Crumbling the Walls of Separation In Israel and Palestine, where I lived from December 2018 - March 2020, there is a vast concrete wall separating Jerusalem from the West Bank. The wall is unsurpassable for many: it is
Red sky Wildfires are raging across California. The sky is burnt red orange grey. Ash has settled on my stationary car, the bare earth, the leafy trees near my window, my moving body. Ash signifying
ease and encouragement I give the ease in my body space to enjoy the bird calls coming from the three pines. A plane hums overhead. Genmaicha in my cup. The air is cool and wet and
kickboxing and joy Today a friend and I were both feeling down, so I proposed we do yoga together over Zoom video. Can I be honest with you, Melanie? They said. I don’t want to
Constriction and space (3 ways) 1Constriction is in the furrowing of my brow, visible to only the sharpest observer running in line from my third eye to throat to belly button a sharp arrow on the war path
Stepping into intimacy Seeing "the other" clearly in sacred protest spaceIn Israel and Palestine, where I lived from December 2018 - March 2020, there is a wall separating Jerusalem from the West Bank. The wall is
Sit.Walk.Listen: Bringing "collective awakening" to the streets of San Francisco This past Sunday June 14, I sat crosslegged in front of San Francisco’s City Hall, letting the words of the poet Langston Hughes flow over me, a vast and powerful river connecting
On race, privilege, and inclusivity in practice space Dear Thay, dear sangha, I feel moved by a Native friend’s email thread and by the recent police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis to look deeply into inclusivity in our sangha,
The eve of 30 Tomorrow is your 30th birthday. You will celebrate at home, surrounded by the love of your brothers, mom, and dad, in a time of blooming water lilies, red maple saplings, and an ever
meditation on rainbows on balance and letting goSometimes we must let go of what brings us wonder and ease to allow us to breathe and to enjoy anew. Imagine if a rainbow were to be present
A cozy quarantine-retreat in Jerusalem There is nowhere to go, nothing to do. Today is a lazy day in Jerusalem and I am on day 10 of quarantine.
Co-creating a safe container to enable true presence Documenting my agreements for my coaching relationship with Leo, as they become foundational for relationships throughout my life
Welcome home (to 2020) There is no perfect offering. All you can do is meet the moment as you are. You are enough. I am enough. When I touch the enoughness within my body, I open to the beauty in me and around me.
This is it Life is short. If not now, when will I choose happiness? When will I say yes to love and growth, despite fear of abandonment and loss? If not now, when?
On thinking big Today, during a meeting in the French Hill kicking off a new project in Issawiya, I found myself explaining a mentality of scarcity to my partners: Let's start by assuming we can work for free.
A bowl of soup You are invited into this house of love, Melanie. Come, wash your hands and sit down for a bowl of soup. It is cozy and warm inside, and the water is delightfully cool at the kitchen sink. The fixtures are metal, solid, glimmering.
Openness Aware of the suffering created by fanaticism and intolerance, we are determined not to be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or ideology, even Buddhist ones. We are committed to seeing the Buddhist teachings as guiding means that help us develop our understanding and compassion.
Being with the void I am afraid of what happens when everything stops and I’m left in this void, alone, with me. Immediately my hands rush to fill the gap, twitching to open the New York Times, Ha’aretz, Whatsapp, Telegram.
Including My Loneliness in God It’s Yom Kippur today. I’ve been told that the English translation is poor and it’s not quite the Day of Atonement, but rather the Day of Return. Of returning to perfect communication between you and God.
Rainbows and windstorms along the Causeway Coast Celebrating progress in Palestine, two weeks at Plum Village, and three weeks in London
Touching immediacy in the clay fields An exploration of authenticity and true self in a coaching session with Leo
Navigating the barriers to an open heart The race to submit eight Palestinian visa applications in time for waking up at Plum Village
Articulating a framework of belief for operations in Palestine Inclusivity, wise speech and communication, systems change, and taking good care
Women paving the path of peace My encounters with three women teachers at the European Institute for Applied Buddhism in Germany (and other happy news)
