There's a secret to spiritual practice, and it's surprisingly simple: learn to be present with attention. Do that, and the whole world becomes your teacher, you wake up to the sacredness of every aspect of existence, and compassion for others arises without even thinking about it. It's indeed just that simple, says Zen teacher Ezra Bayda, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's easy—especially when being present brings us up against the painful parts of life. Bayda provides a wealth of practical advice for making difficult experiences a valued part of the path and for making mindulness a daily habit. He breaks practice down into three phases:

   •  The Me Phase, in which we uncover our most basic and tightly-clung-to beliefs about ourselves, observe our emotions, and become intimate with our fears
   •  Being Awareness, in which we cultivate a larger sense of what life is, transforming our limited experience into a more spacious sense of being
   •  Being Kindness, in which we learn to connect with the love that is our true nature, and learn to live from that place of kindness and compassion