Question: I understand that the purpose of this moment is not to feel certain or to feel better about "myself." I know that my work is to see this lower nature in me, to watch it fall down, and to consciously suffer that. I want to work to be a sincere student, to deliberately set aside more time for prayer and attention exercises, yet I continue to feel used by a nature that acts...

Exercise: Invite the wish to stay awake. Each time you come back to yourself, note that you were in the wilderness. Then strengthen your wish with the prayer, 'Father, stay with me.'...

The purer the heart, the more protected it is by its own nature.

Featured Study Group Topic for the Week of December 15, 2014. The beauty of Great Nature is found in her infinite unique forms; her splendor reflects and reveals a ceaseless process of creation born of the timeless marriage of opposites. On the other hand, the ugliness -- the violence that can erupt in our human nature -- is first the presence, and then the pressure of a dark and twisted chara...

stillness, meditation, prayer, letting go, openness, surrender, trying, effort, strain, ambition, spiritual ambition...

If you continue living as you presently are -- as an outer-oriented person -- you will be doomed to re-create your life the way it has always been.

Making the wise choice to release one's resistance to some unwanted moment does more than just change the perceived tide of events; it proves that we're never too far from the open inlet of a safe harbor whose deep and quiet waters shelter all who enter.

Topics covered: How should we deal with internal storms and nagging thoughts; I have to listen to these talks many times and am worried that I'm slow; My religious conditioning causes me to have disturbing dreams; Why do I keep choosing work situations that cause me so much stress; I'm conflicted over my relationship with my mother; I feel the presence of loved ones who have passed away; I rea...

Featured Study Group Topic for the Week of August 19, 2013. Throughout one's spiritual quest, patience should always hold the reins... But a steady, ready persistence to walk into the new -- and to realize what's true -- must lead the way.

Topics covered: When I am not present to myself, something else speaks for me; The sense of 'I' is a derivative of imagination; All real education comes from moments of integration; Response is request; Awareness is born where active and passive meet; Personality is the 'second I' which is the effect of the moment; You can't change until 'being' is upstream of 'doing'; Karma is justice, which...

What good is it to find a solution, some seeming strength, that doesn't really resolve your problem, but that is just another form of secret self-deception? Outside of its power to help you temporarily feel better about the weakness that just claimed you, what good is the "strength" of being able to endlessly explain yourself to yourself? Of being able to "intelligently" justify some deliberately hurtful act towards another?

We have within us, each and every one of us, a certain kind of higher vantage point -- a very special part of us -- that when we are present to it, we enjoy its peace, regardless of what is going on around us or within us. This yet to be realized state of ourselves can be called conscious self-awareness. Through its power, instead of being pulled down into painful identification with each and every passing shadow of life...