I was grateful for its brief slumber — I entered the Best Buy in Flagstaff, Arizona, fleeing the parking lot that smelled of fried chicken, and headed for the Geek Squad sign. “Please turn the phone on for me,” demanded the sullen tech worker whose hipster ‘stache would have been at home in Williamsburg, New York. I couldn’t…

I’m learning what resonates as I mourn my friend’s death — Out of the blue, the sister of a dear friend sent me a shocking message: My friend had died the day before quite unexpectedly. My friend and I had been playing a short game of phone tag, which was normal for us. As friends for 32 years, our relationship was…

There’s a difference, but your ego may want to ignore it — When I had my initial awakening over a decade ago and began to explore the world of spirituality, one of the topics I most encountered was service. Often couched in the Sanskrit term seva, service was an idealized approach to being in the world. I have witnessed the term sovereign…

The logic of the Dobbs majority and concurrence opinions raises the question — When Justice Alito’s draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization was leaked, the backlash was swift and sweeping — and rightly so. The reasoning was atrocious. …

Mark Nepo’s The Book of Awakening speaks of the spiritual path in a language that opens the heart — Mark Nepo’s The Book of Awakening: Having the Life You Want by Being Present to the Life You Have (Conari, 2000) remains one of my favorite books. I can’t quite remember when or how I found it. Unlike Piero Ferrucci’s The Power of Kindness, whose discovery I remember well, this…

Share your love of books with The Conscious Book Review! — Welcome, book lover! If you’re here, it’s because you love books, specifically, books related to spirituality, mindfulness, consciousness, self-help, and personal growth. Our Mission The Conscious Book Review has a fairly broad definition of what it covers — roughly, anything that focuses on the meaning of life or the nature of reality…

You’re trapped in a riddle you can’t solve on your own — If you were to come to me for a psychic reading, it’s very likely that you feel stuck in some way. There’s something, you feel, that holds you back from becoming who you’re meant to be. Because of this stuck feeling, you find yourself unable to move forward. You can’t…

I’ll give you a hint: It’s not about you. — Let me begin with a confession: I’m not a fan of talking about manifestation. About 15 years ago, I discovered the Law of Attraction, and I enjoyed finding a lot of power in learning that what I focused on would grow. But over time, I have grown weary of the…

My recent trip to the land of red rock offered new insights. — “Be like stone” was the message I heard clearly as I sat on the ground, near the creek, as fellow hikers and nature lovers passed nearby. I was sitting in Sedona, at one of the sites known as a “vortex.” It wasn’t my first visit; I had been here some…