Reading Archive (Stillness)
Keeping Quiet
Now we will count to twelve and we will all keep still for once on the face of the earth, let’s not speak in any language;...
A Blessing for One Who is Exhausted
When the rhythm of the heart becomes hectic, Time takes on the strain until it breaks; Then all the unattended stress falls in On the...
Giving Somebody Your Heart
In every interaction you have with another human being—doesn’t matter who—you always have two main choices....
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...
The Question of Being
Above the entrance to the Oracle at Delphi were written the words, “Know Thyself.” Jesus came along and added a sense of...
True Meditation Has No Direction
True meditation has no direction or goal. It is pure wordless surrender, pure silent prayer. All methods aiming at achieving a certain...
The Value of Solitude
Loneliness is not the absence of company, it is grief over that absence. The lost sheep is lonely; the shepherd is not lonely. But the...
Is Meditation Boring?
Q: I have been practicing leave the mind and emotions alone, but I often find meditation boring. A: In order for the experience of...
To Be Simply, Radically, Absolutely Still
Sometimes, in a blessed life, there arises what we call the spiritual search, the search for God, the search for Truth. There is a...
Unencumbered By Thought
There is a process for reaching nirvana and it is this: You must repeat the mantra. And the mantra, which happens to be emblazoned on our...
Trees are Sanctuaries
Nothing is holier, nothing is more exemplary than a beautiful, strong tree. When a tree is cut down and reveals its naked death-wound to...
Tired of Clinging
Once there lived a village of creatures along the bottom of a great crystal river. The current of the river swept silently over them...
Four Types Of Listening
In my years of working with groups and organizations, I have identified four basic types of listening. “Ya, I know that...
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,...
Every Sensation Comes to an End
I wonder if you know what it means to be aware of something? Most of us are not aware because we have become so accustomed to condemning,...
Do we Use Thought, or Does Thought Use us?
Have you ever looked meditatively into the cause-and-effect of thought, into the birth and death of thought, the cycle that creates fear...
Paradox of Noise
It is a paradox that we encounter so much internal noise when we first try to sit in silence. It is a paradox that experiencing pain...
Lessons From 25 Years of Meditating
I did meditate nearly everyday for about 25 years of my life, and some days, for hours on end. [...] Here's what I found. ...
The Place That is Free of Suffering
The world promises fulfillment somewhere in time, and there is a continuous striving toward that fulfillment in time. Many times people...
Is It Really Worth It?
It’s been difficult to accept that I’m often a battleground for several sides of myself, which seem to act in opposition to...