Unlike lesser-level creatures that are not conscious of their own nature -- and that cannot choose any other world of experience apart from the one they are drawn to by their own lower nature -- we, as human beings, are unique in creation. We are created to be self-conscious. In spiritual terms this means we may have an awareness of any of the infinite number of qualities that form the charac...
The first step in learning to toss out the troubles and problems in your life begins with acknowledging something you already know is true: your heart and mind are loaded down with a huge collection of dark and dusty old thoughts and feelings. This mental and emotional ""baggage"" -- carried over from the past -- is literally a kind of block ""wall"" that stands between you, and the unlimited...
Occasionally, for all of us, we accidentally enter into the flow of the Now. We could be skiing, skating, doing yoga, playing golf, and suddenly our activity aligns us with the flow of that moment. Emotionally we can enter accidentally into the Now when we look out and see the sun breaking through the clouds or we catch the evening light as it shades trees differently. Intellectually we can enter into the Now when we have an insight and an epiphany comes.
stillness, meditation, prayer, letting go, openness, surrender, trying, effort, strain, ambition, spiritual ambition...
Classroom Talk: 10/13/2002 - Whatever those things may be that he is driven to possess, regardless of the noble names he gives to them, he seeks these things only in the attempt to possess himself. But true self-possession is impossible upon such a path. Each of the images that he clings to -- as he pursues their gilded promise of helping him to reach his goal of feeling whole -- only secretly serves to separate him from himself at the outset of his quest.
The dark powers that presently govern this world are secretly dedicated to the denigration of (true) character...which they slowly achieve through attrition, tribal glorification of imitation, and the growing sense of discouragement felt by anyone who sees the promise of humanity slipping away in creeping mediocrity. Whenever any government promotes and celebrates the idea of reduced individual..
The reason we resist virtually all endings in our life -- wherein we feel as though something has been wrongfully taken away from us -- is because these same unwanted moments leave us feeling terribly empty inside ourselves. In truth, it is this overwhelming sense of emptiness that we detest, and not the changing condition itself that we so habitually protest. So when things naturally come t...
Is 'awakening' the ultimate goal in our spiritual journey? The sleeping nature rules my life most of the time. If I keep working to come awake in small moments, will there be a full awakening for me at some later time? I have had moments of spiritual awakening. Yet, these moments seem to fade all too quickly. When such moments arise, I have a new depth of clarity and silence. Are there any spe...
We have an essential need to be at peace. Part of that essential need to be at peace is to know that we are in the right place, at the right time, doing the right thing -- and to know it in such a fashion that nothing can come along and convince us otherwise. There is only one way that can happen for us, and that is through the idea of being a true individual...
I am taking the biggest "risk" of my life and am about to leave a longstanding job for a new home business opportunity. Although I have basically kept my old job out of fear, there is quite a bit of fear in leaving the known and "safety" for the unknown. Any tips on how to make this new adjustment in life and to quell the uncertainty? I want to be brave in scary situations, but when I am frigh...
The cause of confusion and unhappiness lies in all the self-centered, touchy parts of us that insist, one after the other, that the world conform to their demands.
One way or another, we all suffer over things that we can't stop doing to ourselves or to others. Adding to the conflict inherent in self-compromising behaviors is the fact that it's frustrating beyond belief since most of us (in some way) have built a business, worked, and succeeded in some place - won accolades, impressed our friends - and we've weathered storms.