Guy's Letters

I have struggled with anxiety and fear all my life. I have taken medication for this for over 20 years. I have been to therapy and I am in the Work every day. One of my major goals has been to get off medication completely and since accomplishing that, there have been some very, very tough days and nights -- bouts of insomnia and days of pain and irritability that have challenged me to the hil...

I have become extremely aware of the violence, the depth of hate, fear, judgment and all darkness within. I feel helpless to change and can see the self-destructive nature alive in me. What can I do? Is there hope?...

I have fallen into a state of despair and anger that I have never thought possible. I just found out that in my hometown, at the very elementary school that I went to, 30 students and teachers were shot and killed. Thank God Himself, my siblings and mother are OK. A lot of my friends' families are in an enormous and incomprehensible amount of pain right now. I have not felt this angry in a lon...

One of our neighbors has done something to their property that is proving to be an immense problem for us and seems very unfair. I want to let go of the circumstance, and yet I feel as though I mustn't just allow this individual to dominate the atmosphere of the very place I call home. I don't really want to fight with his person, but don't know what else to do. How do I let go of my disappoin...

I feel like I'm stuck! I need some kind of new motivation for doing things that I just don't feel like doing, even though I know I need to do them. Where do I look? I find myself constantly justifying putting off what really needs to be done. Parts of me convince me that I'm entitled to procrastinate, yet the end result is always that I suffer over the inevitable consequences! Oftentimes I kno...

Making resolutions to change comes easy, but the will necessary to keep them soon fizzles. At other times, when life gives me a good blow, change is no longer optional, and resolve becomes quite effortless. How can I muster myself to keep my good intentions for a more healthy and balanced life when it's so easy to fall back into "cruise" control? I am unhappy with my weight gain, lack of exe...

When I was 17, I did something very wrong and still feel shame, guilt, and remorse. Even though I am 60 now, I still regret what I did in the past and occasionally get depressed about it. I know it is not helpful to hang on to this, but it haunts me. I feel like what I did was evil. I let go of the behavior, but still live in fear of imaginary repercussions in some time to come. I try being p...

I am at the end of my rope and can find no one else to help me. I have such a sense of worthlessness; it is like my soul has been ripped out. There is so much anxiety, tension, confusion, insomnia, and now illness. Can you help me find a way to get peace of mind? What realistic strategies are there for me in this circumstance? What can I use to pull myself out of this awful nightmare? (From st...

I am ashamed to admit that my fears get the better of me all the time. Even being fully aware of them in the present moment hasn't helped. I wanted to muster the courage to do something, but when I tried, the most horrible fear I ever felt came over me; I literally felt physical symptoms. Needless to say I didn't try... I knowingly gave in to the fear and walked away. Truth is, I don't act on...

I've noticed that the more I hear people complain about their unwanted circumstances in life, the less likely they are to do anything to change them. It makes me wonder if I'm just as ungrateful and unwilling! Many religious and spiritual teachers talk about "tithing" or giving away 10% of your income. Is this something we should all do? What is the reason for doing it? I feel grateful for the...

I have decided to finally cut off an ex-boyfriend and his friends because they were pursuing a lifestyle I felt was unhealthy and wrong. I tried to use your way of viewing things around my ex, in an attempt to be his friend and perhaps help him, but he took offense to it, not wanting to deal with my view at all. I am heartbroken at so many people exiting my life at once. Was I too pushy with m...

I spend my days fulfilling my responsibilities -- to family, job, etc. I know I should find time to slow down, to meditate, but this stressed life seems to be what I was brought up to live! I'm trying to be a good person, but these responsibilities are weighing me down. How do we release ourselves from the idea that we own these energy-draining responsibilities in the first place? And then how...