The mind that wants to know the truth of something, and that's willing to do the work required for such a discovery, will inevitably find that for which it is searching; our highest aspirations are reflections of unrealized possibilities. All scripture, from the east to the West, confirms this timeless truth: We need only ask, and it shall be given.

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...

Mistaking intruders for welcome guests in your inner home is not nearly as uncommon as you may think. Isn't it true that each of us knows firsthand this everyday experience? One minute you're walking along without a care in the world, and the next minute you feel as though you're carrying the entire world on your back! Your inner home, where you really live, has been temporarily...

The only responses to life's challenges that any of us "ride" are those we think can carry us to safety. Leaping onto the back of the dark horse of a fearful reaction, according to our old habits, is like entering a runaway carriage being pulled along by wild thoughts and pounding feelings.

Anybody can do what everybody else does. And what is it that most of us do, whether we want to admit it or not? We usually do the minimum to get the maximum. We can see it everywhere in the world. It's part of a culture today. But we can do so much better than that, and we must if we're going to change our destiny.

There is no "right" road to follow that leads to the realization of one's immortal Self. If we wish to be one with a celestial consciousness, capable of responding with effortless wisdom to any demand -- regardless of its nature, high or low --t hen all images of such a being must be thrown away. St. Paul provides us with the reason why we must agree to die to those parts of us that hope for a higher life to come...

Long before it's possible for us to be spiritually reborn, we must first awaken to ourselves. Awakening is the sudden realization that somehow or other what I took to be the only world isn't the only world. Because the way the mind works now, it looks out and there's just this world with you that messes with it and me that wants it right. It's all one world to me.

Ask yourself: how many times have I won the object of my desire, only to find out that it wasn't enough? How familiar do the following statements seem to you? "This is the greatest thing that's ever happened... but what if..." "I love you... but..." "This moment is almost perfect... all it needs is..." The prize won, whatever its name, doesn't end the feeling we have of needing...

If I were to leave a single message to the world, it would be quite simple: Your life, with all its unique experiences on this earth, is part of a much greater story. Yes, we can create, manifest pretty much what we will, but we are first and foremost creations ourselves, a vital convergence of celestial and earthly forces that are ceaselessly being expressed in what I call the "Presence moment."

Have you ever been in the midst of that very personal sense of peace called, "sitting in front of the TV with a nice pizza?" Then the phone rings, or a neighbor drops by, and... boom! Your slice of heaven is replaced with simmering resentment toward the person or event seen as disturbing it.

In the same way you know that a dog may bark and nip at you but not harm you, when you hear a voice that says, "you're out of time," or feel a pressure telling you, "you've got to run," one day you'll feel that pressure, that hypertension, that anxiety, and inwardly you will hear another certain kind of voice that basically says, "That's it. No more running for you. No more running for you."

When the doctor taps your knee and it suddenly jerks, you don't get upset with your leg for jumping out of control. Why? Because in that moment, you realize your temporary jumpy experience is an involuntary physical reaction. But how do you view your emotional reactions when they start jerking you around? Not only are they hard on you, but once they're done, you're then hard...