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Enjoy the top 10 blogs of the week free in our e-newsletter.


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His Holiness the Dalai Lama on Climate Change. ~ Jenna Penielle Lyons

by on May 16, 2013

But the Dalai Lama said that we should first detach ourselves from the situation in order to become objective. Forget about politics. Forget about money. Forget about territory, borders, or ego. Become objective and look at the world from the standpoint of a steward–a steward who regards his or her immediate surroundings with an insurmountable level of love and care.


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My Day with the Dalai Lama: elephant Meets His Holiness.

by on May 8, 2013

“I am just a simple Buddhist monk, no more, no less.” ~ His Holiness, the Dalai Lama It was a moment I had dreamed of all my life, I reflected, as I was whisked through our first security gate and through to a side corridor leading onto the main floor of the Comcast Arena. Our [...]


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Unauthorized Exit From the Planet & Wise Words From the Dalai Lama. ~ Megan McWilliams

by on Apr 17, 2013

This was the case with my dear friend and spiritual mentor’s funeral this week, as we celebrated her “unauthorized exit from the planet.” Jean Brookwell was a wise woman with a fantastic sense of humor and a wonderfully deep New England accent. She moved around a lot, and there were long periods of time when we wouldn’t see each other over the course of our 17-years of spiritual experimentation.


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Facing Tragedy from His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

by on Apr 15, 2013

“There is a saying in Tibetan, ‘Tragedy should be utilized as a source of strength.’ No matter what sort of difficulties, how painful experience is, if we lose our hope, that’s our real disaster.” ~ Dalai Lama XIV I’m not yet ready to comment on the tragedy of this day. I think there will be many [...]


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Ahimsa is Our Call to Action: One Yogi’s Perspective on the Keystone XL Pipeline Project. ~ Sierra Hollister

by on Mar 26, 2013

It is time to be heard. It is time to stand up to corporate greed, legislative idiocy, leadership mediocrity, environmental exploitation, citizen inaction and more.


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Comparing the Modern Yogini with Tibetan Female Mystics.

by on Mar 19, 2013

To be clear these women were not nuns, in fact most of them had consorts who they practiced with to deepen their spirituality through sacred sexual union.


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elephant Recommends: Naked Mind: A Present Mind is a Happy Mind. {Film}

by on Mar 6, 2013

“What does mindfulness mean, how does it relate to human happiness, and what does it mean to practice mindfulness in today’s society?” Via our elephriends and partner. If inspired, help them fund their kickstarter campaign! From the Himalayas to US Neuroscience labs, two filmmakers explore the effects of meditation and its potential for collective evolution. [...]


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What is Driving Tibetans to Self-Immolate?

by on Mar 5, 2013

So what has happened to humanity today that 107 Tibetans can self-immolate and still nothing has changed? What can possibly be done to reverse this fact?


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Sleep Deprivation Alters Genes.

by on Feb 26, 2013

We’ve known for years that getting less than six hours of sleep a night is bad for us—but new scientific research shows it might also be bad for our genes. I hopped on the BBC website this morning and saw that one of the top articles was on bad sleep being even worse for our [...]


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“Every morning, recite this.” ~ Dalai Lama

by on Feb 24, 2013

Follow @waylonlewis on Instagram for the full-sized image, high resolution. Whether it’s Robert F. Kennedy, Eleanor Roosevelt, Judaism…every hero and tradition has a similar mission or vision: dedicate oneself to others, and ironically, you gain in joy and love. For more: Bodhisattva Vow. And more: Dedicate any Merit.  


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Donna Karan Reveals Stephan Weiss: Connecting the Dots Exhibit. {Video} ~ THNKR

by on Feb 7, 2013

“You think about it really, who we are—are we just a dot on a piece of paper?” ~ Donna Karan It’s a question we all ask. Who are we? What is our significance? Are we mere dots in an abstract painting on a piece of paper that stretches forever? And if so, how can we [...]


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Best Quote from the Dalai Lama Ever.

by on Jan 28, 2013


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What the Buddha Might Say to Oprah.

by on Jan 8, 2013

We walk and dance along the path, picking ourselves up each time we fall, discovering that giving is getting, kindness is awesome, and life is a precious gift.


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The Dalai Lama advised two things when asked how to work with her anger at her sexually abusive father.

by on Jan 7, 2013

@waylonlewis on Instagram Reading this (entire) article via the New York Times (article linked) made my morning/month. Restorative Justice is not easy, but it’s real. RJ FTW! This story, featured in the Sunday New York Times, involves much more than this anecdote, and broke my heart in a good way, and is worth reading. It [...]


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Inspired Now, Idle No More. ~ Margie Barkley.

by on Jan 1, 2013


The Dalai Lama Says the Future Dalai Lama Could be a Woman. ~ Jennifer Spesia

by on Dec 30, 2012

The Dalai Lama was adamant about the importance of care-giving, compassion and warm-heartedness and insisted women must take a more active role in society, because, with women in more leadership roles, there will be less danger of violence.


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Where do we go from here? ~ Dr. Paula Grace Watkins

by on Dec 26, 2012

(…)


The Best Spiritual & Inspirational Quotes for the Coming Year… and Beyond.

by on Dec 15, 2012


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Did you know the Dalai Lama has a remedy for earthquakes?

by on Dec 11, 2012

We are spiritual beings above all else. And the Tibetans clearly get that or how else could they use simple, albeit mastered, thoughts to stop the movement of the earth? That potential is each and every one of us. As the Tibetans would say, it is our inherent Buddha nature.


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The 5 Things I Learned from Tibetans. ~ Fleur Carter

by on Dec 9, 2012

This article is in honor of World Human Rights Day. Living in a foreign country can be interesting and challenging, but also incredibly enriching and rewarding. I am fortunate enough to live at the foothills of the Indian Himalayas in a small hill station town known as McLeod Ganj, home of His Holiness the Dalai [...]


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Ahimsa Be Damned: When Buddhists Attack.

by on Nov 19, 2012

Despite its peace and lotus flowers image in the west, Buddhism has had a long and complex relationship with violence.


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The Dalai Lama’s letter of Congratulations to President Barack Obama.

by on Nov 8, 2012

The Dalai Lama’s letter of Congratulations to Barack Obama on his Reelection as President. “Please accept my congratulations on your re-election to the presidency of the United States. “When you were elected in 2008, you inspired the world with a call to take responsibility for the problems we face as global citizens. Since then, you [...]


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Love, Grief, Forgiveness & Healing: An Interview with Stephen & Ondrea Levine.

by on Nov 8, 2012

It doesn’t matter whether you’re Buddhist, Christian, a devotional practitioner etc, the more you let go of what keeps you small, the bigger your mind becomes.


Just Because You Practice Yoga Doesn’t Mean You Should Sacrifice Free Speech. ~ Patricia Jackson

by on Oct 27, 2012

Take it deep. Take it to the core. If dharma is being violated, don’t we have the duty to speak up or just not participate?


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Facing Tough Times & Need a Helping Hand?

by on Oct 22, 2012

I spend a lot of time within the Tibetan community in exile and have learned a mindful trick or two. And with things getting seemingly more and more difficult across the globe I think it only right I share about one that may bring ease to our collective unrest.


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5 Reasons Why the Damage China is Doing in Tibet Today Will be Knocking on Our Suburban Doors Tomorrow.

by on Oct 9, 2012

Sitting in the Dalai Lama’s security office one day I stumbled across a certain book…


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TED: Technology, Education, Dalai Lama?

by on Sep 22, 2012

A dialogue where the wisdom of the East meets the science of the West.  “And the faculty of voluntarily bringing back a wandering attention, over and over again, is the very root of judgment, character and will. No one is compos sui if he have it not. An education, which should improve this faculty, would [...]


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You Can’t Blast Them with Bliss: An Interview with Dr. Robert Thurman.

by on Sep 6, 2012

It isn’t a matter of acting enlightened and talking in ummodulated tones or acting sanctimonious. If my kids ever caught me doing that, they’d kick me.


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How to Find Peace During These Times of Turbulence.

by on Sep 3, 2012

“In chaos there is fertility.” ~ Anais Nin So much seems to be out of our control these days, it’s as though the relentless challenges of this century have left no global stone unturned. But have you stopped at any point to search for any silver linings? Whether it be in your own personal experience [...]


The Dalai Lama on the Pursuit of Happiness: “You didn’t Build it.”

by on Sep 3, 2012

We’re not Self-Made. We’re Made by Interdependence. We create our own success, or not. That’s true. But it’s within the context of our family, our community, our town, our society, our government, and our corporations.   ~ Relephant bonus: “Innumerable labors brought us this food, may we know how it comes to us. Let us [...]


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Will Western Women Really Save the World? ~ Vanessa D. Fisher

by on Aug 27, 2012

A Question to the Dalai Lama I’m about to say something that could likely garner some backlash, but I feel it needs to be said and thought deeply about, so I’m saying it nonetheless. To be blunt, I somewhat wish the Dalai Lama had never made his famous proclamation at the Vancouver Peace Summit in [...]


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Action, Responsibility, Empathy: Flight of the Hummingbird. ~ Isaac Yuen.

by on Aug 22, 2012

One could interpret the Great Forest as the Earth. It is the foundation which all of our cultures, societies, and economies rely upon. But much like in Hummingbird, this foundation is being threatened; the real life version of the terrible fire takes on the forms of runaway climate change, rampant biodiversity loss, toxic pollution, and resource exhaustion.


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The Dalai Lama: “Kindness is my Religion.”

by on Aug 6, 2012

This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness. ~ Dalai Lama     Bonus:


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Resilience: the Greatest Word in the Dictionary.

by on Jul 7, 2012


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Voices of Nonviolence.

by on Jul 2, 2012

The Arab Spring, The Syrian uprising, the Saffron Uprising in Myanmar, even my own native country’s almost bloodless overthrow of its homegrown dictator (Ferdinand Marcos) prompted me to write this strip.


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Life is But a Dream.

by on Jun 28, 2012

 The Spiritual Power of a Beautiful View. Video: 139 Seconds of Wow: “This is our Planet.” Lately, I’ve been a bit burnt out, negative, discouraged…still inspired…just tired. I read the news, daily, and most (not all) is negative. And I care. And I feel my idealism and naiveté run up against the horrendous things we human [...]


Win a Small Victory for Your Soul.

by on Jun 24, 2012


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The Dalai Lama & Aung San Suu Kyi.

by on Jun 22, 2012

Two Nobel laureates in lifelong exile from the countries they love. “True heroes of nonviolence, selfless compassion, and examples of clear wisdom…” These two Buddhist leaders waited years a lifetime for this meeting: (Picture credit: “The official Twitter page of the Office of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama”) His Holiness the Dalai Lama with [...]


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How to Move Beyond the Blame Game.

by on Jun 13, 2012


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The Only Way to Save the World. ~ Roshi Joan Halifax

by on May 19, 2012


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Tweeting like the Dalai Lama. ~ Iliana Pacheco

by on May 15, 2012

A short discussion about how to interact on the Internet with mindfulness.


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Does the Dalai Lama’s Virginity Have to Go? ~ Jerry Stocking

by on May 8, 2012

Remember, supporting the Dalai Lama and his sexual exploits doesn’t make you pimp. It makes you a partner in world peace.


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Seven Scientific Facts That Will Change the Way You View The World. ~ Tim Illencik

by on May 2, 2012

Some of these facts have the unintended effect of making an individual feel insignificant compared to the relative size and lifespan of the cosmos.


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Dalai Lama: “I love President Bush.” {Video}

by on Apr 28, 2012

The Dalai Lama on Bush, Women & the Arab Spring. In a wide-ranging interview on CNN’s “Piers Morgan Tonight”, the Dalai Lama cheerfully admitted being human when it comes to attraction to women, and… “The world belongs to humanity, not this leader, that leader, kings or religious leaders. The world belongs to humanity. Each country [...]


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Atheism? Boring.

by on Mar 18, 2012

Without Belief in an External God, the Universe is a Dull Place. Rationality is for squares, right? Bonus: this should be on that tumblr called Famous People Hanging Out Together or something:


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Follow Your Intuition. ~ Laura Wells

by on Feb 22, 2012

I’ve been led down an interesting, unusual path lately. A few years ago (like most everyone else, I’m sure) my little family and I began to endure a litany of financial hardships that nearly broke us in more profound ways than just in our bank account.


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Dolor, Lesión Y la Revolución Calmada de Yoga. ~ Matthew Champoux {Artículo en Español e Inglés}

by on Feb 20, 2012

Yoga se trata de equilibrio y de trabajar con la naturaleza de la luz y la oscuridad, el yin y el yang, prana y apana, espiral interior y exterior para iluminar la verdad. Se trata de encontrar el camino medio, y mientras que el dolor puede, de hecho, ser una señal de que la sanidad se está produciendo, vale la pena consultar a un maestro con experiencia para que le ayude a determinar si el dolor es, en efecto, un signo de ruptura de los enlaces de la disfuncional habitual psico-fisiológico, o si es un signo de violencia. En última instancia, el dolor puede guiarnos y promover evolución.


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Predictions for Year of the Water Dragon 2012.

by on Feb 2, 2012

National and Global Predictions for 2012 It’s official the year of the water dragon begins February 4th!  On this day the energy officially changes over. We use the solar calendar, because it is more accurate in Feng Shui, than the lunar calendar. Weather The Southeastern part of the United States may be affected by flooding, earthquakes, [...]


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Dalai Lama: “Every Day, Think as you Wake Up…”

by on Jan 30, 2012

Words to live by. Unless you’re a spelling bee contestant…and even then. In Buddhism, they talk about 1) view, 2) meditation, and 3) action. View, or approach, or intention or mission…is considered most powerful, since it is from the minds of humankind that all our actions originate. For more: > Wisdom of the Dalai Lama, [...]


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Marines P*ssing on Dead Bodies: The Art of Detachment.

by on Jan 24, 2012

It’s difficult to understand why incidents such as Abu Ghraib or Marines urinating on dead bodies occur in an organization such as the military.


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