Writings – Recommended introductions to “The Embodied Life” Teachings:

Russell Delman’s Embodied Life™ Newsletter goes back to 2011, and is a virtual treasure trove of spiritual and practical information. The wisdom in these writings will not only help the teachers and healers that Russell has taught, but anyone looking for a fresh perspective on how to live an Embodied Life™. Directly below are a few writings that are a great introduction to The Embodied Life work.

Here are some fundamental writings to start with:
Embodiment: Freedom Through Awareness
The Essentials of Embodied Meditation

May 8, 2024
This Precious Life
My understanding of Zen and “the most important thing” can be summarized as intimacy with life and death.. (read more)
French translation
German translation

March 12, 2024
Uncovering A Meaningful Life
Life is challenging. For those struggling for survival – enough safety, food, shelter etc., this statement is obvious… (read more)
French translation
German translation

February 27, 2024
Fear To Love – Our Human Path to Freedom
A few weeks ago, a German friend/student, Joachim Fischer, was attending a peace demonstration in his hometown, where he saw a poster with these words….(read more)
French translation
German translation

February 15, 2024
Embodied Meditation and Feldenkrais Method – A Life’s Journey
Two of the greatest gifts in my life have been my meditation practice of more than 50 years and the transformative learning with Moshe Feldenkrais that began in 1975…..(read more)

January 30, 2024
Living A Truly Great Story: Being A Part of it All
Are we isolated individuals, perhaps small, segregated communities, who are apart FROM the unfolding of life on this planet…(read more)

December 14, 2023
Loving Awareness and Your Life-Path
Our global community, and the earth itself, need people dedicated to paths of awakening, to interconnectivity and mutual caring…(read more)

November 13, 2023
Living with Sorrow, Remembering Joy – Embodying All of It
Sometimes it is all too much, this life. So much unavoidable pain, just in living. Unwelcome changes in our bodies, friends getting ill, dying. Sorrow IS…(read more)

October 24, 2023
Shining and Walking – Embracing Hopefulness and Complexity
On the train to my fourth and final seminar/retreat here in Europe. I am surprised to find my heart hopeful for our collective future, despite some compelling evidence to the contrary….(read more)

October 15, 2023
Hearts Broken Closed and Hearts Broken Open: Living in These Troubled Times
As we look around the world at this time, there are many, many examples of the energies of divisiveness that is ruled by the dictum “divide and conquer” ….(read more)

May 20, 2023
The Astonishing Beauty of Eyes that are Moved
To be unmoved by Life – by beauty, sorrow, joy, pain and love, in all their diverse forms – is to be dead inside ….(read more)

March 23, 2023
Crow Eats Frog – Reflections from Russell
Story: Two birds contending over a frog. A monk who also saw this asked, ….(read more)

March 16, 2023
No Escape: Facing Life’s Essential Challenges
Most people reading this newsletter are amongst the socially secure ….(read more)

February 24, 2023
Presence, Embodiment and the Simple Joy of Being
Everyone I know is interested in enhancing the experience of living – the richness of their lived experience. ….(read more)

February 23, 2023
Embodiment and Beyond
Being grounded in our bodies AND on the planet are essential steps toward living in harmony….(read more)

January 11, 2023
Life is Movement: Small Steps
From many interactions with people throughout the world, this seems to be a particularly challenging time ….(read more)

October 4, 2022
Embodied Spirit: Uncovering the Sacred in Everyday Life
“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle ….(read more)

August 31, 2022
It’s Alive
I don’t like the word meditation which can be a problem because I like to teach meditation….(read more)

August 25, 2022
The Essentials of Embodied Meditation
The disciples were involved in a heated discussion on the cause of human suffering. Some said it came from selfishness …(read more)

July 27, 2022
The Paradox of War: A Moshe Feldenkrais Story
Moshe Feldenkrais was a teacher of awareness. Although mostly known for his ingeniously creative and effective approaches to movement, his greatest effect on me was on my ways of thinking …(read more)

May 17, 2022
Finding Your Personal Path in this Precious Life
Knowing that you are on a meaning-filled, personal and freely chosen Path makes a huge difference in navigating your unique life. …(read more)

March 22, 2022
Saying “NO” to Hate: Why Hating Putin is not a good idea
Everyday I visit moments of rage, outrage and deep sorrow about the heartless destruction we are witnessing in Ukraine. …(read more)

March 17, 2022
One Life: Living in Joy and Sorrow
As I have written many times, we live in one interconnected world: We are not separate!…(read more)

March 1, 2022
INTERBEING – Undeniable Interconnectivity
Humanity is receiving another cruel lesson, another opportunity to learn Universal Loveand a reminder of our interconnected hearts…(read more)

January 19, 2022
Soul Food: Nourishing Your Essence
Do you sometimes feel that the demands of everyday life – the emails, cooking, cleaning, etc. – leave you exhausted without energy for your hearts true longing? …(read more)

November 17, 2021
Thanksgiving Reflections: Living with Two Hearts
Linda and I live very close to the location of the first Thanksgiving celebration …(read more)

October 30, 2021
What to do When You Don’t Know What to do
The Story: After almost two years of cancelled retreats and seminars, we were thrilled to be going on our European teaching tour…(read more)

May 27, 2021
Your Path is Made by Walking
We all are living our life path, whether consciously or not…(read more)

May 17, 2021
Life as a Path
Recently, Linda, my beloved wife of 47 years, was diagnosed with a facial melanoma …(read more)

February 3, 2021
Cultivating Joy and Leaning into Pain
Cultivating joy in the “ordinary gifts” of life …(read more)

January 15, 2021
Awareness and ‘Awakened’ Democracy
True democracy requires free minds…(read more)

January 7, 2021
Further Reflections on January 6
During a long walk after writing my “Epiphany reflections”, something inside was feeling incomplete…(read more)

January 6, 2021
Epiphany
The startling events in the U.S. capital yesterday inspire me to connect with you and share a few words…(read more)

December 24, 2020
Prayers for the Coming Year: Celebrating Dark and Light
Through tears and laughter: may we emerge…(read more)

November 24, 2020
Thankfulness, Sorrow and Complexity
Growing up, my family was not too big on celebrations…(read more)

November 11, 2020
Personal Reflections on the Election: Awakening Humanity and Moving Beyond Labels
I was surprised that so many friends and students from Europe wrote with joy, relief and hopefulness about the results of the presidential election…(read more)

October 1, 2020
Reflections on Living in these Wild Times
We are all affected by the conditions of our planet – the pandemic, the environmental/climatic upheavals, the social/economic strife…(read more)

July 9, 2020
Remembering Love: The Hard Work of Correcting Anti-Love Forces
Once again, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. rocks my world with his energizing words: ….(read more)

June 23, 2020
From Dominance/Oppression to Awareness/Love: Reflections on Anti-Racism
The Embodied Life teachings focus on exploring our inner tyrannies that interfere with our true nature as loving, caring beings…. (read more)

June 9, 2020
Grieving Body, Questioning Mind, Hopeful Heart
Graphically witnessing the racist violence perpetuated by people in power brings so much grieving. ….. (read more)

June 2, 2020
Celebrating and Mourning
“The great gifts of life can only be experienced through opening our hearts to ‘what is'”. ….. (read more)

June 1, 2020
Screaming and Bowing
We live in two worlds that are ultimately one world – the everyday life of linear time, ….. (read more)

March 13, 2020
Living with Uncertainty: Reflecting on COVID-19
We are part of an intricate, complex, fantastically interconnected web of Life….. (read more)

March 2, 2020
On Life, Death, Love and the Embodiment
In this moment, I want to celebrate the great gift of embodiment AND wholeheartedly embrace the impermanence of this body. …. (read more)

December 30, 2019
With Deep Gratitude: Remembering Ram Das
My friend and icon of the New Age, Ram Das, aka Dr. Richard Alpert, died last week. He strongly influenced two eras of my life …. (read more)

December 23, 2019
Remembering Innocence: A Christmas Wish
A Child is Born. She might have been two weeks old or even two months. Hard to tell from the tiny hand idly touching her mother’s hair or the tender foot sticking out from the blanket. …. (read more)

November 2, 2019
The Liberating and Healing Effects of Spatial Awareness
Hearing the term “spatial awareness”, many think that it is somewhat esoteric, with little practical value…. (read more)

June 13, 2019
The Ground of the Heart
The Embodied Life work is based on cultivating Awareness in every day life… (read more)

May 28, 2019
Homage to the 60’s and Looking Forward- How Love and Freedom are a Lighthouse in Modern Times
Coming of age in the 60’s when inner and outer revolutionary thought and action was in the air. …. (read more)

January 16, 2019
Shinzo-Ever-Intimate: From Intimacy to Meaningfulness
What does it mean to be intimate with our life? In many ways this is the essence of Zen. …. (read more)

October 10, 2018
Interview – Alternative and Complementary Therapies
Q: What is the connection between embodiment and freedom? Russell Delman: Understanding this connection goes toward the essence …. (read more)

September 20, 2018
First World Problems and ‘Non-Comparing Mind’
Early in my Feldenkrais practice I was confounded by a paradoxical observation about pain and suffering. Sometimes I would work with someone who was struggling to regain function after a debilitating stroke or some other life-altering situation. …. (read more)

April 12th, 2018
OPEN MOMENT MEDITATION: Reflections on the infinite possibility of the arising moment ( originally from February 2008 newsletter)
She was about 45 years old and claimed that she could not meditate. She had tried a few times in the past but meditation was impossible for her because her mind was just too busy. I asked her if she thought meditation was a form of mind control. She said “of course”…. (read more)

March 28th, 2018
Freedom Through Awareness (and Limitation)
One of the frequent phrases attached to The Embodied Life teachings is “Freedom Through Awareness”. Rather than a philosophical idea, freedom here suggests the possibility of new behavior, and fresh responses to familiar situations…. (read more)

January 1st, 2018
Morning Meditation Practice: Cultivating 6 Essential Virtues in these Challenging Times
In the previous newsletter, I introduced a new practice for 2018 in which we will focus on 6 virtues or qualities that are essential for developing our humanity. For the morning meditation, my commitment and invitation is to practice for 6 uninterrupted hours of sitting and walking meditation, from 6:00 am to 12:00pm. As always, you are… (read more)

November 2017
Reflections on Forgivness
To paraphrase Gautama Buddha, “when we create thoughts of vengeance, blame and anger, two beings are poisoned and the one generating these thoughts eats the poison first.” Blame is accusing others for our current… (read more)

November 2017
Embodied Meditation
Embodied Meditation has its roots in the Zen practice called Shikantaza or “just sitting”. The main intention is to become intimate with our experience of being alive in the present moment. Rather than “mind control, the emphasis is on a gentle orientation… (read more)

November 2017
Reflections from All-Day Meditation
For seven years, I have been sharing a practice in which we meditate continuously for many hours. Last Sunday, the day consisted of two, five-hour periods of sitting and walking meditation, dedicated in gratitude, to our oneness with the earth. People ask me, why ten hours in a… (read more)

November 2017
Intimate with this One Precious Life
I don’t know! Somewhere between: “It is all too much” and “Just say ‘yes’!” A cry rings out: Earthquakes, Fires, Floods, Hurricanes How do the birds sing? After bows this morning dawn subtly shimmers, a gray-white light Each breath a… (read more)

October 2017
Standing on One Foot: The Essence of The Embodied Life™
The following is a well-known Talmudic tale beloved by Moshe Feldenkrais involving two famous rabbis: A non-Jewish man approached Rabbi Shammai and said to him: “Convert me but first teach me the entire Torah as I stand on one foot.” Shammai, feeling that he was not serious, sternly… (read more)

August 2017
Reflections About Indentity: The Dangers and Importance of Self-Identities
What is the cause of violence in this world? Looking broadly at both personal and international events, some kind of limited, partial self-identity is at the root of most violence. By identity, I am conflating a broad range of categories: those fixed at… (read more)

June 2017
The Encouragement of Light
Life knows Life THROUGH human beings like you and me. From an evolutionary perspective, 1) inert matter became alive, capable of reproducing itself, 2) life became sentient, capable of feeling, 3) sentient life became conscious with beginning capacities for caring and… (read more)

For earlier writings, visit Russell Delman’s Archive of articles, guided meditations, and general tips for humility.