The motorist in front of me driving 10mph under the speed limit. An angst-ridden friend on the phone wondering how to increase his company’s sales. The blog post of a young woman bemoaning the absence of a man in her life on Valentine’s Day. A child’s psychosomatic illness because he has again forgotten his homework. The sturm und drang of human existence, our lives individual tempests in life’s communal teapot. I must achieve, prepare, react, control, matter, work, understand, explain,…
In the late 1800s Swiss geologist Albert Heim was enjoying a climb in the Alps when a powerful gust of wind lifted him from the mountain and sent him plummeting to almost certain death. But a peculiar thing happened during his fall: instead of…
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…
I just finished Deepak Chopra’s book, “Buddha.” Say what you will about Chopra, but the man has created quite a cottage industry for himself. His other recent book on Jesus was also quite good. These are “fictional histories” not intended to be taken literally,…
It took me a long time (we’re talking 40-plus years) to realize that an argument or fight with another is an ideal opportunity for personal growth. Yet for years I did just the opposite, pointing my finger at my partner and desperately trying to…
As the global economy melts down and stress levels rise, it’s a good time to remind oneself that only in the darkness does real human growth come. Anyone can jet ski around the Bahamas and feel good about the world, much harder to find…