How do you resolve the tension between these two states? — I recently finished teaching a course on listening to your intuition. One of the main tools for connecting with your intuition is meditation. One of meditation’s benefits is that it trains you to keep your attention on the present moment. Yet your intuition helps you to make decisions about a…

What would the world look like? — It’s cliché to say that men don’t cry. I know it’s not true. I certainly have allowed myself to cry many times. Death, loss, failure, and old wounds that are still healing come up, and tears are the natural expression of that pain. They are not, for me, a sign…

Spirituality offers you a non-linear and non-logical path in life — When it comes to spirituality and the meaning behind our lives, how often do you find yourself grappling with paradox? The longer I have spent exploring consciousness, the more I find that the truth resides in paradox and that the spiritual path is about living at the intersection of multiple…

Sometimes “growth” masks an inability to have uncomfortable conversations — I sometimes encounter a pattern in spiritual circles, among mindfulness folks, or in self-help settings where the focus is on going within, deepening your relationship with your true self, connecting with the divine inside, etc. These are all wonderful ways referring to the path of inner exploration or inquiry, where…

A brief reflection on the nature of the self — As I reflect on the many parts of myself, I sometimes wonder if they will add up to something. I feel like sand at the beach. The effort to gather sand and hold it together sometimes feels pointless. …

It’s not all about the present moment — It’s often said in spiritual circles that there is no time other than the present. Peace, it is said, is found in the now. But spirituality also loves to gaze into the future. When spirituality does so, it frequently turns messianic, predicting the imminent arrival of a new, enlightened world…

It’s one of the most painful beliefs we can carry — There have been many times in my life when I felt that I had failed. A particular project didn’t pan out, a workshop didn’t get decent enrollment, or an article didn’t get much of a response. Opportunities came, and I missed them. …

Despite many falls, I stand back up and take it one day at a time — As a kid, my parents let me watch Flashdance, the 1983 movie starring Jennifer Beals as the dancer who prevails against the odds and makes such a compelling audition that the stuffy conservatory grants her admission. But it wasn’t Jennifer Beals who left a mark on me. It was her…

See them from a different perspective to deepen your path — Spiritual wisdom offers a lot of sayings — some might, in a less charitable frame of mind, call them platitudes — that circulate. They spread as nuggets of insight, shared as a way to make sense of the world. As powerful as they may be, these sayings can sometimes be…