Tweet The ego has two very positive aspects, the Ego of Aspiration and the Ego of the Sage. They must be used to overcome the third, the Ego of Suffering. The root cause of the ego of suffering is fundamental ignorance. It is the delusion that, “I am this body, this mortal personality. Happiness comes […]
Tweet The people of Libya have rid themselves of their oppressor and are celebrating. Celebration of Freedom Women in Tripoli after Eid day 2-9-2011 I cannot help but be struck by the symbolism of this wonderful party, and what it can mean for us. We too are involved in a ‘holy war.’ It is the […]
Tweet When depression is not depression but disillusionment, it still feels like depression. But in reality it is the first step toward the recognition of your inherent freedom and peace. Dis-illusionment is the beginning of waking up from illusion. It is a difficult stage with enormous promise. What is the illusion that is about to […]
Tweet Overcome Physical Problems through Open Attention We all know of the intimate correlation between mind, emotions and physical illness. Can resolving emotional stress help you overcome physical pain? And if so, how is it done? Jane’s hip was hurting a great deal. She had gone to the chiropractor with little results and in the […]
Tweet How to Rise Above the Pain of Attachment to Find Love, and Why only a Clear Mind is Capable of True Affection and Caring The most surprising Aha! moments come when we realize that something we have been absolutely sure about is completely untrue. Like a sudden ray of light into darkness we realize […]
Tweet I’m in the prime spot for Flamenco here in Miami, in a restaurant on Calle Ocho (that’s ‘8th Street’ for you gringos), right in the heart of Little Havana. The place is bubbling with excitement. Tonight there is a performance by Miami’s First Lady of Flamenco Clarita Filgueiras, and Natalia Merino, a famous dancer […]
Tweet For Jane it’s her weight. George thinks he is not a good enough provider for his family. Since the kids teased her in school, Carol believes she is not pretty. This is how we carry our hidden pain with us like a snail carries its house. And every so often we withdraw right into […]
Tweet There are countless levels of consciousness. No one lives on one level permanently, it shifts and moves, but more or less we have most of our experiences on a stage of awareness to which we are most habituated. Within this stage we strive to be happy and to avoid suffering. And we also strive […]
Tweet Is there a better option to psychology? Are there alternatives to psychiatry and taking pills? The following explores how you can not only feel better for a while but free yourself of the very roots of suffering, of repeating the patterns of negative karma. ~ Ann (not her real name) was a dental hygienist […]
Tweet Now it has come again, this sad day. We hear great waves of disturbance around us, as though a stone was thrown into a pond and the ripples are spreading. Intolerance, fear, prejudice and confusion, one follows the other. We see the disturbance in the world and what can we do? How can we […]
Tweet We were going to examine the thought “Something terrible is going to happen.” And please let me make clear that this is for those who want to find the truth. It’s certainly not for everyone. Most people want to believe what they believe, even though it causes them pain. So if you want to […]
Tweet It’s coming around again, this Saturday. Already many people are feeling it – a certain discomfort, anger, perhaps helplessness. And definitely fear. Since 9/11 the thought “Something terrible is going to happen” has become the inaudible but deafening mantra in the collective mind. How is it going to change? How are we/you going to […]
Tweet We think of it as inevitable, but that is not true. Suffering arises in the unquestioned mind and spreads from there. It is an ingrained habit, no more. And we can change habits. Our thoughts run into the past and the future, imagining what was and could go wrong. Observe it. These regrets and […]
Tweet We don’t want to suffer. So what do we need to do when it comes, small or big? Grin and bear it? Hope for a better world after we die? All that has been tried. I prefer to end suffering. Many voices that will tell you it’s impossible, that suffering is part of life. […]
Tweet “Suffering is voluntary and unnecessary. It is created by the mind” In days of old these insights would have been regarded as a secret teaching, accessible only to a select few. To even approach this knowledge you would first have to go through much training and many tests, and only if you were found […]
