There is a tale of a man who found on the road a large stone bearing the words, “Under me lies a great truth.” The man strained to turn the stone over and finally succeeded. On the bottom was written, “Why do you want a new truth when you do not practice what you already know?”((From “Meditation” (by Eknath Easwaran), Page 204)

Worry is a form of directed energy. Worry removes your focus from everything else and directs it in a concentrated manner on that which you fear. Worry and fear then join to bring into your existence the very thing which you feared.

You stop worrying when you understand the universal laws that make things work. One of those laws says (more…)

The very pragmatic necessity of nonviolent social change was expressed eloquently by Martin Luther King, Jr.:
The old law of an eye for an eye leaves everybody blind. It is immoral because it seeks to humiliate the opponent rather than win his understanding; it seeks to annihilate rather than to convert. Violence is immoral because (more…)

Buddha was once threatened with death by a bandit.
“Then be good enough to fulfill my dying wish,” said Buddha. “Cut off the branch of that tree.”
One slash of the sword, and it was done!
“What now?” asked the bandit.
“Put it back again,” said Buddha.
The bandit laughed. “You must be crazy to think that anyone can do that.”
“On the contrary, it is you who are crazy to think that you are mighty because you can wound and destroy. That is the task of children. The mighty know how to create and heal.” (From “The Heart of the Enlightened” by Anthony deMello, 35-6)

Once upon a time there was a forest where the birds sang by day and the insects by night. Trees flourished, flowers bloomed, and all manner of creatures roamed about in freedom.

And all who entered there were led to Solitude, which is the home of God, who dwells in Nature’s silence and Nature’s beauty.

But then the Age of Unconsciousness arrived, when it became possible for people to construct buildings a thousand feet high and to destroy rivers and forests and mountains in a month. So (more…)

The awareness of our oneness, while foreign to the ego, is clear to the heart. And that’s why unity is the key to our happiness.

It’s only when we transcend the illusion of separation, refusing the false testimony of our physical senses, that we will make the quantum leap forward into a joy-filled life.

The recognition of our unity is the healing of all our wounds.
(From the book “Everyday Grace” by Marianne Williamson, page 257)

Why do we need pain?
When you accidentally bite your tongue, it’s hard to see “pain” as something positive.
The same goes for a blister on your big toe. Who needs a throbbing foot?
But what if you felt no pain? How often would you bite off bits of your tongue – or burn your backside in the bath?
Physical pain is a marvelous alarm system that prevents further damage.
It tells us: “You’d better (more…)

A big ego is not a sign that one likes oneself, but just the opposite. If people “brag” and “show off” a lot, it raises the question, what do they dislike about themselves so much that they feel they have to get others to like them to compensate? …

True self-love (more…)

The ego needs you to feel guilty and unworthy in order to keep you in its limited world of the past and future, where it is in control.
Guilt and blame are two of the main strategies of control. It is also the way we avoid living in true responsibility.

If I can blame someone for the way I feel or for what is happening in my life, I can avoid taking responsibility for myself. Some one else is to blame. If I can make some one feel guilty, it is easier to control them and have them assume responsibility for me. It is nothing but a strategy to control others and avoid responsibility for our selves.
It is the same with unworthiness. If you feel unworthy, you will not be in your true power and so you will be easier to control. (From The Daily Guru, March 12,2004)

A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can
afford to let alone (Thoreau)

Voluntary simplicity responds to many of the critical problems of our era: environmental degradation, bureaucratic complexity, world hunger, a loss of social purpose and social cohesion, a dehumanizing economy, and many more. This way of life represents a creative and comprehensive response to a host of critical problems customarily considered to be separate. By coping simultaneously with scores of interrelated problems, this way of life provides a multifaceted approach that could not be achieved by addressing these problems on a one-by-one basis….

To live more voluntarily means (more…)