The true spiritual leap needed to go beyond yourself is born in the moment of understanding that what you need is not a way to resolve or outrun what is punishing you but to rise above that world within yourself where these recurring pains are a part of the natural landscape.

Part 1: As the light is to the darkness it dismisses is one's ability to remember the silence in the midst of one's own noise. Part 2: Just as a ray of light cleaves the darkness, so does the remembrance of God lift us above the dark clouds of thought that cover the spirit.

Unseen by the sleeping self that wanders along their ever-circling paths, all unconscious consideration of one's momentary condition is a treadmill powered by the movement of our yesterdays as they try to escape themselves... driven on, as they are, by the incessant semi-sweet dreams of a better tomorrow. This is the real meaning of "doing time."...

It is such a paradox that what often seems to be our strongest part -- the most driven -- is actually what makes us the weakest; and yet, if we could see this so-called strength for the weakness it hides, we would be given a completely new and different kind of strength that has no painful opposite.

Part 1 The faster the mind moves, the further away we travel from where we really want to be. Part 2 The spiritual light we need -- to do and to be right in each passing moment -- is always present; what's missing (most of the time) is our willingness to stand within it!...

Remember, all comes in waves; the only thing that changes is their direction, which must happen by law. The only thing unchanging is the ocean from which these waves come. To know this truth, and to "rest" in it, is to not resist the waves when they move counter to one's wishes.

Just as birds fly through an empty sky -- filling it with motion and sound -- but are not themselves a part of the blue space through which they wing, so is the quiet mind full of a Life that has no fear of its own essential empty character.

We make mountains out of molehills because in these same unconscious projections we ourselves are made into imaginary conquerors or outclassed climbers. The point being that regardless of what role we assume in these dreams, we remain encased in our own creations until the dreamer awakens and exits from the stage of self-created experience.

Part 1: Love is an endless journey nestled into a self-perfecting plan that can't be "seen," only lived; its never-ending path unfolds within a timeless Kingdom wherein everyone - and everything - we meet along the way is our traveling partner. Part 2: Every moment is a marriage made in heaven; why are you still standing outside the door?

My biggest fear at the moment is that I am incapable of ever experiencing True spirituality. My mind will never be quiet. I have no patience, and I'm attracted to everything that "glitters"! And yet, in spite of these conditions that hold me captive, I wish for a more spiritual life. Where do I begin?...

My concerns for running a sound business and making a decent living for my family seem to prevent me from pursuing a spiritual life. The fear of not having enough drives my life. I am so confused about what my true purpose should be, and I long to strike a balance between worldly concerns and spiritual growth.

There is likely nothing more painfully mistaken -- no greater impediment to the realization of our freedom than the feeling that we are somehow entitled to it; we are entitled to nothing, and yet -- even in this world of spellbound souls who can only dream of being free -- we may have anything for which we're willing to make the appropriate payment.