Reading Archive (Patience)
Live the Questions Now
In the great silence of these distances, I am touched by your beautiful anxiety about life, even more than I was in Paris, where...
The Great Tragedy of Speed
Speed in work has compensations. Speed gets noticed. Speed is praised by others. Speed is self-important. Speed absolves us. Speed...
Advice From A Tree
Dear Friend, Stand Tall and Proud Sink your roots deeply into the Earth Reflect the light of a greater source Think long term Go out...
Seven Stages Of The Ego
The first stage is the Depraved Ego (Nafs), the most primitive and common state of being, when the soul is entrapped in worldly pursuits....
My Misgivings About Advice
My misgivings about advice began with my first experience of clinical depression thirty-five years ago. The people who tried to...
Law of Reversed Effort
There is a Law of Reversed Effort. The harder we try with the conscious will to do something, the less we shall succeed....
Should We Spend Time Like Money?
Benjamin Franklin once said: time is money. He meant this only as a gentle reminder not to "sit idle" for half the day....
The Dalai Lama: Why I Laugh
I have been confronted with many difficulties throughout the course of my life, and my country is going through a critical period. But I...
An Unusual Gift From My Grandfather
Often, when he came to visit, my grandfather would bring me a present. These were never the sorts of things that other people brought,...
A Guide To Life's Turning Points
Progress is made in steps, not in leaps. Move only as far as the opening allows. Remain neutral and tolerant of adversity. When in doubt,...
We Move in Infinite Space
It seems to me that almost all our sadnesses are moments of tension, which we feel as paralysis because we no longer hear our astonished...
The Only Power of the Mystic
The only power for the mystic is the power of love. Every kind of power lies in this one thing which we call by the simple name: love....
Seeing Fully
We were poor monks who needed buildings. We couldn't afford to employ a builder — the materials were expensive enough. So I had...
The Power of Patience
If we can be quieter, more in the moment with what is actually happening, a world of perception opens up for us based on where we are,...
Listening As An Act Of Transformation
Two villagers came to a rabbi with a dispute. When the rabbi invited them to sit down and talk about it, they glowered at each other as...
Gaining Mental Power
Uncontrolled thoughts are the roots of all evils. Each thought by itself is extremely weak, because the mind is generally distracted by...
Instilling Discipline and Responsibility in our Lives
Responsibility is not only the ability to respond to what comes towards us, it is also the capacity to stand behind our actions and to be...
Now I Become Myself
Now I become myself. It's taken Time, many years and places; I have been dissolved and shaken, Worn other people's faces, Run...
The Practice Before The Practice
From the moment we open our eyes, we are meaning-seeking creatures, looking for what matters though we carry what matters deep within us....
Lessening the Power of Negative Emotions
I profoundly believe that real spiritual change comes about not by merely praying or wishing that all negative aspects of our minds...