Welcome to The Practice of Life

a place to slow down, befriend yourself, and connect with the world from kindness and awareness

professional author photo taken by the gifted Genevieve Russell… one of the only times you’ll see me in make-up!

Welcome!

I hope this introductory post gives you a sense of the intention behind The Practice in Life, and a chance to get to know me better as its author.

For me, one of the most rewarding aspects of writing is connecting with readers. I thrive on the back-and-forth and opening of hearts and minds that happens when find each other’s words and encourage each other to go deeper — I hope you will feel inspired to subscribe (if you’re not already) so we can stay in touch on a regular basis, and please feel free to connect with me through the comments here and in other ways.

The Practice of Life is intended as a space to explore what it means to live in these transformative (and often challenging) times from a place of awareness and kindness, and to offer you tools to cultivate those qualities in yourself.

I have a free-range mind so you’ll find all kinds of topics here, but I especially like to explore right livelihood, creativity, spirituality, and current events/socially engaged Buddhism. I try to infuse various forms of contemplative practice into my perspective and writing.

One of my (few) claims to fame is that I’m the co-creator of the Tree of Contemplative Practices, a tool that was developed during my time as Research Director of the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society. Over the years, the Tree has had a long life and reached many people. My hope is that it can serve as tool to liberate us from narrow ideas of what contemplative practice is and help us to find one (or more) that truly works for us. People seem to appreciate it for that reason.

A bit about me —

• I’m a gregarious introvert who needs solitude to re-charge my batteries, and at the same time deeply appreciates family, friends, and community. While I’ve been in partnerships in earlier chapters of my life, in more recent years I’ve been flying solo alongside Lucy, the magical rescue dog.

• Since 2009, home has been Northern New Mexico, north of Santa Fe—a place of Indigenous strength and power, sacred land and waters, and great food. I love it even when it’s not easy to be here, and am so grateful this place has welcomed me with open arms. I share stories, culture, and more about this place in my other Substack newsletter, Postcards from New Mexico. Before this, I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for many years, as well as in New England (Western Mass and Connecticut), and Eugene, Oregon. I grew up in the wonderful cultural stew that is Los Angeles.

• My career path has been all over the map and has included stints as a mental health worker, cultural anthropologist and qualitative researcher, nonprofit professional, and writer and editor. But that long and winding path has given me a lot of empathy for other folks seeking meaningful work and led me to write a mindfulness-based guide to creating right livelihood: Work That Matters (Parallax Press, 2017). Here’s an excerpt from the book.

• I’ve been studying and practicing Buddhism since 1995, and am forever grateful for the wisdom and compassion that has been passed down to us from the ancestors, and that we keep alive in our communities (sanghas).

• I love to travel… it’s how I explore the edges of myself and culture, it’s where I feel the most ‘me.’

• One of my most incredible travel journeys was a 1999 pilgrimage to circumambulate holy Mt. Kailash in Tibet with a group of travelers from Upaya Zen Center, led by Roshi Joan Halifax. I’ve also had time in Bali, Borneo, India, and Thailand.

• There are other kinds of journeys… and the most profound one I’ve been on over the past decade was moving through great internal resistance to re-engage with my aging parents, extract them from a dangerous living situation, and re-locate them closer to me in Santa Fe. Sadly I lost my mom and dad to COVID in January of 2021. I’m currently working on a memoir about this experience and how our relationship transformed and healed in those last years. This post gives you a taste of what I’m working on.

this life… a long and winding road

What to expect when you subscribe (and yes, it’s free!)

When you sign up for The Practice of Life, you can expect a post at least twice a month:

• Full moon posts are explorations on living in these times with intention and awareness (and may touch on the apocalypse because that’s what we’re in).

• New moon posts are sometimes a fun list called “3 Good Things,” other times something else. This is kind of the wild card of the newsletter.

• On the weeks in-between, I may feature some of my favorite past writing and maybe also sharing excerpts from my work-in-progress memoir.

That’s a helpful structure for me — if I ever need to remember a writing deadline I just look up at the night sky.

You’ll also have access to DharmaStack, a directory I’m compiling of Buddhist-inspired newsletters on Substack. (I’m sure in a parallel universe I am a librarian!)

So this is really free?

Yes! I’m still feeling my way into the Substack world, but in general my ethos is based on the Buddhist principle of dana, a Pali word that means something like “giving,” “offering,” and “generosity.”

Everything I write here is freely offered, and if you would like to express your appreciation for those writings and support my livelihood in a material way, your paid subscription is greatly appreciated. For the time being, paid and free subscribers get exactly the same things, there are no paywalls here and everyone is welcome to comment on my posts.

Some of my posts have a “Donate” button where you can give a one-time donation if you’re not able to do a paid subscription.

Okay, well that’s quite possibly enough for now! I’d love to hear about you, how you found your way here, what brings you joy in life, and what you’re seeking. To paraphrase an old Zen question: What’s the most important thing? I’m all ears. As a matter of fact, I’ve been told that listening well is one of my super powers ; )