One of the most essential, yet difficult, skills we must learn in order to navigate life well is discernment. In other words, good judgment--knowing who and what to trust. We ask ourselves: What do I know? What do I believe? How can I be sure what is “real” and what is not, what is “true” and what is not? How will I know the difference? And as soon as we start to ask these questions, we quickly discover we have myriad other questions in need of answers: what is safe, what is good, what is balanced? Indeed, what is “reality” and what is “truth”? I unexpectedly waded deep into these … [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...]
Whatever Happened to Summertime?
Remember when summer used to be a time when we slowed down? Days were longer and often more lazy? It was a time when taking it easy, or at least easier, was expected and accepted. Where did that go? I have been noticing over the last few weeks how many people are not taking down time, even in the summer, and how stressed we are. Everything moves faster now—that is the price of technology—and we have become so accustomed to this acceleration that we don’t slow down like we used to. We are on a trajectory that hurtles forward on its own momentum much of the time. The problem with too … [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...]
New Math: Subtracting From Your Mind
What do you yearn for, and where does it direct you? As we savor the last sweet days of summer, and many prepare for school, I have been thinking about this. And about the nature of the scholar and inner learning. What is it we really want? What are we studying and learning and trying to achieve in this life? We live in both our inner and our outer experiences, and the emphasis on one or the other ebbs and flows, and perhaps the balance shifts over time. But the outer distractions have a way of taking over. It is important to find ways and means of attending to our inner growth … [Read more...]