Creativity and Contemplation explores the intersection of meditation and creative expression. Impulses for creativity originate deep in the soul, psyche, or what Buddhists call “mind.” The arts give voice, shape, feeling, or color to this human journey of living and dying, and are modes of integrating our experiences of reality. Visual art, sound work, spatial exploration, and even cooking, dreaming, and work can be forms of meditation in action if engaged in with awareness.
Sarah C. Beasley (Sera Kunzang Lhamo), Nautilus Gold award-winning author of Kindness for all Creatures: Buddhist Advice for Compassionate Animal Care (Shambhala 2019), has been a Nyingma practitioner since 2000. Sarah is a Certified Teacher, and an experienced writer and artist, with an MA in Educational Leadership and a BA in Studio Art. Sarah spent six years in traditional retreat under the guidance of Lama Tharchin Rinpoche and Thinley Norbu Rinpoche. With a lifelong passion for wilderness, she has summited Mt. Kenya and Mt. Baker, among other peaks. Her book and other works can be seen at www.sarahcbeasley.com.
Looking into a commentary on a work from Dudjom Rinpoche, one of the 20th century’s greatest Tibetan Buddhist teachers
The life and teachings of the great female Vajrayana teacher ripple down through the ages, providing continued inspiration for practitioners today
How seemingly chance encounters, sincere devotion, and careful practice set a vajrayana practitioner on her path
A reflection on tea as a locus for Buddhist ritual, meditation, and community
Reflections on Earth Day and nature’s ability to bring us to worlds beyond words
On the blessing of stepping back from our busy lives and turning toward our deeper values and ideals
Storytelling as a way of reframing our lives and transcending barriers
Offering a unique practice for our times to help deal with difficult people and emotions
Seeing our refuge in Buddhism as a continuous practice to help us maintain peace and perspective in times of personal and global conflict
Facing the problem of hunger with kindness and compassion, inspired by Buddhist masters near and far
Seeing the future of sustainable food first hand as indigenous ideas and industrial producers come together
Realizing our deep interconnectedness through awareness of heartbreak
