Interviewee: Rodger Ricketts
Hi, my name is Rodger. They have asked me to speak to you about my journey with mindfulness today. Here it goes…
First question, how did you get into mindfulness?
While attending University, I had several Japanese friends who introduced me to Zen meditation and the tea ceremony….which emphasized the mindfulness practice of maintaining a calm, alert mind while paying attention in the now. I love how mindfulness promotes tranquility and sensitivity in my life.
Second question, what are some misconceptions related to meditation?
Well, having cultivated mediation for many years, I have noticed a common misunderstanding is that to be effective, people think they only need to practice meditation a few minutes a day. This is not enough time. Also, often people ignore the foundation for mediation, which is to live life ethically and with compassion.
Third question, tell us about your latest book?
My latest book is titled “The Buddha’s Gift: Living Life of Well-Being and Wisdom”, and it is the 4th of a series of books in which I show how the buddhist teachings and modern psychology compliment each other and strengthen our ability to live a happy life of well-being, compassion and wisdom. That is indeed, a great gift for us to treasure and pursue.
This is Rodger Ricketts, signing off for Learning English Matters.
Words in this story
Emphasized: putting more focus on one thing
Zen: a Japanese style of Buddhism, focusing on meditation
Maintaining: to keep something going or current without making a change
Promotes: to get something you know or believe in out there for people to see or hear
Tranquility: peaceful and calm
Cultivated: being well educated about something
Effective: when what you are trying to do is working
Ethically: following accepted rules of behavior : morally right and good
Pursue: to follow something or someone
Modern: using the most recent information found about something
in the now: to be thinking about what is happening now, not the past or the future
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