Namchak Community Blog

I love the lightbulb moments at retreats. Ya’ know that moment where everyone nods together and starts writing down what the teacher said? If you’ve been to a Namchak retreat, or probably any type of class, you know that moment. The simultaneous group smile like, “That is exactly what we needed to hear!” I experienced a few of those moments at...

Self-care and the holidays don’t seem to go together. Rather than trying to add a new activity to our schedules this month, let’s try to improve an already existing habit – sleep! One of the best things we can do for ourselves is get some good sleep. For most of us that is extra challenging during the holidays. Schedules are often packed with...

When the busyness of the holiday season comes around, it can be easy to get pulled into the “hurry up!” that it brings. From checking things off our to-do lists, prepping for the holidays and attending parties, we can lose sight of what’s important: spending time and creating memories with those closest to us. A meaningful way to create memories...

We’ve covered the first three Foundations of Mindfulness: body, feelings, and mind. That leaves Mindfulness of Phenomena, the fourth and final Foundation of Mindfulness. The first three involve investigating within ourselves. Investigating phenomena asks us to shift our focus to the world around us. The word “phenomena” makes us think of...

Lama Tsomo helps us understand what to do with our wandering “puppy” minds while meditating, but what about the mind-wandering that occurs in our everyday lives? In a recent conversation with Lama Tsomo, Dr. Richard Davidson, neuroscientist and founder of the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, talks about how...

Why meditate? Well, to put it simply, because it works. Neuroscience research shows that when the brain is trained with meditation practices that our habits become a little bit different—and for the better. See below for some recent and exciting meditation research developments in the scientific field. This New York Times article covers the study...

Despite our efforts to keep life manageable, the world is overwhelming. The issues we deal with in our personal lives – health, relationships, work – are further compounded by those affecting the global community. War, poverty, injustice, and environmental degradation loom large in our immediate experience like undeniable clouds on the periphery...

When Lama Tsomo was asked how she tackled the prodigious task of learning Tibetan, she had this to say. (The parallel to starting a meditation practice may surprise you!) "The first thing I did was give up. I was in my 40s when I started studying and I thought, 'This is a really hard language to learn! I’m in my 40s, I’m not going to be able to...

With so many retreats out there, deciding which one to attend can be tough. You can go to a retreat for meditation, writing, yoga, running, and more. You could probably even find one retreat to do all of those in one week. Everyone’s schedules seem only to get busier, so it’s important to make the most of your time by choosing the best retreat...

The following is an excerpt from Lama Tsomo’s book, Why is the Dalai Lama Always Smiling? First Key to a Daily Practice: Working It Into Your Schedule This is a key to success in your practice, so let’s spend some time on this one. It’s best, but not essential, to do your sessions just as you wake up in the morning. Most Tibetan practitioners do...