Praying to change the world around us is pointless until we realize that the world around us is the way it is... because we are the way we are; only in the realization of this truth -- and in our agreement to make the sacrifices that it demands -- is there hope for both the world and for ourselves, as well.

In the innermost mirror of the heart no one does a thing; yet, every action -- the character of each thought and feeling -- is revealed therein; all are witnessed by a presiding judge whose innocence can't be contested, whose love never wavers, and who waits... with perfect patience for us to see the whole of our reflection in his eyes.

Without matter resisting the light that strikes it, we would never see colors. Without parts of us, certain "I's" resisting the impressions that come to and through us, we would never be able to see the hidden, in-the-dark parts of what sleeps within us; resistance is one of the 3 principle factors responsible for revelation.

We have a wonderful and willful daughter who is 14 and can be a real challenge to parent. How can we help her with some behaviors that are not safe? It seems the trust is on shaky ground.

Our greatest gift -- our single highest possibility -- is that not only have we the capacity to give ourselves to what we love, but that we are able to discern the difference between the order of Love that gives itself up for the sake of a greater need, and the kind of love that gives only to itself... In order to make itself seem greater.

Part 1 No one escapes the painful illusion of duality -- the progenitor of fear, and all of one's futile efforts to escape it -- without sacrificing the divided level of one's self responsible for its continuous manifestation. Part 2 One's "self" is the only thing that one can be in charge of... And yet, paradoxically, this highest level of self-command can only be achieved by self-...

We can't change others -- or the purpose of any given moment as it unfolds; but we can work to place one less demand upon both. Only in this action can we hope to find the freedom for which we seek, because the only thing that imprisons us -- in the end -- is our resistance to whatever runs against our deeply seated demands.

Persist with your wish to be free; work to see all that you can about yourself, and then quietly watch what happens. Whatever appears before your inner eyes does so as part of what you need to see in order to realize that freedom for which you have asked. Never forget this truth... and your spiritual progress will be steady.

Part 1 A real wish rises out of the ashes of expectations realized and found wanting. A false wish is a temporary flame that -- no matter how many times answered -- never quells the fire that gives it birth. Part 2 The difficulty of remembering the Truth of oneself is inseparable from those parts of oneself that much prefers remembering something more to their liking!...

Part 1 No little "I" is the whole story -- not ever. It lives only for as long as it can trick you into seeing your life through its little lying eyes. Part 2 No problem in life is ever any bigger than what the sleeping mind makes of it in order to create and magnify a false sense of self.

If the Truth we profess to love isn't demonstrated by our actions moment-to-moment, day-by-day, then what those same actions demonstrate is the extent of hypocrisy in which we live. There is only one cure for this kind of spiritual self-delusion: The honesty to see ourselves as we are, followed by whatever personal sacrifice we must make to start "walking our talk."...

Here is the real reason why so very few ever realize a conscious relationship with the Divine: true spiritual union is consummated only through a growing awareness of one's inner poverty; in acknowledging its actual estate, one's soul gradually matures into an ever-deepening humility that -- since "the beginning" was -- and is -- created to culminate in an act of Love.