away. Right Effort, the sixth step on the Noble Eightfold Path, is not about trying harder, but about staying present for your life as it is. You might notice that when you stop retreating, even a little, a natural energy begins to return.

In relationships, we often listen through the filter of hope and fear. What is actually happening can get lost. This is one reason it can be hardest to love the people we already love.  Learn more in a new 4-week live online course: https://www.shambhala.com/courses/the-enneagram-as-a-path-to-love/

Lodro Rinzler and I invite you to a conversation about what it means to write about the spiritual path (and all the humanity included in our process). We will talk about our books and the questions that led us to write them. Register here: https://www.getdrip.com/forms/99647935/submissions/new

There's still time to sign up for tomorrow's free webinar. What if discovering your enneagram type wasn’t about labeling yourself but, rather, about meeting yourself with honesty and kindness? Join me for a free introduction to the Enneagram: https://www.shambhala.com/whats-my-type-sign-up/

This week, I return to the Noble Eightfold Path with a look at Right Effort, the sixth step. "Effort" is not about striving or pushing, but a commitment to not give up on yourself.  Listen wherever you enjoy podcasts.

Join me, Lodro Rinzler, and moderator Adreanna Limbach for a free online talk about what it means to write about the spiritual path. We'll discuss our books and how Buddhist teachings can help us meet the complexity of ordinary life. Join us: https://www.getdrip.com/forms/99647935/submissions/new

Are you a Four? A Six? Something else entirely? Join me for a free Enneagram introduction and explore the nine types—with curiosity, not judgment. Sign up here:

In episode 46, I explore Right Livelihood, the fifth step on the Noble Eightfold Path. We turn to how we earn a living. I share three Buddhist teachings to consider what Right Livelihood might mean today.

The Enneagram can be a mirror: one that shows both our obstacles and our gifts. Join me for a free introduction and explore what your type might be.  Sign up here: https://www.shambhala.com/whats-my-type-sign-up/

For many of us, work is where our ideals meet reality. It's where patience, courage, generosity, and clarity are tested. Not in theory, but in the middle of emails, meetings, deadlines, and relationships. Right livelihood asks us to consider that our work life is not separate from the path.

You're invited to a free online talk with Lodro Rinzler, moderator Adreanna Limbach, and me on writing about the spiritual path while still being very human. We’ll discuss our books You Are Good, You Are Enough and The Buddhist Enneagram: https://www.getdrip.com/forms/99647935/submissions/new

This week, I’m taking a brief pause from our series on the Noble Eightfold Path to talk about two subjects that have shaped my life and practice for more than 30 years: Buddhism and the Enneagram. Listen wherever you enjoy podcasts.

You don’t have to “be a writer.” This retreat is about making time, settling, and listening until something honest emerges. Mostly writing, no critique, sharing optional. Fearless Creativity at Drala Mountain Center, May 13–17, 2026. https://www.dralamountain.org/program/fc526-fearless-creativity/