As we mark the death of Nelson Mandela, much has been said about his remarkable achievement, his life story, his politics, his tactics, his tenacity and courage. He is fittingly celebrated for his unwavering commitment to and the success of his mission to right the iniquitous wrong of apartheid. But we must not overlook another of his gifts to us: he reminds us of the potential and opportunity we each hold to make positive change, and the ability of human will to triumph over adversity. He exemplified the power of individual thought and intention, directed into action, and the inevitability … [Read more...]
Nonviolent Action and Incarnational Spirituality
As we observe the fiftieth anniversary (on August 28th) of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and Martin Luther King’s transcendent “I Have a Dream” speech, I am reminded of the quiet power and effectiveness of nonviolent collaborative community effort directed towards achieving common goals. Nonviolent action achieves its objectives without using violence, but rather through symbolic protests, civil disobedience, economic or political noncooperation, and other means. The modern form of non-violent resistance was most notably practiced by Mahatma Gandhi, and subsequently followed … [Read more...]
Why am I here?
In my work I often am asked by others to help them understand why they are here. “What is my purpose in this life?” is the question I hear. And it is a universal question, perhaps not always in focus, but certainly surfacing during various stages of difficulty, growth and development. Our human experience is rather rugged, ranging through many emotional, spiritual and physical highs and lows, ever presenting new challenges, bringing us into direct confrontation from time to time with this question of “Why am I here?” Further complicating this fundamental existential inquiry is the … [Read more...]
The Steve Jobs Conundrum: Difficult People With Great Accomplishments
Over the winter I read the authorized biography of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, written by Walter Isaacson (Simon & Schuster 2011). And I have been puzzling for two months now over this question: How to reconcile the nasty, very often heartless, and narcissistic traits of Steve Jobs with his great accomplishments. What explains, or justifies, success at the expense of others, and how do we integrate this into a spiritual understanding of how to succeed as whole individuals, spiritually and morally developed? Walter Isaacson, hand picked by Jobs to be his official biographer, pulls no … [Read more...]
Inner Partnership
We live in a time when many are unaware of, or doubt, the reality of unseen consciousness and the ability we each have to access it. But sometimes, extraordinary events occur that cause even the most skeptical to pause and reconsider. Here is a remarkable—and true--story of one woman’s inner contact with her ancestors that recently resulted in her winning a half million-dollar MacArthur Foundation “genius” grant! Meet Jessie Little Doe Baird, a member of the Wampanoag Tribe in Massachusetts. (The Wampanoag were the first Native Americans to meet the Puritans when they arrived in the … [Read more...]
Love Infinity
Creation begins at home. We are each and all participants in creating our world. We put together lives and partnerships and settings, seeded with intention, expressing our selves into our environments, presenting who we are as individuals. As we do this, often without great attention, we not only build a sense of home, both inner and outer, but we are also projecting our selves, the expression of our personal truth, into the world. So, the first place to begin in creating the world you would like to see is with your self. More precisely, through your embodied “Self”: the physical, … [Read more...]