Special Lessons

The real underlying limitation in our relationships is rooted in how we look at and think about others who are in our life. But, perhaps more accurately stated: the real problem we have with others is what we don't yet see and understand about ourselves!

Can you remember that when you were young, you had a certain sense that there was a greatness about life and somehow or other you were related to it? We are born seeking something through which we know we matter. But little by little, this need to know ourselves through something is taken over by a nature that only begins to understand who and what it is by looking outside of itself for that confirmation.

It's well known that storm-tossed waves often expose new treasures along the shoreline; there is unexpected wealth to be collected by those who know the secret value of rough seas. And yet, even though most of us have little tolerance for anything that "rocks our boat," the truth of the matter is self-evident...

Can you count the number of times you have been present in a moment of your life and realized how much you wished you weren't you? That you hadn't done what you just did, and wished you would never do it again... loathing yourself for your weakness, despising yourself for your ambition that compromises you with every step you take, feeling frightened over some possession you've managed to acquire in the hope of some freedom it promised...

The seed of greatness is sown in an instant, but in this world of ours everything great takes time to grow. This means that patience, mingled with persistence, is the special nutriment that sustains all things great. Therefore, should we wish to win the great life, we need only add equal measures of quiet watchfulness to our spiritual willingness and a great goodness cannot help but flourish within us...

In a moment of crisis, would you say that you're easy-going? Are you wide-open and joyous to be with? Or, in a crisis, would you say you're about as tense as a human being could possibly be? Isn't that true? The more tense you are through resistance, the more negative you become. The more negative you become, the more resistance resists itself. And the more you resist yourself, the more tense you become. So you run left, you run right...

In the following material, you will read the innermost thoughts and feelings of inspired seekers who have gone before you. Some names you may know; others you will be glad to meet! But, as you journey along with them, sharing in their discoveries and discouragements, one thing should grow increasingly clear: the spirit that called them -- that awakened their hearts, and quickened their minds -- so that they might have...

Real life is not by the numbers; it is impossible to "know" and grow at the same time. Yes, one can have a formula for a prescription drug, or a recipe for a good green salad; but there is no system of thought that can stand up to the ever-shifting changes of real life, let alone meet those same changes fearlessly. The self that knows itself through thought can never develop beyond the content of itself, any more than a math equation can suddenly outgrow...

Compassion for others starts with the understanding that every human being on the planet looks different from us -- because physically we are different -- but inwardly we all live in the same pool. We all have pain and pleasure, we all share emotions that move in waves through that pool. People may live on the east bank of the pool so that the waves they know are different from the waves we know on the west bank, but if we look close enough...

Whether in a simple truth tale, or in a moment of great personal crisis, don't fear what life is trying to show you about itself and about you. Don't be afraid to let the truth strike you. Welcome it! Yes! Don't resist anything that threatens to pull the rug out from under your feet...

When we are "driven" to succeed in this world, it is always to arrive at some point wherein we will no longer feel as though something is missing in us. All such drives in us are doomed at the outset. Here's why...

What is this power that can show us the truth behind the mystery of who and what we are - even as it gives us everything we need to know? A few examples from the history of human discovery prove helpful in our inquiry...