Your assignment: Love something. Instead of engaging in careless consumerism, feeding the Man and our own hunger, we can engage in…contentment.⁠ ⁠ Contentment, like turning the music off, turning the car off, stopping walking…is a sudden, redemptive silence. A quiet that feeds us, a re-connection with Nature and our own inherent goodness.⁠ ⁠ But I like to take…

I long for freedom. I crave adventure. But please don’t ask me to unpack. Because it means the fun is over and the boring and mundane await. Except with you — with you I emptied myself. The space filled with years of scattered snapshots and feelings we couldn’t begin to understand, all came tumbling out of me. …

I sat on the massage table today expecting nothing but comfort and healing. At the end of the day massage therapy counts as self-care, and self-care is pretty crucial. When we take the time to take care of our well-being, we reduce daily stress and get in touch with our inner selves. I thought I was doing just that; I thought I was…

I was the lone vegan at my family’s Thanksgiving meal this year. Don’t get me wrong — my meal was fantastic. (I made sure of it.) But the leftovers and homemade turkey soup that my family has been eating this weekend? Not for me. Instead I poked through the (very full) fridge to find some leftover, unused vegetable ingredients I could use…

Here’s an ugly fact: we repeat what’s familiar. Our minds tend to repeat the same patterns because we know what to expect. Uncertainty is our worst enemy, and so we constantly find ourselves landing on the same territory that once felt promising and safe. When it comes to our relationships, we’re masters at resurrecting the past. We end…

Walk the Talk Show with Waylon Lewis presents: Waylon speaks with Andy Karr, author of Into the Mirror, his new book on Buddhism and our everyday life. Read a book excerpt of Into the Mirror, right here on Elephant Journal. “There’s a dominant narrative in society…that it’s all about stuff. Either stuff to accumulate, knowledge as stuff —…

I woke up this morning to two sad and angry messages (one a letter) from folks I like and respect re Israel and Gaza. My reply to the first, which was pro-Gazan, anti-Israeli: I don’t think you know what I think, not that what I think matters. I don’t think…

I love Mel Robbins. She articulates her words with passion and precision. She’s the epitome of wisdom and does a good job in triggering multiple epiphanies all at once. Today I watched her recent reel about people pleasing, and to be honest, I wasn’t prepared for the level of awakening that took over my…

Last night before I went to sleep, I looked at a photo of myself from 2001. I was 13 years old. This photo has been sitting on my dresser, in the same place, for months. Usually, I might passively glance at it, and then move on. But for some reason, last night I paused, and I looked at that photo for a little longer. And I…