Teachers arise from somewhere within me that is beyond me, the way the dark soil that is not the root holds the root and feeds the flower. So often we think of ourselves as free standing and in charge, because we have the simple blessing of being able to go where we...
“The inward battle—against our mind, our wounds, and the residues of the past—is more terrible than outward battle.” Swami Sivananda I saw a sea otter rolling in the bay. It held a crab or small turtle against its belly, and on its back, it would eat a piece, then...
“Not to feel is to stop the heart from breathing.” So often, we war against sadness as if it were an unwanted germ, and pine after happiness as if it were some promised Eden, whose gate is keyed to the one secret flaw we need to rectify in order to be worthy. Even our...
“Be serene in the oneness of things and erroneous views will disappear by themselves.” Seng-Ts’an I am sitting in Bryant Park in New York City as I write this. It is summer and the tall oaks all lean south for some reason. It is midday and everyone is slouching in...
Suffering makes an instrument of each of us, so that standing naked, holes and all, the unseen vitalities can be heard through our simplified lives. Sometimes we can’t get what we want. While this can be disappointing and painful, it is only devastating if we stop...
