No matter how long I sit to meditate... when resignation, surrender, and peace do arrive, they always bring with them a sort of energy that wants to manifest in something. The compulsion is to take that energy and go back and "do a better job, more awakened" with the same insanity I was doing before I meditated ... checking e-mails, cleaning house, calling people, doing chores, etc. When is it...

I know that one is supposed to work to keep their attention wherever they are, but I live and work in New York City where the atmosphere is so dense and dynamic that you will encounter many impressions from a simple walk down the street, and you can easily forget a particular occurrence by the time you turn a corner. Multitasking is valued and even expected here in the workplace. Yet the city...

I am biracial and am plagued by anxiety, fear, race, sex issues, and uncertainty over the purpose of life. The result is that I have no friends and I am skeptical of many things. I don't know that it's possible for me to ever feel content. I know that many of the root causes are from my terrible childhood, but I have been unable to find a therapist who understands my unique interracial situati...

I have been seeing an energy healer of late and wondered: what are your thoughts on this type of 'spiritual' practice? Good, bad, or? During a recent session my facilitator told me that of my 'energy' is 'more open' than in the past. I think this is a good thing but...I am recently having dreams and odd sensations of my mother who died almost 20 years ago. I can't help but think that my recent...

I have quite a few questions! First, I was born and raised in a religion that believes in the devil. So, my first question is, does he really exist? Or, can the devil camouflage itself as my own thoughts? Also, I am ashamed to admit that my fears get the better of me all the time. Even being fully aware of them in the present moment hasn't helped. I wanted to muster the courage to do something...

I bought your book The Secret of Letting Go, but I can't understand how letting go differs from just trying to forget about something. My dog died 18 months ago and I often feel really sad and depressed that she is no longer with me. I have celebrated her life, filled my mind and heart with memories of the wonderful times we shared and informed myself about grief and grieving but still I suff...

Guy Finley's monthly call-in radio show, Guy Finley LIVE! Topics covered: We must learn to use our actual lives, moment to moment, to work on ourselves and our freedom; All disturbances are meant to reveal where we are out of life's flow; You cannot and must not protect yourself from unwanted moments; There is no such thing as an unproductive moment; Events that take place in passing time are...

Question: I recognize that my lower nature doesn't really like people. Parts of me are afraid of people and easily annoyed by them. I've been aware of this long before I came across these teachings. But I'm now seeing a big stumbling block for me: my mind has a thousand explanations, justifications, and rationalizations for why these negative, punishing thoughts seem so imminently reasonable...

Question: Childhood experiences -- with all the dramas -- seem to set up a blueprint for the rest of our lives. The same issues seem to keep repeating over and over. How do we break away from these patterns? I keep blaming my parents for forming my personality, and I (in turn) blame myself for my children's personalities. How do we get out of this hell?

I recently went through two life changes -- my cat died and my boyfriend broke up with me in the space of a few days. I had experienced major depression prior to this, but when these unfortunate events happened, I suffered so greatly that it transcended into a spiritual awakening. Reading your books and listening to your podcasts has shifted my entire perspective of my self/suffering, and over...

My mind is a constant racket. The thinking noise never seems to end. Something has to be done about this way of reacting to life that has plagued me for so many years. I have to find a way to remember at the outset of any crisis that God is in charge and that there is no reason for me to leap into anxiety, rage, or violence because I do not realize what is going on nor can I control what is go...

Recently a relative asked to live with us. The moment we heard from her, I sensed she was to help me with something. Two weeks later we were talking, she started to cry, and said she had had an abortion. Chills swept through me, and my own tears came up over an abortion I had many years ago when I was about her age. I believe this is not a coincidence, but do I just let things unfold on their...