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Compassion is Not a Luxury

By Debra Basham, on October 29, 2020

We live in a time when science is validating what humans have known throughout the ages: that compassion is not a luxury; it is a necessity for our well-being, resilience, and survival.

~ Roshi Joan Halifax

This morning I saw a headline “How Next Door Neighbors With Different Political Views Have Stayed Friends.” The photo […]

On the Shark’s Terms

By Debra Basham, on October 18, 2020

Like my parents taught me, ‘There are no monsters in the sea, only the ones we make up in our heads.’ ~ Christina Zenato

A friend shared an amazing video of a woman swimming with sharks. But this woman is not just “swimming” with the sharks. Christina Zenato, a professional diver, is removing fish […]

We think that the point is to pass the test or overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don’t really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It’s just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of […]

All Roads Lead to Somewhere

By Debra Basham, on October 1, 2020

The headline: The first debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden deteriorated into a bitter showdown …

It would be so easy for me to pass judgment about how unskillful bitter exchanges are were it not for the fact that I had just let myself get triggered by a friend I care […]

New Frontiers

By Debra Basham, on September 16, 2020

Sometimes people get the mistaken notion that spirituality is a separate department of life, the penthouse of existence.

But rightly understood, it is a vital awareness that pervades all realms of our being.

~Br. David Steindl-Rast

Today, it is this beautiful planet we call home that calls us home to our hearts. We […]

What Are You Doing Today?

By Debra Basham, on August 24, 2020

The farmer may only be planting a seed, but if he opens his eyes he is feeding the whole world. ~ Omaha Bee

This opening quotation kicked off a precious story about a three-person construction crew who was approached by a man asking what each was doing. The first said he was working for pittance […]

When Everything Falls Apart, What Remains?

By Debra Basham, on August 16, 2020

I am technically practicing silence in a meditation retreat at Heartwood Refuge and Retreat Center in Hendersonville, North Carolina. But I am attending via Zoom and my fingers are on the keyboard. The focus of this retreat with John Orr is When Everything Falls Apart, What Remains? This was John’s blurb about the retreat:

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My Longings

By Debra Basham, on July 18, 2020

“Strive to be uncynical, to be a hope-giving force, to be a steward of substance.” ~ Maria Popova Bulgarian-born, American-based writer

Last evening as we finished dominoes via Zoom, I asked what the most significant news of the day was. My friend said probably that the Trump administration ordered hospitals to bypass the Centers for […]

Skies Upon Skies

By Debra Basham, on June 21, 2020

“Skies upon skies are available for your flight.” – Osho Zen Tarot

I feel a little bit like the morning after Christmas, or the ninth day of Hanukkah. For the closing sharing of this eight-day Intensive/Retreat—the culmination of a two-year commitment to study and practice—I had written: When I logged on this morning, Dallas was […]

In-tension or Intention

By Debra Basham, on June 16, 2020

As you speak, so you see As you see, so you share As you share, so you become

I am on retreat, and am living the spirit of the law (rather than the letter of the law) by writing a blog post. This intensive / retreat is the culmination of a two-year “Path of […]

Yellow Brick Road: Your Path to Heart & Health

Compassion is Not a Luxury

On the Shark’s Terms

Let it Shine!