Coffee Stains and Dragonflies

 What if Buddha was a Zen hippie?

Buddhi isn’t your typical spiritual guide. Named “Buddha” by his free-spirited, hippie parents, he tweaked the name to something that felt a little more down-to-earth. After trading his Ferrari for a beat-up 1968 VW bus and swapping the chaos of Wall Street for a quiet lotus pond, he’s searching for enlightenment.

With a dragonfly named Miles as his muse, Buddhi has turned the pond into the epicenter of his journey toward mindfulness. Armed with a ukulele, truly terrible coffee, and an irreverent sense of humor, he blogs his way through life’s big questions and small absurdities.

As a revolving cast of quirky visitors show up at the pond, drawn to the unconventional wisdom on his blog, Peace, Love, and Zen Vibes, Buddhi begins to question whether mindfulness is really about stillness—or if it’s about dancing through the beautiful, messy chaos of life.

Lighthearted, wise, and delightfully offbeat, Coffee Stains and Dragonflies invites you to embrace the messiness of life, one mindful moment at a time.

 Available on Amazon... $4.99

Meditating by Coffee

 Just published MEDITATING BY COFFEE: ZEN MORNING MEDITATIONS.

Your first cup of coffee in the morning is a wonderful, beautiful thing, filled with the promise of a serene and mindful start to your day. Coffee, combined with meditation, is a gateway to mindfulness.

Each meditation is a gentle whisper, inviting you to embrace the quiet tranquility of dawn as you awaken your inner self and light the way for a positive day. Discover how to transform your morning coffee ritual into a mindful moment that nurtures your soul, calms your mind, and awakens your spirit.

As you enjoy your first cup of coffee in the morning, let the meditations guide you to a day filled with peace, joy, and mindful awareness. Embrace the peace, savor the coffee, and awaken to the beauty of each day.

Available at Amazon... $3.99.

Lotus Pond

 Newly released. Offers mindful meditations.

In the midst of the chaos and busyness of everyday life, it can be challenging to find moments of stillness and inner peace. LOTUS POND: ZEN MEDITATIONS FOR FINDING PEACE AMIDST THE CHAOS offers a way to help you find harmony in all your experiences. Each meditation offers guidance for cultivating mindfulness, letting go of negative emotions, and finding clarity in your everyday life. This book shows you how to unlock the simple, yet profound wisdom of Zen teachings.

Whether you’re seeking to reduce stress, improve your focus, or simply connect with your inner wisdom, this book provides the tools and inspiration you need to embark on a journey of self-discovery. Each meditation is designed to guide you towards a deeper understanding of yourself to help you find greater peace and tranquility within yourself and with the world around you.

Drawing on the timeless wisdom of Zen philosophy and the natural beauty of the lotus flower, LOTUS POND is a gentle and inspiring guide to inner peace and transformation. These meditations invite you to cultivate mindfulness, clarity, and inner peace, and find your own path towards a more mindful and fulfilling life.

Available at Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Smashwords for $2.99.

A Cup of Zen

The first cup of coffee in the morning is a beautiful, enjoyable thing. 

You're not quite awake and your mind is open and receptive to the thoughts you drink in. 

As you enjoy your Zen Coffee first thing in the morning, allow the coffee to fill you with a wonderful feeling of calm and peacefulness to set the tone for your day.

A Cup of Zen Coffee

A cup of coffee is a wonderful, beautiful thing. Not only does it wake you up, it offers you the opportunity to go within, to quietly meditate, and listen to your inner self.

Brewing the Perfect Cup of Zen Coffee

A few months ago, the New York Times published a meditation from my book, Zen Coffee... How to Be Mindful While Making Coffee.

Brewing the perfect cup of Zen Coffee is as easy as being with the essence of your inner self, just like the ethereal steam rising from your coffee.

More Zen, More Coffee

Zen is more than a way to meditate; it's a way of life, a way of kindness and compassion.

 Coffee is more than a drink; it's a way to mindfully meditate, a way to tune into your inner essence. Have a Zen Coffee day!

Breathe in the Zen

Take a moment to breathe in the Zen.

Enjoy a hot cup of java while you mindfully meditate on the steam rising from your coffee, just like the ethereal essence of your inner self arising within you.

Breathe in the Zen. Breathe in the essence of your inner self.

Jazzed out of Zen

How often do we forget to be present? How many times have we jazzed our minds out of Zen... not being able to see the coffee for the beans?

We do lots of things other than being present and centering our attention on the present moment because we have too many thoughts running here and there, way too many things to do, and we scatter our focus in all directions, throwing our energy into the wind.

Hey, it happens to all of us. We don't forget to be present; we're just not aware that we're in the present moment. We forget to be mindful of it. So just be here, breathing and being present, mindfully enjoying a cup of Zen Coffee.

The Zen Zone

Are you in the Zen zone? Being in the zone means you're totally in tune with whatever you're doing, whether it's drinking coffee, simply breathing, admiring a beautiful flower, cleaning your house, meditating, enjoying a sunrise, swimming at the beach, jogging, or anything else you do.

The nature of Zen is in harmony with everything and everything is in harmony with Zen. You can be in the Zen zone in every moment. Simply allow yourself to flow into whatever you're doing with your full focus of awareness.

Simply Being Zen

Take a quiet moment, with or without coffee, to go within and enjoy a peaceful moment all to yourself.

Simply Be Zen.

Zen Coffee Breather

Hold your steaming mug of coffee in both hands and deeply breathe in the aroma of coffee. Feel the essence of the aroma in your mind. Breathe out the essence of your coffee.

Deeply breathe in the ethereal essence of you. Feel your Zen nature within you. Breathe out the ethereal essence of your spirit, allowing it to permeate everything around you and within you.

There's No Time Like the Present

I've always liked the phrase, "There's no time like the present." It reminds me that in every moment, we have a new beginning, and that the present moment is always a gift. 

We always have an ever-present choice to tune into our spiritual essence, to tune into our Zen nature, to take the present moment to mindfully meditate. 

I like that I can take any moment I wish and turn it into a Zen coffee moment.

I wish for you many "no time like the present" moments to be present -- with or without coffee.

Zen Coffee is Here

Zen Coffee has arrived in the present. The birth of a book is always a very special thing to me, not just because I wrote it, but because part of me — part of my heart and soul — is in the pages. 

I promised I would reveal the answer to the koan I posted a while back when the book was published.

The paradox of meditating by coffee is that mindfully meditating is not separate from any of your experiences; it is a basic, integral part of everything in your life and can be incorporated into every thought, feeling, and experience you have, much in the same manner that caffeine and calm — which are seeming opposites — poured into the same coffee cup are a perfect blend of meditation and mindfulness.

Where's Your Zen?

Is your Zen lost? Misplaced? Gone? Does it only appear when you're feeling calm and peaceful? Is it next to impossible to find when you're stressed or angry? Do you mindlessly gulp down your coffee without giving Zen a second thought? 

Not to worry. You're not alone. All of us at one time or another have misplaced our Zen. It isn't lost, though it may have wandered off for a while, looking for you in the moment when you lost it.

Zen is everywhere, all the time. Your Zen is hiding in your coffee and is easily found when you look for it. Wherever you go, there you are. You can journey mindfully through life with Zen coffee. Zen is flexible. Zen is fluid. Zen fits your lifestyle. Zen is in every breath you take.

Breathe and be present in the moment, no matter where you are, what you are doing, how you are feeling, or what is happening. Breathe and be completely present with your feelings in the moment you are experiencing. That's where your Zen is.

Sharing Zen Coffee

It's Sunday morning; perhaps you're just simply enjoying the Zen within your day, free from work and other obligations, maybe meeting friends for an iced latte or a Frappuccino at the coffee house.

Photo by carrielynn.

Coffee Zendo

A zendo is a meditation hall where it is peaceful and silent, a place to quietly sit in mindful meditation.

Zen Coffee has its own version of a zendo. It's a place in real life where you actively engage in mindfulness in and through all your activities. 

Take a moment or two and breathe in the Zen, wherever you are and whatever you are doing. Breathe in the essence of Zen coffee.

Happy Coffee Beans

Happy coffee beans make happy coffee. Growing in a Zen-like state of mindfulness and harmony, they dream of becoming lattes or espressos, cappuccinos or mochas. Their sole purpose is to make you happy when you drink your coffee. 

 

As the beans share their essence with you, they remind you of your inner essence. The subtle nuances and similarities between the coffee beans and mindfulness lend themselves to a cup of Zen coffee.

Have a Nice Day

This happy Zen coffee says it all; no words are necessary. When I posted this yesterday, I didn't write words to go with the picture. I thought that, without words, you would tune into the pure peacefulness of the Zen within you.

Zen coffee is simply being in the present moment, enjoying the moment, without any words to distract you from the peacefulness of a mindful moment.

Zen coffee makes you happy and brings a smile to your face because you are in tune with the inner essence of yourself. 

Let a smile be your mantra for today to bring out your inner Zen. Smile, and have a Zen day!