One of the most slippery parts of the upper path is the temptation to judge ourselves -- to loath ourselves for whatever "weakness" is exposed to us in the moment. The act of judging ourselves in times like these seems natural and even necessary if we hope to ever "outgrow" our own limitations as revealed. But this kind of self-laceration is a Trojan horse within whose dark recesses lies...

I know I should not worry about certain things in life; however, what am I to do when loved ones have chosen things that are not in keeping with the things that they have learned? What can I do to keep them safe and to guide them back on the right road? Inner work is not about trying not to worry. It is about seeing that worry doesn't work. How can a person who gives away his or her own lif...

Taking a conscious risk involves making a choice to do what's true, in spite of what that choice may cost you.

When we understand that self-knowledge is to our spiritual growth what a spring rain is to the wildflower seeds that await it, then we also realize how vital it is to not just embrace these higher laws but embrace them mind, body, and soul.

It is our fear of being alone and in doubt, of wanting to feel certain that what we are doing is right, that compels us to seek the approval of others. So this tells us that the chief cause of why our lives so often wind up in the hands of others is not that they are superior or that the world is too strong for us, but that we don't want to face the uncertainty and aloneness we think we are to...

Our relationships, but especially with those we love, are a kind of "magic mirror." Our partner helps bring us into an awareness of qualities and characters that otherwise we'd never see as dwelling within us.

When another human being falls short of our expectations and we realize that what we want is not going to happen, there is a way for us to elevate ourselves and the other person in that same moment.

Here is a very simple set of six steps leading to a special order of higher self-command. The more you study and practice the insights that follow, the sooner will appear in you the presence of a whole new kind of self-command that never ceases to perfect itself, moment to moment, no matter what challenge life brings to your door. Step 1: Begin by realizing that your heightened awareness of a...

Almost every kind of unhappy feeling is the result of mistaking the partial for the whole. What this means is that when we don't see the whole picture, we are likely to act in a way that is self-defeating. One example of this would be that terrible sinking feeling that comes with learning too late, after you've become upset, that things weren't the way you were so sure they had been. That, in...

Everything we've tried to do to stop our mind, to be quiet, contradicts the wish we have because it is a form of resistance.

No human being is a victim of any punishment outside of their own undeveloped life-level from which their inner reactions are seen as outer attacks.

My husband drinks too much. The problem I have with that (aside from it being deadly to his health) is his mean-spirited attitude toward me after he drinks. He says negative things about me that he would not normally say while sober. The crazy thing about it is, the next day he is repentant, telling me how much he loves me and how he would be nothing without me. How do I elevate myself above c...