Namchak Community Blog

Did you know that Tibetan Buddhism has many different deities? The deities represent different aspects or elements that you may try to channel while meditating. Think of them as aspirational figures with capacities that you are growing, like compassion for yourself and those around you. During meditation you can gaze upon the visuals of the...

I hope this message finds you well during these times of uncertainty and rapidly changing conditions. We are sending love and compassion to all those affected by the Coronavirus (COVID-19)—in both big and small ways. While monitoring the situation carefully, we ultimately feel that moving all upcoming retreats to livestream only is best for the...

Each of the Four Immeasurables has a near and far enemy. We’ll be focusing on Loving Kindness in this piece. Think of a far enemy as a complete opposite in this context. The far enemy or complete opposite of Loving Kindness is ill will or hatred towards another being. That’s usually pretty evident and easy to identify, so we won’t spend a lot of...

For some of us, trying to cultivate self-love and acceptance through a Loving Kindness practice can be like trying to go to the moon: we know it’s possible, but the journey seems impossible. It’s so much easier to worry about our endless responsibilities than to sit with ourselves, our thoughts and try to change our pattern of thinking. That’s...

Our internal critic can be harsh and unrelenting, especially in times when we’re triggered. That critic can be hard to silence fully without suppressing or repressing it. So how can we acknowledge the inner critic without nurturing its presence to grow in our minds and our lives? Here are three tactics to keep our inner critic to a minimum....

This month we are focusing on Loving Kindness, or metta meditation. It is our hope that this month will be a time of wishing happiness for all beings. Perhaps we can use all of the Valentine's Day advertisements as reminders to do this practice instead of buying boxes of chocolates. What better gift than happiness can we give ourselves, others,...

Do you ever find yourself worrying that you’re not measuring up to a yardstick of perfection? Whether we’re talking about our meditation practice or just things we want to accomplish, it can be easy to get frustrated and discouraged if we don’t hit the impossible goal of perfection. How can we take smaller steps to cultivate compassion for...

Have you ever tried to use positive affirmations and struggled to feel like they worked? You’re not alone! Positive affirmations can be hard to use, especially if we’re not clear on what exactly they are, how to use them correctly, or what their benefits are. Below are some great resources on the power of affirmations and how they can help you...

First of all, Happy 2020! In social settings when I talk about my work, people often say to me, “Oh, I am so bad at meditating! I could never do that!” I never know how to respond. But I do know that when I tell myself I am “bad” at something, I am much less motivated to do it. Few of us enjoy doing something when we think we are “bad” at it. A...