December 2016 • Smart Pain & Dumb Pain
The wisdom of many traditions says that pain is unavoidable, but suffering is optional. Dumb pain surely brings suffering. Smart pain opens a path of liberation.
November 2016 • The Space Between Yes and No
Between “yes” and “no” is a space. It floats untethered by judgment or habit, unrestrained by pronouncements of good and bad, mine and yours, or even theirs. It’s free of the gravity of staunch beliefs that continuously whisper a description of an unchangeable world.
October 2016 • The Tyranny of Consistency
We want to make sense to ourselves, string together with a thread of consistency our experiences and the meanings we make of them. Have a sense of being able to weave meaning that falls within an acceptable parameter of values, beliefs and comfort levels.
September 2016 • Physiology Does Not Forget
Our body remembers every trauma, hurt, burst of laughter, feeling of embarrassment and moment of delight. Our body remembers the pains we set aside at the moment of their unfolding because they might have been too much for us or maybe we did not know how to handle the situation.
August 2016 • Patience and Perseverance
Perseverance brings an active principle to patience, a sense of movement behind the enforced stillness. Perseverance allows us to sniff out opportunity where previously we were moving too fast to notice. Perseverance also allows us to keep something sparky and alive in a moment of utter stagnation.