Buddhist Tonglen Meditation to reverse the flow of Karma itself…and too many King Kong Muffins.

I lived on the day old pack-of-four King Kong veganable muffins twice, for a few months at a time, when I was first building Elephant as a magazine, and then again years later when I took Elephant online.

King Kong muffins are awesome. They’re filling—all fiber. They’re vaguely healthy (probably lots of sugar, not sure if organic, but the bakery uses organic). They’re yummy.

Well, let me correct that: the first one’s yummy. The second one gets a bit acidic, or something, in the way that second cookie or pint of Ben & Jerry’s fails to satisfy. And the third hurts your tummy. The fourth—let’s not talk about the fourth.

But I was broke. Counting change.

And unless we’re born with that silver spoon in our mouth, we all go through periods of sleeping on friends’ couches, scrimping and saving to put dinner on the table, worrying and losing hair over next month’s rent or mortgage.

What do we do with that stress? Breathe. But not just any breath—a breath so powerfully simple it reverses the flow of karma. Not through some sort of magic—simply through being willing to love when we’re at our weakest, and take on others’ suffering when we most need help ourselves.

Learn Tonglen.