Maybe There Will Be Cupcakes

Ginny Bartolone's Blog of Many Years

Tag: buddhism

  • Learning to Be Still in a Hurricane

    What we are being asked to do–to remain still in the terror of this scenario–is no easy task. In Buddhist writing, it is one of the most universal challenges. How do we let each new moment wash over us and not judge our response to it? How do we not transform panic into online anger,…

  • Villava to Uterga

    Last night, I went to the Shambala Center in NYC, a Buddhist school with meditation instruction and mindfulness talks open to the public. Robert Chender, a senior meditation teacher of this lineage, lead the evening, centering his lesson around the “stories we tell ourselves” in order to deal with difficult emotion. He explained that one…

  • “But that doesn’t make it okay…”

    Just before leaving the house this morning, I flipped open a book by Pema Chodron that I’ve been slowly reading.  I specify slowly because it’s a breakdown of an eighth-century text called The Way of the Bodhisattva by the Buddhist sage Shantideva, and most of it takes some time to process.  I usually have to be in…

  • It’s Been 10 Days

    Just a heads up that this is not going to be a normal post.  I honestly just need to rant, and writing privately for myself is not doing it for me right now.  I have woken up every day since the 8th angry and deeply, deeply worried.  Even hearing people managing to go on with…

  • Day 20: The Day I Became a Catholic Buddhist

    For the final 30 days of my twenties, I am writing one personal narrative a day that has impacted my life until now.  To read more about my challenge, feel free to check out the first post.   Also, this 30 Day challenge is also to support a wonderful charity, Zara Aina.  Please check out my fundraiser here and if…

  • The Buddhist Actor and the Audition

    The Buddhist Actor and the Audition

    The Mental Life Cycle of an Audition If there’s one thing that hasn’t changed in the past 20-some years of acting, it’s the twisted, complex labyrinth of psychological grief I embark upon each time I lock down an audition. Step one: What a cool opportunity, I’m not going to get hooked on the idea of getting the…

  • Public Journal in Peterborough

    Today is the first day in months, many months, when I find myself sitting in a town where I’ve never been, with nothing to do and no one to see.  I didn’t have to plan anyone’s hotel, their car, the food.  I could head up to our rental house right now and lay on the…

  • The Buddhist Actor

    Last week, I had a rare opportunity to sit in on a Taoist workshop lead by the head of the Chinese Taoism Society, Master Meng Zhiling.  I knew very little going in about Taoist culture and beliefs, only that they would be a great complement to my Buddhist studies (and helpful toward my goal of sitting…

  • When Mainstream Advice Doesn’t Do It for You

    So for those who are tired of the superficial wanderlust mindset, I suggest we begin seeking a higher quality of advice, the same way we seek out reliable news sources. This is not to say that those motivational posters are not uplifting for someone else, but I am a little past these clichéd or purely…

  • The Three Voices of Anxiety

    A few years back, I had a very kind coworker surprisingly blurt out that he thought anxiety was made up. It was pretty shocking, since this person was a great listener and all around pretty understanding guy. But in his experience, he simply “didn’t understand why people did it to themselves.” It got me thinking.…