Imagine that you are an actor and the director calls with a new assignment. It goes something like this: “We’re sending you into a new theatre for the role of a lifetime.” So far, so good. “But be forewarned you are joining a hostile cast and some of the other actors may not be welcoming [...]

Virtually all of us exist in a state of chronic, low-grade suffering or, as Thoreau put it, we while away our days in “quiet desperation.” It is the first and perhaps most important of the Buddha’s four noble truths, this idea of life as suffering. Yet most who read these words will say something to [...]

Many of us have a relationship with someone who is utterly out of touch with his or her own behavior. You know the type, forever blaming a mate, society, the Communists, sun spots for what ails them. They repeat the same mistakes over and over again and are forever blaming the world for their problems, [...]

Picture an individual who, for one reason or another, annoys you. I don’t care how “Zen” you are, there is someone in your life who fits this bill (a boss, a spouse, a child, the neighbor, the driver who cut you off in traffic this morning). Really picture this person, what it is that annoys [...]

Few of us in this day and age haven’t heard the expression, “What you put your mind to is what you become” or “Your thoughts are things so be careful with your thoughts,” or some version of the same. Thus the more motivated of us walk around thinking, “Gotta be careful what I think.” The [...]

I met a friend for a couple of beers today, commiserating with him over what, potentially, could be his second divorce. En route home I had the music blasting, a rarity for me these days what with the kids living with me. The slight alcohol buzz in addition to the music led to some real [...]

When you think about the sheer volume of conditioning each of us undergoes in this life it is a wonder anyone emerges into any semblance of consciousness. From the moment of conception the conditioning of “me” begins in the form of the biological predilections of mom (egg) and dad (sperm). In that instant the architectural [...]

It takes some discipline but I’ve discovered the home-brewed serenity possible in simply watching one’s thoughts vs. identifying with them. This is one of those recommended steps en route to awakening but is easily overlooked. Thoughts arise and disappear in an continuous flow, like rain striking a sandy beach. We have little control over these [...]