I choose to allow these very conditions to be those conditions under which I now learn to choose love. ~The Way of Mastery This quote encourages me to keep my heart open in all circumstances. I don’t have to like difficult times or celebrate suffering. I don’t have to pretend that everything is fun. On […]
The Dao De Jing teaches that nothing is more soft and yielding than water, and yet nothing is more powerful. Water yields without resistence when pushed, yet simply by following its intrinsic nature, water carves out great canyons, wears down intransigent rocks, cascades through quicksilver rapids, and plunges over thundering waterfalls. People think that softness
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Practicing the external martial arts taekwondo and kung fu gave me lots of experience with humility. Resuming this training in my 50s after being away from it for several decades meant that I was a beginner once again and most often the oldest person in the room. It was obvious from the start that I
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We sometimes judge ourselves for falling short of how, in our opinion, a “spiritual” person should think and behave. If I am feeling upset, angry, despondent, sad, fearful, then I must not be practicing enough. I must try to do better, be better. Maybe I’m too lazy, or unfocused, or not really committed to the
I recently had some plumbing replaced in my forest cabin. As part of that process, the county inspector required the installation of a water pressure reducing valve on the main water line. Apparently, the incoming pressure from the main water line was too much for the cabin plumbing. A pressure reducing valve lowers stress on
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I haven’t had a word of the year for a decade. In an illustration of cosmic humor of the universe, my last word of the year was in 2013 and my word was “wait.” But as 2013 came to a close, no new word came for 2014. Now, ten years later, as 2023 drew to
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I was describing to someone how working on the last stages of my new book as I was preparing for cancer surgery this summer really helped me stay centered. Reading and rereading the chapters to edit and proofread kept the content of the book front and center in my consciousness and was a constant and
This Shit Really Works Read More »
[Note: I’ve been trying to update something on my subscriber service, and apparently my last post got resent one or two extra times to some people. If that happened to you, I apologize for the annoyance. Hopefully, everything is fixed now.] Someone complained to me recently that she had gotten away from her spiritual practice
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I began this year every morning saying a prayer I wrote asking for liberation, whatever it takes. When people asked me what I meant by liberation, I said I wanted to release anything and everything that blocked my awareness and experience of union with the divine. I recommitted myself to my practice of allowing, trusting,
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Yesterday was a day of fortuitous synchronicity. A friend and I had planned to meet at a lovely spot in Portland known as The Grotto to walk the labyrinth there. The Grotto is an outdoor Catholic shrine, with beautiful gardens and stone labyrinth nestled under large pines. I find this place peaceful to my soul
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Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on these things. ~Philippians 4:8 Since the beginning of the year, I have paid a lot more attention to my thoughts. Many of us
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The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. ~Stephen Covey I mentioned in a recent post that I had gotten sloppy in my practice in the last months of 2022. Other things seemed to take up more time and practice was not a priority, so it kept getting shoved to the
Returning to Practice Read More »
After years without any particular word for a new year, a word did come to me this year – liberate. So I wondered how to focus on this word, to make it a priority, to commit to it. A prayer came to me, and so I decided to have a prayer of the year, to
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I’ve been joking that I’ve waited ten years for another word of the year. My last word of the year was in 2013, and the word was “wait.” At the end of 2013, I wanted to go into the new year with a completely open mind – no resolutions, no goals, no aspirations, no word.
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The journey from teaching about love to allowing myself to be loved proved much longer than I realised. ~Henri Nouwen As a spiritual practice, “allowing” is often described as an acceptance of what is. We sometimes think of this acceptance of reality as not struggling against something that we don’t like. But we overlook the
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I was practicing with some taiji buddies yesterday, and we got to talking about the custom of bowing in martial arts. Students and teachers bow, sparring partners bow, everyone bows when entering or leaving the practice area. Our discussion expanded to other bowing customs. Some people bow in greeting or farewell, children bow to elders,
Open my eyes to the beauty that surrounds me that I may walk through this day with the kind of awareness that calls forth grateful living. ~Macrina Wiederkehr I’ve been using this quote recently to start my day. I like the idea of waking up with a blessing, an expression of gratitude for a precious
In the movie Peaceful Warrior, an injured gymnast Dan regains his health under the spiritual guidance of a mysterious man whom he calls Socrates. In the final scene, Dan is performing his routine in competition, centering himself by focusing his mind on this imagined dialogue: Socrates: Where are you?Dan: HereSocrates: What time is it?Dan: NowSocrates:
I’m walking a labyrinth with some friends next week. I love this meditative practice. It models how we move through life in faith. Unlike a maze, there are no wrong turns in a labyrinth. Yes, there are twists and turns, but the path leads unerringly to the center. You cannot get lost. So you can
Recently someone said something to me that upset me. It was not meant to upset me, but I experienced it somewhat like an intrusion, even a violation, although that might be too strong a word. However well intended, it was too personal and crossed a boundary I had not even known was there. Having heard
It Does Not Touch You Read More »