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All the teachings, whatever the tradition or religion, point to something. The same thing in fact. And we, the students, are a bunch of dogs staring at the finger doing the pointing. Try pointing something out to a dog, it will look at your finger, then you, your finger, you, your finger, etc. Oblivious of… Continue reading Spiritual dogs

I had a short discussion about meditation today. A good friend referred to meditation’s purpose as being about quieting the mind. I feel that’s not a good frame to have for meditation. Meditation primarily is about observing the mind, your inner world, and understanding it. We have thoughts, narratives, in our mind. A voice talking… Continue reading Meditation

Q – I’m trying to understand enlightenment. A – No, you’re trying to avoid it. Q – No, no, I’m practicing yoga, I do daily meditation, I sat a 10 day retreat a few weeks ago, I listen to Ram Dass and I’m vegan. I’m trying to get enlightened. A – You can’t try to… Continue reading More questions

A – We know that experience is. Q – Sorry, what? A – Well, we know that something has experiences but we can’t say much more about that something or about the experiences. Q – Nothing more? A – Maybe a few things. Like there seems to be just one consciousness to which these experiences… Continue reading Q – What do we know for sure?

The ego is pretty damn cunning. Throw it out the front door and it will slither back in through the back door. Someone goes on retreat to sit with her own mind and suddenly she becomes a buddhist or a meditator, complete with robes, crystals, scented candles, etc. And presto, the ego is in charge… Continue reading A penny in your mouth

Effects without causes don’t exist. Objects don’t move by themselves. Things don’t ‘just happen’. Everything can be explained by some prior thing. Exceptions are by definition miracles and miracles don’t exist. Agreed? But if every cause has prior causes of its own and new causes don’t just appear, then how far back do these causal… Continue reading Causes

Only one thing can be known for sure. Direct experience, pure, raw, unconceptualized experience. Nothing else. Not one single thing. Philosophers and physicists alike have tried to nail down reality for ages, starting with the external world. But we have zero direct information about the external world. There seems to be some experience to which… Continue reading Reality

You have the power to change the world. Literally. How you see things and events determines how you will feel about them. Change how you see them and your experience will change. This is the secret. Admittedly, it’s a poorly kept secret and it does seem a little underwhelming at first glance. But it is… Continue reading Perspective

Old journal entry (December 2018) on letting go. You’re a kid in a stroller, with a toy steering wheel. You’re being driven around and playing with your wheel. You end up at the playground, are happy and think you had something to do with the outcome. Next time, you do your steering again. This time… Continue reading Let go

This post is an adaptation of a journal post I wrote for myself in February 2019. Yoga is the physical practice of a fundamental principal. There are two basic attitudes: relaxation and tightening or grasping and letting go. A position that requires tightening is always incorrect. A position that allows release is the right one.… Continue reading Yoga