All of what I discuss here and in earlier, similar articles is happening against the background of Kamala and Trump hammering it out, rising stars presenting themselves, rumors even of JFK Jr. now stepping into the VP role and JD Vance, whom I’ve come to greatly admire, retiring in his favor, probably (I hope) to […]
The Path of Self-Awareness
There’s so much we … OK, OK, I … don’t understand. For instance, take awareness. Awareness transforms. It does so, first of all, in ways I don’t understand or even suspect. Put those aside for the moment with a simple acknowledgment. Second of all, it transforms by allowing the unpleasant sensation or emotion to […]
Karma and Free Will are Not Contradictory – Part 1/2
I often hear folks debating free will vs determinism, as if, if the one exists, the other cannot. Do we have free will? Or are the events of our lives pre-determined by “karma”? Both. Any seeming contradiction disappears when we make a distinction between action and reaction. Let me back up a moment, to explain. […]
Let’s Go! Let’s Grow! – Part 1/2
Long and reflective. A lot of interesting conversations going on backstage, stirred up by Matthew’s last message. One piece of feedback that arose was that I’m being too intellectual in trying to understand spiritual states. While we’re all recovering from the holidays, maybe it’s a good time to push back the chair and reflect. And […]
Let’s Go! Let’s Grow! – Part 2/2
(Concluded from Part 1, above.) A word about awareness and “getting in touch with” something. In a three-month residential encounter group I did in 1975-6, even critics who were habitually driven to point out blemishes “got in touch with” what was driving them And it turned out they were just like everyone else except starved […]
Being the Pilot, not the Passenger
Over the Xmas holidays I watched Groundhog Day with a friend and was greatly impacted. It made a point about core issues or vasanas that I can’t help calling attention to. “Vasanas” is a Vedantic term for the reaction patterns we’ve formed based on earlier, similar, traumatic incidents. (1) The premise of the story, […]