The Present is a Gift

Being present in every moment is a gift you give yourself. A gift that brings you peace, joy, calmness, and harmony. A gift that offers you the opportunity to just simply be and breathe, a present that gives you the chance to tune into yourself and discover all the many wonderful things about you.

Speaking of the present and a gift -- I have a gift for you. Just like the happy anticipation you feel when your birthday comes around, I'm going to have to make you wait for it--not because I'm trying to be mean, but because the gift hasn't arrived in the present.

Zen Coffee: A Guide to Mindful Meditation is nearly ready to be born. I expect my book to make its appearance in the world and on this blog sometime towards the end of this month. And when it arrives, I'll be giving away copies to the first ten people who have answered the koan of meditating by coffee. So take some time to be present and give yourself the gift of mindful meditation. And you may even win a book.

Here's the koan: You may be wondering how to meditate by coffee.
How can caffeine and calm, poured into the same coffee cup create a peaceful state of mind? How can you meditate if you're all stressed out or jazzed up on coffee? Well, it's a koan... that's the nature of Zen. A koan is a Zen Buddhist riddle that has no easy answer; it may be totally illogical in nature and it appears to be a paradox. A koan is a question that must be experienced in order to be understood. Zen and coffee don't seem to mix. Or do they? It seems they'd be completely opposite to one another, but part of the mystery of the koan is that they are truly in harmony. What do you suppose the koan means? How do caffeine and calm mix together in a cup of coffee?