Real or Not?
We see, and we believe, isn’t that right? Look, there’s a chair. Yep, right over there, that’s a chair. We can sit in it too. But is that enough to say that it is real? Real or not, it would be extremely unwise to ignore the possibility that chairs and other perceived objects exist. An oncoming train will quickly dispatch … Read More
Facing Into the Hard Stuff
A friend who is prone to depression asked me a question that is difficult to answereasily. It’s a common question: How do we get through a difficult loss without becomingdepressed when depression is our conditioned response?The uneasy part of the answer is that no easy answer exists. In truth, it is going toinclude a dose of even more difficult news … Read More
Remember to Self-Forget
I am of a “certain age,” as they say, when memory becomes less reliable. This can be hard to gracefully accept and adjust to. I can recollect in my youth having almost photo recall, when I could bring all kinds of information from storage to speech in an instant. Not so today. I depend more on writing notes and lists, … Read More
See It As Already Broken
Have you noticed how often you fight with yourself? It’s usually over wanting to do what know that you shouldn’t, or should do and really don’t want to. If you step back and watch from a neutral corner, the battle that ensues can get pretty amusing. “I really want to do this.” “But you should be doing that other thing … Read More
Noble Is As Noble Does
In my years at our Ananda Pune ashram, we followed each day’s group meditation and breakfast with a morning circle. My wife and I, with our staff and guests, would discuss the day’s projects and assignments, and then we would all affirm together, loudly at first and then more inwardly, “I will do my work thinking of Thee, Lord. I … Read More
The Angel in the Tree
Are you your body-mind? It would certainly seem so. Every sensation we experience – taste, touch, sight, smell and hearing – reinforces that perception. But is there more to the answer than a yes or no can provide? We are raised for good reason to believe in the physicality of the reality that surrounds us, and our senses confirm its … Read More
It’s Complicated. Or Maybe Not.
Our skills are many, which we acquire over time with dedicated study and practice. These are generally useful to us and others, but among the ones we are especially good at, unfortunately, is the setting of traps for ourselves in the judgments we make. The question of how much we like or dislike a person, object, feeling, experience or idea, … Read More
I and Other
Life is a dance. You’ve heard that before. Every moment offers a new set of rhythms and flows to interpret. Sometimes the dancing is done with beauty and grace, and sometimes not. The question is, in this tango of the intertwined, who is the one who leads when the tune is called? Is it I or Other? In the ballroom … Read More
Be Thou a Yogi
In the Bhagavad Gita, India’s magnificent scripture, there’s a mystical verse, the meaning of which is not easily understood. Lord Krishna, speaking to his disciple Arjuna, says, “That which is night for the unenlightened is day for the yogi. And that which is day for ordinary people is night for the yogi-seer.” These words present us with a puzzle, and … Read More
