"Grandma, what do YOU want to do?"
When we realized that my mother could no longer make the trip to Japan regularly as she had done for years we faced a tough decision...
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smshige3
- Apr 5, 2016
- 4 min
Jordan's Journey of Vulnerability and Courage
"The kick is no good!" As the announcer's shocked voice was heard across the nation, Jordan Williamson's life was drastically altered....
smshige3
- Mar 18, 2016
- 2 min
"You don't look Irish!"
Last year I “came out” as Irish as part of a Mixed Irish Writers panel at the Crossroads Festival in San Francisco, along with Clare...
smshige3
- Mar 16, 2016
- 2 min
Healing Through Song
Our class became a healing musical circle as Jessica Anderson and Tyler Brooks invited us into a space where we came together in song and...
smshige3
- Mar 10, 2016
- 5 min
Spring Breezes Freshen Northern Japan
When I visited the areas in northeastern Japan devastated by the deadly tsunami that swept away so many lives on March 11, 2011, I met a...
smshige3
- Mar 8, 2016
- 2 min
Keep your feet on the ground, doing first things first
"This is an invitation to make your life more a journey of self-discovery. It asks you: How do you approach your life? Do you create...
smshige3
- Mar 7, 2016
- 1 min
Mindful Gratitude to Start the Day 尊い人生
A few years ago, Tenzin Seldon, a Stanford student from Dharamsala, gave me this scroll and since then I start my day by reading it. The...
smshige3
- Mar 6, 2016
- 1 min
Try something different
Rumi You and I have spoken all these words. But for the way we have to go, words are no preparation. There's no getting ready other than...
smshige3
- Feb 22, 2016
- 3 min
All That Remains is Gratitude: Remembering Grandma, One year later
Today is the Isshuuki, Japanese for the first anniversary of my grandmother’s passing at 111, or 113, as the Buddhist priest declared...
smshige3
- Feb 19, 2016
- 4 min
Vulnerability and Courage: Shikata ga Nai
How do we act when life gives us a situation that we feel is beyond our control? Humans repeatedly are forced to deal with such...
smshige3
- Feb 11, 2016
- 3 min
Awakening a Beginner’s Mind: Discovering a Mindful Approach to Teaching and Learning
Fresh out of college, without a job, and needing some money to pay the rent I became a substitute teacher in the Cambridge, Massachusetts...
smshige3
- Mar 29, 2015
- 9 min
"This Story is Not Meant for You": A Lesson into Empathy through Mindfulness with Dr. Step
How can mindfulness teach empathy? Or what is ‘mindfulness’ in the first place? Dr. Stephen Murphy-Shigematsu, an American Japanese...
smshige3
- Dec 18, 2014
- 3 min
Learning Mindful Parenting From Dragon Moms: Loving your Child each Day
“Before you cross the street, take my hand. Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” In John Lennon's...
smshige3
- Oct 1, 2014
- 3 min
You Are Not Alone: Finding connections with Others
Have you ever felt like you’re the only one who’s different? Growing up as the one Japanese boy anyone had ever seen I often felt like I...
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