The Central Commitment Of The Creative Life
Intellectual work sometimes, spiritual work certainly, artistic work always -- these are forces that fall within its grasp, forces that...
Does The Mind Exist During Our Sleep?
Every time you go to sleep you have the experience of being without a mind. You cannot deny that you exist while you are asleep and you...
Mistakes: Results That Show The Truth Of Things
The biggest fears are actually the biggest opportunities. I have seen falls. I have seen blood. I have seen gashes and swelled joints...
To Be Continually Thrown Out Of The Nest
We think that if we just meditated enough or jogged enough or ate perfect food, everything would be perfect. But from the point of view...
Discipline Of Tao
A master called Yuan came to Tai-chu Hui-hai and asked: 'When disciplining oneself in the Tao, is there any special way of doing...
We Were Made For These Times
The world is made up of stories. A secret web of agreements about what is “right” and “wrong”, what is...
The Positivity Ratio
Imagine you’re a water lily. It’s early dawn and your petals are closed in around your face. If you can see anything at all,...
It Is Life That Asks The Questions Of Us
The question can no longer be “What can I expect from life?” but can now only be “What does life expect of me?”...
Mass Movement
We see throughout the world extremes of poverty and riches, abundance and at the same time starvation; we have class distinction and...
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...
Inclining Toward Freedom, Even Through Imperfections
If we focus only on awakening, we miss most of the spiritual practice. I’m much more interested in how we practice with not...
From Transaction To Trust
The most precious and important things in life are, by definition, nontransactional. And to try to bargain for them is to immediately...