In the beginning a story was told and retold until, eventually, I was born. Over the years I felt increasingly unhappy with its story. It had had no say in it, and frankly, one of the story's principal authors had told a rather grim and miserable story about I being a failure in every way [...]

Across the planet millions - if not billions - of people believe Jesus or a similar prophet of their choice, will at some point return to kick ass, take names, right all the wrongs and, naturally, fast-track the rest of us toward some kind of heaven on earth. There are some problems with this scenario, [...]

I recently went through another one of those stretches where, while my mind was busy agitating over some drama about which I was certain I was 'right' and could be of use to another, a far more valuable lesson was lurking in the background (if I'd just shut my mouth long enough to notice). The source of [...]

Jesus, the Buddha, Lao Tzo, Ramana Maharshi, Rumi, and scores of other mystics simply and consistently stated that our lone goal in this world is to (re)discover our true nature, the central conceit being that a false ego has arisen to cloud this reality. Sprinkled across human history, these mysterious, rebellious souls reminded those who would listen than [...]

Another day, another city burns, a bomb detonates, another someone goes berserk stabbing and shooting others, and everywhere the mass of humanity wrings its hands and stews and frets and points fingers and prays. Pity the tiny, oh-so-limited human mind and the endless conclusions it draws about the world around it. I know, I think, I [...]

Spend any time immersed in mystical/spiritual traditions and you'll quickly notice they espouse a way of life radically different than what most Americans - and more and more of the world - follow. Humility, silence, non-doing, acceptance, surrender, rejection of materialism - these are antithetical to the modern mind. It's not surprising we ignore such teachings [...]

So when you think about yourself and those you know best, what is it that each of us wants above all else? When you peel back all the thoughts and desires, the wants and needs, the layers of anxiety and suffering, what lurks at the center of all that human restlessness? Most of us will [...]

Nothing matters. Now there's a fun-loving rhetorical turd you should try dropping at a dinner party sometime. People go positively apoplectic when you suggest their lives - life itself - is meaningless. But it's true. And you don't need me to prove it. You already know it - you just might be in denial about [...]

Are you able to let go, to really surrender to life, to let it take you wherever it sees fit? I know I'm not. I try. But if I catch myself, that surrender comes easiest when there's a bit of security around me. The belly is sated, a bit of cash sits in the bank, a [...]

In the Silence is where all the power is. In the Silence is where all the answers are. - Robert Adams There are times when I stand on a hillside or deep in the woods or sitting quietly on my porch, when the Great Truth that is at the core of all great spiritual teachings is, [...]