Finding Zen and the Guesthouse by Rumi


Coming to learn to be fully human consider my body a guesthouse

When you breathe deeply and go inward,
make space for whatever wants to come to visit your guesthouse today.
What do you notice rising up in you?
What could it be helping you accept or understand?
What has your grief taught you?

The Guesthouse 

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

Jalaluddin Rumi



Finding Zen and Thich Nhat Hanh RIP by Colleen Keating

Finding Zen and Thich Nhat Hanh RIP

Zen Practice  

Go outside for a walk
somewhere in a garden
with trees or plants

focus on soaking up the oxygen
given out by the greenery nearest you

allow yourself to relax
and touch love in the air
in the steps that you make
in the communal energy of living things

Feel the warmth in the sunshine
the brush of air on your skin

give yourself permission to taste it
bit by bit

whisper your gratitude. and bow deeply.


I am life without boundaries, I have never been born
and I have never died.
Over there, the wide ocean and the sky with many galaxies
all manifests from the basis of consciousness.
Since beginningless time I have always been free.
Tomorrow we shall meet again or even before.
We shall always be meeting again at the true source.
Always meeting again on the myriad paths of life.”

-Thích Nhất Hạnh, No Death, No Fear

with reference to Thich Nhat Hanh
and Sister Dang Nghiem in ‘Flowers in the Dark


~ Thich Nhat Hanh

The International Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism announces that our beloved teacher Thich Nhat Hanh has passed away peacefully at Từ Hiếu Temple in Huế, Vietnam, at 00:00hrs on 22nd January, 2022, at the age of 95. We invite our global spiritual family to take a few moments to be still, to come back to our mindful breathing, as we together hold Thay in our hearts in peace and loving gratitude for all he has offered the world.



Finding Zen to rest and replenish by Colleen Keating

Finding Zen to rest and replenish

As the last blog stated these days, many people are feeling overwhelmed and  exhausted.

Here are some nourishing, replenishing, restorative  actions we can take  when we feel drained:

  1. Go for a walk
  2. Take a pause to breathe and notice the moment.
  3. Take a nap
  4. Give yourself a day of spaciousness.
  5. Spoil yourself with a moment outside in the air, with a cup of coffee taken to the garden, with a few hours doing something you always wanted to do, with a holiday away, a retreat, a spa place, etc. from 5 minuits to 5 days  every small moment is a gift to you.
  6. Take a tea break with a little ritual about it.
  7. Sit and feel the sun on your back.
  8. Lay down , close your eyes , relax every muscle in your body and just feel nourished by your brath
  9. Be kind to yourself , serching out and being aware of this every day.

Remember the rule in an areiplane – the adult /parent, must always buckle in before they buckle in the child. Your might think it would be best to attend to the child first but you must be safe firstly to keep the child safe. Hence you must care for yourself firstly to care for others.

Thank you to Zen Habits and Leo Babauta for his many great writings which I adapt for my friends now for all of us.

Finding Zen and taking a break by Colleen Keating

Finding Zen  and taking  a break

These days many of us can get caught out feeling overwhelmed, drained, fearful, exhausted.  

There is so much going on and everything we do demands so much more protocol 

and the worry of the risk involved. 

Yet we have to carry on and look to the positive and the glass half full idea

  even as we can feel dragged down.    Sometimes we can feel a bit like Rabbit:

“Nothing’s working.” said Rabbit.

“Have you tried unplugging?” asked Bear.

“I don’t plug in anywhere.” said Rabbit. 

“Yes you do.” said Bear. “You’re plugged into the world around you.”

“Oh.” said Rabbit, giving this some thought. “How do I unplug then?”

“Close your eyes, let your muscles relax and listen only to the sound of yourself breathing in and out.” said Bear. 

“After a while, when you feel ready, plug back in, and try again.”

Tara Shannon, Julian Gough and Zen Habits by Leo Babauta
whose wrok I have studied for years and am very grateful for.

Finding Zen and our sneaky inner voice by Colleen Keating


Finding Zen and our sneaky inner voice

There are times when you hear a quiet persistent voice prattling away to you. 

You feel inadequate.

You feel not good enough .

You feel inferior to the group you stand or sit with. 

You need to tell that voice to be gone. 

If you can remember,

that every cell in your body is listening, 

– listening to your negative voice, and listening to your denial of that.’ 

Then say to yourself, so that every cell in your body hears it  ‘cancel. ‘

Over time of picking up the negative voice and saying ‘cancel’  your body will get the message that that voice is not accepted by you . And the voice will slowly dissipate. 


  1. Place you right hand gentled on your throat  

     2.  feel the breath in, out, three slow breaths 

     3.   Be aware of being centred with each breath out 

     4.   Place your right hand over your heart and say to yourself ,

            ‘I am enough”  

      5.   Breathe it in  and out.