To understand surrender, we turn to the gurus, sages, and mystics of all traditions. They all radiate a joy, compassion, childlike wonder, and unfailing trust. They seem to accomplish more for the world than seems humanly possible. And they unabashedly display a constant love affair with the divine. They almost seem like a different species …
I was in the Minneapolis airport with a short layover. Rushing to get to my next gate to catch my flight, I made a quick stop in the women’s bathroom. As I entered, I saw four men standing there. Stunned and confused, I wondered what these men were doing in the women’s restroom. It took …
We are becoming a soft culture. When life seems a little challenging, it is easy to escape, and the escape routes are numerous. Food, alcohol, stores, television, and internet are among the variety of ways we can pamper ourselves. When we continually take these easy escape routes, we lose access to our capacity to endure. …
Contentment is the basis of happiness and peace. Yet we live in a culture whose economy thrives on keeping us in discontent. Think of the constant bombardment that comes at us with the sole purpose of alluring us into discontent. We get pulled out of ourselves longing for what we don’t have. And where the …
Taken from a recent article I wrote for Integral Yoga Magazine, Summer 2013, on Cultivating the Niyamas. I recently saw a bumper sticker that said, “Well, at least the war on the environment is going well.” These words captured the angst of our times where in the midst of so much not working, we are …
As summer days find me pondering on my porch sipping a cup of tea, my mind flows to the preciousness of time. I mull over the countless teachers whose message is presence and mindfulness in the moment. And as the gentle breeze finds my skin and the sun warms my face, I understand. There are …
I have just returned from a conference in which I heard Bill Plotkin say something profound about the ego and the soul. He reported that it was his belief that during the first half of a person’s life, the soul served the ego; in the second half of life, the ego was to serve the …
If you are anything like me, you keep waiting for your practice to magically make you a better person. But in truth, is this the purpose of practice? And what is a “better person” anyway? At best it is an individual idea of perfection…..which ultimately is sought after only by the ego. What is practice …
