04 Mar Beyond Awakening Q&A – Part Four

Myriam from the French West Indies asks: Intention + action = results, and if you always do what you've always done you'll always get what you always got. Given that changes begin with the self, isn't it so that if we want to achieve changes around us we'll have to go out there and physically take action to get the changes we not only desire to achieve but that are also so necessary in our society? A: Yes. One of the best ways to work on the world is to work on yourself. One of the best ways to work on yourself is to work on the world. One without the other is incomplete and ultimately ineffective. Why? Because, just like form and emptiness in Buddhism, the self and the world cannot exist without each other. They are two sides of the same mobius strip.

24 Feb Beyond Awakening Q&A – Part Three

Carrie asks: How do you develop confidence to start putting yourself "out there" as a leader? Sometimes I feel wise and semi-enlightened, and other times I feel like a mess. I don't want to be a hypocrite, and I don't want to be built up as a "guru." A: The old adage applies - "We teach what we need to learn." All of us are works in progress, especially teachers. That's why the best teachers aspire to transparency, telling stories about their own foibles, triggers and vulnerabilities in order not just to instruct but also to remind everyone that we really all are the same. Plus, in this way the message always gets across in the warmest, most beneficial way.

16 Feb Beyond Awakening Q&A – Part Two

Ed asks: Whether Jesus Christ is mythical or a historical fact or even both, isn't he the very model of the task that lies ahead for all of us in our evolving? A:I'd have to say no, and here's why. Which Jesus are we talking about - the one who counsels to turn the other cheek, or the one who rails against the moneylenders? And from which of the gospels? Especially when they contradict one another.

10 Feb Beyond Awakening Q&A – Part One

As you may be aware, when appearing on Terry Patten's Beyond Awakening Teleseminar, I offered to answer all questions from listeners. Well, be careful what you wish for, right? I've got a very long cue of questions lined up, and a hopefully patient group of inquirers. Over the next while I promise to get to all the questions, in order that they were received. Let's start with Stewart, from Paris, who asks: Q: "All others forms of life here on Earth (animals, plants) seem to be able to be in harmony/balance. What will it take for the human to also reach this harmony?"

06 Jan Benefit of Doubt

Among the people closest to you, how many can you say truly have your best interest at heart? Just one person? Two, four, more? Whatever the answer, reflect upon how often these very same people push your buttons, causing you to contract and react. Be honest””it happens to all of us, all the time. With these special individuals, however, we have a choice. We can give them the benefit of the doubt. Whenever you become aware that your buttons have been pushed, focus on the fact that the offending parties mean no harm. Perhaps they acted carelessly, or spoke harshly. Maybe a flash of anger or irritation high-jacked their communication skills. Yes, it stings. Yet this occurred out of human imperfection, not ill will.