Each difficult moment has the potential to open my eyes and open my heart

Mindfulness is often spoken of as the heart of Buddhist meditation. It's not about Buddhism, but about paying attention. That's what all meditation is, no matter what tradition or particular technique is used.

In Asian languages, the word for 'mind' and the word for 'heart' are same. So if you're not hearing mindfulness in some deep way as heartfulness, you're not really understanding it. Compassion and kindness towards oneself are intrinsically woven into it. You could think of mindfulness as wise and affectionate attention.

Anytime a storm enters the Gulf, it has the potential of threatening the Mississippi Gulf Coast. All eyes need to be watching, paying close attention to the news media. Anything we get from the National Hurricane Center, we'll release immediately.

It was surreal. I watched it unfold before my eyes, and I said to myself, 'This is it. This is the picture.

All the suffering, stress, and addiction comes from not realizing you already are what you are looking for.