We Must Choose

We MUST Choose “This above all: to thine own self be true.” – Shakespeare, “Hamlet” Yes, but what part of thine own self to be true to?  What’s best in oneself?  Or what’s less—sometimes even much much less—than best in one’s self? “For human beings, there is a possibility of making a choice of influences; [...]

The Present Moment

The Present The past is history, The future a mystery, All we have is this moment— It’s the Universe’s gift to each of us; That’s why it’s called The Present. This moment—the present moment—is all we have. How many present moments we each have in life, and how much presence we each have to the [...]

Real Intimacy versus Other-Dependent (or Other-Validated) Intimacy

Real Intimacy versus Other-Dependent (or Other-Validated) Intimacy The only reason we don’t open our hearts and minds to other people is that they trigger confusion in us that we don’t feel brave enough or sane enough to deal with. – Pema Chödrön (The following is adapted and modified and riffed on from David Schnarch’s book, [...]

Anger & Anger-Management & Making New Choices

ANGER And Anger-Management Growth A huge part of breaking with the past and, in particular, with our past maladaptive patterns and conditioning, and instead learning new responses (being able to actually make new and different choices), depends on our becoming more and more aware of our own inner processes and leading a more self-examined life. [...]

The Four Agreements. The Second Agreement: Don’t Take Anything Personally

The Four Agreements The Second Agreement: Don’t Take Anything Personally I get the gist of what Ruiz is trying to communicate with his advice of “Don’t take anything personally,” and there’s certainly some wisdom to it, but unfortunately he’s trying to make an absolute out of something that likely isn’t meant to be an absolute, [...]