à la carte spirit by ilona fried
Spiritual Practice
Improv as Spiritual Practice
I just passed the half-way point of an improvisational acting class. It’s my first in many years, this time at Boulder Improv Collaborative, coached by Myles Goldin and Zac Chase. I enrolled out of a desire to have fun and practice spontaneity. While “practicing spontaneity” might sound like an oxymoron, it’s not. Some of us, … Continue reading
What is “Spiritual Practice”?
When I began this blog nearly 18 months ago, I chose not to limit myself to a single topic or focus, curious to see what would emerge. Last week, buoyed by an increase in traffic, I redesigned the blog, making the home page more user friendly and dynamic. And I tried to look at my … Continue reading
Windsurfing as Zen Practice
We are going to do one thing at a time. My tanned Colorado windsurfing instructor uttered those words on the shore of Big Soda Lake, but they could have also come out of the mouth of a Zen teacher, sitting on a black zafu at the front of a room. He repeated that phrase frequently, … Continue reading
When Curiosity Beckons
When curiosity beckons, we don’t always know where it will take us, or how long the journey will be. Last week a friend, a spry septuagenarian who pedals around town like nobody’s business, mentioned she was overwhelmed by the thought of preparing for her upcoming yard sale. I asked her if she wanted help. My … Continue reading
What Does it Mean to “Arrive”?
A week ago Sunday a friend and I got together to practice being present. We sat at a shaded table outside a tea house and spent a moment taking a breath together. Then, we began to notice what was around us. That morning the wind was whimsical, its temperature and direction varying moment by moment, … Continue reading
à la carte spirit by ilona fried 
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