I hear that a paradigm shift in medicine is underway. That’s great news to me, but I haven’t found it here. Today I had my annual physical exam. It was the first one since I moved to South Carolina last June. It was interesting to see that very little attention was paid to me as [...]
Fearlessness and compassion are opposite sides of the same coin. When you contemplate what sets apart the fearless hero or heroine, whose lives are the epitome of compassion, you will see this clearly. I love the words of the late Chögyam Trungpa on this subject: Real fearlessness is the product of tenderness. It comes from [...]
Setting goals is necessary to make progress in life. But real progress, holistically speaking, can never be made until we know where we ultimately want to go. It’s important to know if the goal will lead us in the right direction, that is, will it get us to our final goal. Here’s a true story [...]
Music is therapy for restoring the passion of my soul. I remember years ago, while in college, coming to the conclusion that listening to music increased my productivity. I started listening to music 24 hours a day. Well, except when I was in class, and that was hard. But I would sleep with music on, [...]
Do you ever look upon your consciousness as a responsibility that extends beyond you and your family and friends to people you don’t even know? Perhaps you can more easily see that responsibility if you consider your level of consciousness as the amount of brightness you are able to shine onto the world. The lower [...]
If you think the purpose of meditation is to escape from everyday life, you are mistaken. Its purpose is so we can enter life more fully. It’s like sharpening a sword before going into battle. Once in a while I’ll put on my sunglasses or my reading glasses and the lenses are dirty and I [...]
I’ve been focused lately on the importance of finding meaning in life. With it comes a heightened aliveness. And today I came across these words of Albert Schweitzer from The Philosophy of Civilization: Only when we are able to attribute a real meaning to the world and to life shall we be able also to [...]
For career development, people need top notch advice. Career Ramblings, a website of career and entrepreneurial advice, fills that need. The site is a great tool to ensure that you don’t sell yourself short. A career is a crucial part of a fulfilled life. Without the right career, life falls short. Because of the importance [...]
Do you have a viewpoint of truth? Dr. David Hawkins writes in his consciousness raising book, Power vs. Force: Although it may sound cynical at first, we must admit that for everyday operational purposes, truth is whatever is subjectively convincing at one’s current level of perception. At the lower levels of consciousness, propositions are accepted [...]
Saying yes to life can make such a difference in its unfoldment. For instance, I am swimming in abundance this week. After a less than desirable start to the week with someone stealing over $3,000 from our checking account, things quickly turned around. After accepting the fact that it happened, I took the necessary steps [...]
True success isn’t luck. Doyle Brunson, the famed poker player who has won numerous World Series of Poker titles in his career, recently said that he would risk everything he owned on a single bet if he felt it was a reasonable bet. He wasn’t afraid of losing everything. He said that was because if [...]
It’s been about seven months since the passing of my mother. I’m still making the adjustment. When a happy event happens in my life I still have the thought, “Call Mother.” So I just talk out loud as if she is in the room, hoping that somehow she can hear me. You never know who [...]
This phrase, The Yoga of What Is, was coined by a friend of mine. It has to do with not being resistant to what is happening. It’s about acceptance and living in the present moment. Well today, that seems to be my yoga. This afternoon, after my wife and I agreed to loan $3,000 to [...]
To put communication skills into perspective, it’s helpful to recall an Emerson quote: “What you do shouts so loudly in my ears I can’t hear a word you’re saying.” That sheds light on why lovers don’t have to speak to each other when they are so deeply in love. Silence speaks volumes. There is a [...]
Awareness is crucial for successful time management. Everybody has heard the expression that time is money. One of my favorite writers, essayist Michael Ventura, once wrote that time is life, meaning that how we use our time defines our life. And if we are unconscious about how we spend our time, then our life is [...]
Leadership development traditionally is aimed at individuals who want to advance their career. But is that aspiration, by itself, enough to make a true leader who can change lives? For example, let’s take someone we all know about who made a difference in the lives of millions, South Africa’s Nelson Mandela. He didn’t just open [...]
The other day I received an e-mail, asking for advice, which forced me to reflect back on an earlier chapter of my life. As a young man graduating from college, could I could have benefited from any words of advice? A simple question that provided me with some invaluable soul searching. I have reprinted the [...]
The spiritual life is the purpose in being born. For some, that purpose remains conscious throughout life; for others it becomes more and more unconscious. Why? Because some people become overburdened with the denseness of the world. When life is a burden it’s hard to be inspired. And what does it mean to be inspired? [...]
I often find that my next step in life is revealed by living in the present moment, wholeheartedly, enthused, and unabashed. How so? Because it is in those moments that I am free from the limited perspective of my mind. Consciousness takes over control of life from the mind in those moments. Imagine that you [...]
Decision making plays a big part in how successful one’s life is. What to major in at college, what career to choose, where to live, what to invest in, how hard to work, to marry or stay single, to save or to spend. The list is endless as everyday we are confronted with decisions. Some [...]