Michelleanne Bradley is a practicing Pagan and Buddhist in the San Diego area. She was ordained into the Order of Interbeing by Thich Nhat Hanh in 2013. She completed two years of facilitator training with Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Society, and has completed a Year to Live practice. She founded the Luminous Garden Sangha, and is a facilitator with Los Palomitas de Paz Sangha. Michelleanne’s focus in practice has been on the role of women in Buddhism (and really, everywhere).Michelleanne is a feminist, and writer, and consultant who says fuck a lot.
Sacred Little Altars Everywhere: A Wooden Stool, a Cat Blanket & Reminders of Moments That Shaped Who I am Becoming
By Shae Davidson A few items make up my altar: a broad, stout wooden stool, an altar cloth, a pine cone resting in a wooden bowl, and a beautifully carved statue of Budai given to me by my partner. Except for Budai all of the items have...
Sacred Little Altars Everywhere: Cringe Worthy to a Minimalist but Deeply Personal
By Michelleanne Bradley At the center is a framed depiction of Avalokitesvara.There are also two porcelain statues of her on the altar, from the shop of a dear friend. The feather piece on the right is from Mexico, and is representative of the earth...
I’m Back…with an Undefended Heart (or Striving to Be)
By Michelleanne Bradley And I’m back.I took a break. I had a lot going on, and I needed to get back to where I feel more like life looks like “chop wood, carry water” than running for the eye of the hurricane. I am not 100 percent back to level, but I can...
I am of the Nature to Have Ill Health: The Buddha’s Five Remembrances {Part 2}
By Michelleanne Bradley The second of the Buddha's Five Remembrances: I am of the nature to have ill health. There is no way to escape ill health. My habit nature, my shadow side, is to retreat into myself. I have been struggling with...
I am of the Nature to Grow Old: The Buddha’s Five Remembrances {Part 1}
By Michelleanne Bradley The first of the Buddha's Five Remembrances: I am of the nature to grow old. There is no way to escape growing old. I am currently 48 years old. I am also all of the ages I have been before now. I am a beginning...
Practicing While Female
By Michelleanne Bradley I have been off of my practice for a little while.I do not mean that I have not been practicing; I have been practicing with a fierceness and concentration that is impressive, especially for me. I mean that I have not known until I...
3 Big Reasons Why it is a Bad Idea to do Drugs While on Retreat
By Michelleanne Bradley I have been a Buddhist practitioner for more than a few minutes. It’s been a long windy journey. When I was in my early 30s, I was divorced, and going through some spiritual searching. I had been raised...
Sitting with a Dying Friend
By Michellanne Bradley We are of a nature to die. I have done "A Year to Live" practice, but I still do not know how I would present with a terminal diagnosis. If I had the time to prepare to die, what that would look like? I have a...
Sangha <3
By Michelleanne Bradley My Buddhist practice saved my life. Much like anything else that is life-saving, I have a relatively constant struggle with Buddhism. Even with my home monastery, which has provided the solid foundation of active...
When #MeToo Hits a Sangha: The End of an Era
By Michelleanne Bradley I am a mostly trusting person. I believe that people are not perfect, and that we are doing the best that we can with what we have at the moment. On this site right here, there were articles written on each step of the...
Diving into Practice (As if My Life Depended on It)
By Michelleanne Bradley I must confess. I’ve been practicing since the Solstice as if my life depends on it. That has looked far more like solitary practice than even I sometimes prefer, which is funny because in most practices, I am the...
Feeling the Chaos of the Me Too Phenomenon
By Michelleanne Bradley There is something about watching women step forward to confront their abusers, the ones who have haunted them in the dark, some for years. Abuse and harassment is not a new phenomenon. I am not going to recite...
Practicing Equanimity While Traveling
By Michelleanne Bradley Travel is not always synonymous with equanimity practice for me. I most recently received a Statement of Work on Monday morning around 8 am, and needed to be across the country by the next afternoon. I am working a lot for the first time...
Celebrating Samhain as a Buddhist Pagan
By Michelleanne Bradley Samhain. This year. Fall has always been my favorite season. The colors brighten and intensify, leaves drop to the ground, the days grow shorter and nights grow longer. The rhythm of the earth seems to drift to where the natural turn is...