- By John Robbins
So much is at stake in our times. Whether we like it or not, and whether we accept it or not, the choices we make, individually and collectively, in the coming years will make an incredible amount of difference, perhaps...
- By Alan Cohen
2012 is here. Finally. After many years of anticipation, sensationalism, foreboding, titillation, and wild prophecies, we’ve reached the end of the Mayan calendar. The era of momentous...
- By Alan Cohen
We all have possessions and we want to keep them. The question is, do you own your possessions or do they own you? If your possessions bring you joy, they are serving their purpose. If you worry about them, you have missed the moon. No one possesses the moon, yet everyone does...
Here’s what I’ve learned so far from “Mother River”: Go with the flow! Most times the main current will bring you through tricky areas without any struggle on your part. But how often do we fight against the flow, not trusting the divine current to keep us safe. One of my favorite...
It’s easy to like some people and it’s not very easy to like others. They don’t smile back! So it has to go deeper. If we continue to judge people on the basis of appearances and behavior, the endeavor is hopeless. Instead we have to return to a very simple truth...
Once upon a time there was this young person who had such great hopes for an exciting life filled with adventures and love. Then one day she heard a voice inside her. It was as if someone was whispering to her a message that no one else could hear.
The idea that we create our own reality — that is, the concept of the mirror universe — often seems to ring true, but it also raises some troubling questions. Sometimes it’s easy to see this principle at work in our lives, but other times, especially when things aren’t going very well, it can be...
Rather than comparing ourselves to others or competing against others, author Keith Johnson suggests "Focus on becoming your personal best. Compete with yourself by becoming your best; then compare against only yourself."
We're often told to live in the present, yet then we're told to set goals and plan for the future. Which is it? "...imagine you’re driving a car. As you look through the windshield you’re looking into the future. As you’re sitting in the driver’s seat you’re in the present. If you look..."
- By Alan Cohen
A number of years ago I went on an intense lecture tour that left me feeling exhausted. The last event of the trip was a full-day workshop, and as I pulled myself out of bed that morning to get ready for the seminar, I wondered how I would gather the energy to present a decent program. When I arrived at the venue, I...
On January 15, 2009, a jet taking off from New York City suddenly plummeted into the Hudson River. What would your thoughts, feelings, desires, regrets, and heartfelt prayers be if you, like these passengers, knew you perhaps only had two more minutes to live? ...
Finding peace in your lives and relationships, especially if you feel stressed with financial, health, or relationship challenges, can sometimes seem almost impossible. And yet finding that peace is essential. There is a story of a king who offered a prize to the artist who could paint the best picture of peace...
Each of us longs to express who we are, what we think and how we feel. But how often do we? From my perch I see more being repressed than expressed. Considering that repression can lead to depression, illness and even violence, what is stopping us from being true to ourselves and...
Ever felt like you were falling through space? Everything that held you and tethered you has disappeared and evaporated. What is a free-falling, spiritually-inclined person to do? Pull off the galactic highway and take a little snooze or hitch a ride on a screaming meteor? There might be another way...
The time has come to write a new story for our lives and to let go of those handed down to us by our families and our cultures. These are not our stories; they do not belong to us. We must hand them back with love and write our own. We are being urged to become aware and informed and, by doing so...
In honoring our feelings, we can more swiftly and comfortably navigate through difficult times, and come out wiser in the process. If we face our difficulties with grace, gratitude, if we can combine occasional expressions of pain and sadness with our usual routine of...
- By Dan Millman
Sometimes we may feel as if we haven't discovered our purpose. However, each moment brings with it a new purpose, right now in the moment. Zen sword master Taisen Deshimaru reminded his students, “Be happy here and now or you never will be.” And writer Margaret Bonanno points out, “It’s only possible to live happily ever after on a..."
- By Eldon Taylor
by Eldon Taylor. Uncovering our biases is an important step in discovering ourselves. Evaluating the words we choose, what they mean, what they imply, and how we use them is an exercise in self-awareness. Whether we repeat a “blonde” joke, a sexist expectation, a racist definition...
- By Deborah King
by Deborah King. Often, our most important beliefs are unconscious. Over 90 percent of those that we currently hold we took on as kids from our parents or caregivers, school, and culture. These views run the greater part of our lives and determine if we’re going to be...
I was speaking to a friend who is the head of a customer service department. She tells everyone in the company, whether they work in the warehouse, in accounting, or wherever, that everyone in the company is in customer service. As I reflected on her words later, I realized that her sentence "we're all in customer service" had much more further reaching...
- By Alan Cohen
by Alan Cohen. I recently made a pilgrimage to the ancient Mayan temples at Chichen Itza and Tulum in Mexico. At one pyramid our tour guide informed us that the Mayans regularly offered human sacrifices to appease their gods. While we would regard such offerings as primitive and even abhorrent, the mindset of sacrifice is still...
- By Alan Cohen
What would you be doing differently if you did not have to prove yourself to anyone? Your enemies are not your dysfunctional parents, childhood sexual abuser, or punitive parochial school teacher; your enemies are the thoughts they instilled in you that you still believe...
- By Osho
Whenever you live something consciously it never becomes a loaded thing on you. If you go to the market to purchase something and you move consciously, walk consciously, purchase the thing consciously, with full remembrance, mindfully come back home, this will never be a part of your memory. If you want to remember it, you can remember it, but it will not be constantly forcing your attention towards it...