As we move through tumultuous times, I have been thinking about how we venture forward together. In these times of national divisiveness when our friends and neighbors and families may subscribe to views of truth and reality that are often not only inconsistent with our own, but diametrically opposed, how do we avoid conflict? More importantly, how do we engage in loving receptivity? How do we come together—and hopefully stay together? I think the answer lies in how we look at our relationships—what we focus on. It is important not to get lost in our differences, seeing them as ties that … [Read more...]
Coping With Darkness Without Conceding
We have now spent most of this year facing the physical, economic, emotional and psychological threats and consequences of the COVID pandemic, along with the parallel crises of social upheaval and protest against the inequities of racial injustice, and the ever heightened polarization of our divided nation as we watch the sacred tenets of our American experiment in democracy attacked and depreciated on a nearly daily basis. We are all exhausted. We are indeed navigating a very difficult time. I feel and hear and know the anxiety and the loss that so many of you experience. I want to … [Read more...]
Finding Calm in the Storm
This last year has been and continues to be a challenging time for everyone. I have been giving some thought to what we can each do to maintain our own energy--and energy hygiene--so that we may stand each in our strength and integrity, and support ourselves and others. We each hold the possibility, and the opportunity, to make positive change, and it can happen in simple and subtle ways. It can be summed up as: share your self light. This of course means that first you need to recognize and nurture your own light. And how do we do this when we are stressed by outside events and … [Read more...]
We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For
As we arrive at this time of endings and new beginnings, I have been in deep contemplation, seeking to understand what is going on in the world around us, and wondering about our human station, as we mourn twenty young children, and six of their teachers, from Newtown, Connecticut. Blessings upon them, their parents, their teachers, families and friends, and all of us. They have served well, reminding us in unbearable sacrifice of themselves, of the truth and what matters, and moving us to take action now and do what we need to do, to be our best selves, in the fullness of the best that is … [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...]
Building a World Wide Wave
There is great movement taking place—and I am sure many of you have felt it, perhaps without understanding even that you have felt it or exactly what you are feeling. The last several months have been especially challenging for many. This is a time of transition, and transition is most always uncomfortable. But transition heralds change, and positive change is what we look towards now. Many of my colleagues also involved in spiritual practice, teaching, writing, and mentoring report perceptions very similar to my own at this time: many of us now experience an increased inner awareness of … [Read more...]