Most weekends, I didn’t summit the mountain.
For years, I called that failure.
Now I call it wisdom.

New Substack: The Soul of the Climb
On self-compassion, ambition & letting the path change you.
🗻👉 buff.ly/B2BBFuP

#selfcompassion #mindfulness #personalgrowth #bskysangha

Chasing self-esteem can leave us stuck. #selfcompassion offers something steadier. It’s not a shortcut—it’s a return. My latest Substack's about why kindness > constant striving. Check it out here: www.befriendingyourself.org/p/meet-self-... #mindfulness #mentalhealth #bskysangha #innercritic

Welcome to Befriending Yourself My new Substack newsletter is all about stories, tools, and perspectives that are helping me and others on our collective journey towards unshakeable self-compassion.

Just launched a new passion project! It's a Substack called Befriending Yourself—all about quieting the inner critic and learning to meet yourself with compassion instead of judgment. Get the first newsletter here: www.befriendingyourself.org/p/welcome-to... #selfcompassion #mindfulness #bskysangha

How to Stop Being So Hard on Yourself Cultivating self-compassion can actually help you cope better with life’s struggles.

So good to see #selfcompassion getting NYT love! 🧡 Amazing to hear from Tara Brach + her RAIN practice (core to my #befriendingyourself program) + Kristin Neff’s insights. #selfkindness isn’t soft—it’s strength. Read here: www.nytimes.com/2025/05/29/w... #mindfulness #compassion #bskysangha

The Buddha said something to the effect that people who cling to their opinions go around annoying people. But it can be much more extreme than that. Can we hold our opinions lightly? Especially those about ourselves? #mindfulness #meditation #buddhism #selfcompassion #bskysangha #pemachodron

When we want to turn away and create bad others is the hardest and most important time to see clearly and practice #compassion. More from from #whenthingsfallapart. #pemachodron #mindfulnesss #meditation #buddhism #bskysangha

Photo of one finished section of the front piece of a Soto zen Rakusu.

I’ve finished one section of the front of my Rakusu. New level of respect for people that hand sew things!!!

#bskysangha #buddhism

All is subject to change & nothing is guaranteed. No matter how wise our actions, we may not get the outcome we want. Knowing this, can we still approach our lives with gratitude & tenderness with the intention of personal and collective healing?

#pemachodron #mindfulness #meditation #bskysangha

#mindfulness is a word we often use, but what does it MEAN? I offer this simple definition. When practicing #mindfulnessmeditation, we set an intention to stay with our present moment experience without assigning labels like good or bad, right or wrong. #meditation #bskysangha #insightmeditation

🤔 I know many places where we can practice #mindfulness #meditation and #compassion, the "weapons" of the spiritual warrior. Sitting, watching the mind, opening to what's there with kindness = simple but powerful acts that can dissolve the causes of war.

#pemachodron #insightmeditation #bskysangha

"Certain people" want us to think they have all the power. They fear us remembering our inherent goodness, love, beauty, strength, & natural intelligence. I invite you to: Pause, feel the ground meeting your feet, notice your breath & look inside for it. #mindfulness #meditation #bskysangha #rumi

Feelings can be scary and/or overwhelming but they are essentially sources of information about our inner and external worlds. Gently opening to them can offer the gifts of insight and compassion for self and others.

#pemachodron #mindfulness #meditation #bskysangha #insightmeditation

Put otherwise, we should free ourselves to feel all the feels. They can be uncomfortable but “no feeling is final.” More from #pemachodron When Things Fall Apart. #buddhism #bskysangha #mindfulness #compassion #embodymind

From my re-reading of #pemachodron ‘s When Things Fall Apart. Can we let go of right & wrong, good & bad? Can we be with people as they are without agreeing or disagreeing? If so, it could help stop the culture war & focus on the things that really matter. #mindfulness #bskysangha #buddhism

Iwasaki tsuneo

The truth expressed in the (Heart) sutra is everywhere to be seen;

it is in our mind, the beginning and end of which are unknown.
-kukai

#zen #bskysangha

This pretty much sums up my approach to teaching and my perspective on why we are where we are in the world rn. Too many people hating themselves, unable to stay with that pain and coping by inflicting it on others. #buddhism #mindfulness #pemachodron #selfcompassion #bskysangha #embodymind

Relax. Enjoy. Release.
#bskysangha

Happy #valentinesday folks, my first on #bluesky. What we pay attention to grows stronger. By paying attention to our inner life, to our children, our partners, our world, they will know our love and be nourished by it. ❤️🌈 #mindfulness #meditation #bskysangha #insightmeditation #tarabrach #buddhism

“Do not look away. Do not avert your gaze. Do not turn aside.” This is a time for radical attention and total acceptance of events around and within us. Stay awake. Keep your heart open. Bear witness. ❤️🙏 #buddhism #meditation #joannamacy #thegreatturning #bskysangha

I've been 'sitting' with a Soto Zen Sangha for 10yrs I just started an 8 month precepts study group using Reb Anderson's Being Upright and Nancy Mujo Baker's Opening to Oneness. I start sewing my Rakusu in 3 weeks.
With all the current events it is an interesting time to be be studying.
#Bskysangha

Looking for an inclusive space to develop your #mindfulness practice and connect with like-minded folks? Join me for this online drop-in #meditation group each Sunday. Pay what you can to attend! Learn more and sign up here: embodymind.co/meditation-g...

#bskysangha #insightmeditation #buddhism

I've been spending way too much time reading the news lately & not enough time walking in #nature. But my regular #mindfulness #meditation practice sustains me & helps me keep my composure amidst everything that's going on in the world rn! 🙏❤️ #insightmeditation #jackkornfield #bskysangha #embodymind

More wisdom from #pemachodron ‘s When Things Fall Apart. Endings are also beginnings. Empires rise & fall, new ones replace them. Old systems get broken, new ones get built. We may have to experience pain in the bardo as we aspire toward the new world we want. #mindfulness #buddhism #bskysangha

I used to be a poet. I guess I still am—as these lines recently manifested via my #mindfulness practice. Slowing down & practicing #embodiment regularly has connected me with eons' worth of evolutionary wisdom inside me. My body is my greatest teacher! #buddhism #meditation #bskysangha #embodymind

Yesterday I got an email letting me know I am a certified #mindfulness #meditation teacher. It was an amazing two-year journey in #jackkornfield & #tarabrach 's #mmtcp. I'm grateful for all the learning & the capacity I now have to share the gifts of mindfulness in my community & beyond! #bskysangha

It may seem hard to believe at times, but everything we need is already inside us. It's usually buried beneath layers of shame, guilt, anger, sadness and fear. #mindfulness and #selfcompassion practices allow us to excavate the gold hidden inside. #buddhism #zen #bskysangha

From #jackkornfield 's book The Wise Heart, a textbook for my 2-year teacher training program & a great source of wisdom. This description is apt for the fruits of my years-long #healing journey with #mindfulness, #psychedelics & somatics. I'm now excited to support others. #meditation #bskysangha

Darkness is gathering in the world rn. My intention as a teacher of #mindfulness & #compassion is to carry a light so those around me can navigate it with greater ease. It's not my light, but the light of a loving universe that's always present. #meditation #buddhism #bskysangha #insightmeditation

I’m re-reading When Things Fall Apart for probably the 10th time rn. It seems an appropriate time to do so with things in the world falling apart as they are. These teachings have never landed so deeply. #pemachodron #mindfulness #meditation #bskysangha #buddhism #embodymind

Words just now from my teacher, #jackkornfield. I believe everyone longs for #peace in their heart of hearts, but so few have the tools or capacity needed to achieve it. IMO, outer peace starts with making peace with oneself! #meditation #mindfulness #buddhism ##insightmeditation #bskysangha