Start Where You Are

Start Where You Are helps you discover the power of meditation and compassion by going beyond what incense to buy and giving you real and powerful advice on how to make these tools part of your daily life so you can live with greater happiness and peace.

Do you ever get bogged down by everything that you think you have to do? Between promises to others and ourselves, it’s easy to get trapped in the stress of expectations.

You might wake up filled with fear about what you have left undone or what you’ve done wrong. You spend your days exhausted from living up to expectations-yours and others for you-instead of being excited.

It’s not the end of the world if you don’t do it all. Although this might be a tough concept to grasp, meditation will help.

At its core, this practice is about living in the moment and seeing each second as an opportunity for joy. It’s a lot easier to choose to be happy when you begin to realize this. You’ll begin seeing how life is really only a bunch of little moments and your experience depends on whether you decide to see them with joy or as a burden.

It’s okay to let go of what you expect of yourself. Just let each moment be what it is, without the pressure of past regrets or future intentions.

You might try switching up your routine, for example. Some of my favorite memories with my kids are when I take a break from work to cuddle them as they get out of bed. Or when we have a dance party in the middle of our nightly routine.

In Buddhism, the ultimate spiritual goal is nirvana. One translation of this word is “emptiness.” To those living in the West, this might seem like a bad thing, but it can actually be really good for you. Consider how, psychologically, reaching a state of emptiness actually sounds really calming. It’s relieving to let everything go and just exist. Once you reach this state you’re free from labels and judgments that cloud your vision and disrupt your peace. Controlling your anger is another benefit of seeking emptiness. A Zen story tells of a man who was enjoying a day on his boat until he notices another boat heading toward him. The man’s anger grows as it gets closer until it gets close enough for him to see that it’s empty and he’s been shouting at nothing. In the same way, every time you get angry you’re just frustrated at nothing. That’s because you make up reasons to get mad, but they don’t actually exist in reality. They’re only in your head. Death…