You may be surprised to hear that meditation should be effortless, that no striving or concentration is needed. I know I was. When I first became interested in meditation, back in the mid-sixties, I was repeatedly told that it took great mental discipline and many years of practice. Indian teachers had likened the mind to […]
Continue readingThe Paradox of Free Will
One of my earliest ventures into philosophy, back in high school, concerned the question of “free will versus determinism.” If the world unfolds according to fixed laws, then everything that happens is determined by events that have gone before. Since our brains are part of this world, their state is also determined by preceding events. […]
Continue readingWhat is Wisdom?
Humanity is too clever to survive without wisdom. — E.F Schumacher What is wisdom? We hear the word a lot these days—the need for wisdom, the wisdom traditions, wisdom schools. We each would like to have more wisdom. And for others to have it as well. Too much human hurt and suffering comes from lack […]
Continue readingWhere Did Language Come From?
It is commonly assumed that modern languages evolved from grunts and groans into the complex forms we know today. Over the eons, vocabulary expanded and grammatical structures became increasingly more organized. Yet the history of modern language points towards the very opposite. The complex grammatical structure of language tends to decays over time. English is […]
Continue readingThe Self – video
New cool video created by deaddrum1, sampling audio by Peter Russell on the Self. with added music and images.
Continue readingTouching Essence
Letting go of the obstacles to knowing our true nature. Talk at Unity of Davis, Sept 2011. Listen to mp3
Continue readingForgiveness Meditation
I was asked to create this for the 10-yr remembrance of 9/11. But it is also valid for forgiveness in general. Listen on Meditation page
Continue readingWhy We Fall in Love with Beauty
Beauty is to perception as love is to feeling. Beauty is the heaven of perception. That deep aesthetic appreciation that stirs the soul. And love is the heaven of feeling. That profound sense of connection that enthuses our being. Both are reflections of our true nature. Qualities of our essence. The perception of beauty resonates […]
Continue readingTwo New Videos
Here are a couple of talks from my April 2011 workshop at the Institute of Noetic Sciences, Exploring the Mystery of Consciousness. I’ve turned them into videos with gentle images of water. Buddha, Dukkha, and The Journey to Now This looks at the parallels between Buddha’s spiritual journey and our own. I describe how the […]
Continue readingDoes Our Brain Really Create Consciusness?
[Originally published as a Huffington Post blog – 06/ 9/11] Western science has had remarkable success in explaining the functioning of the material world, but when it comes to the inner world of the mind, it has very little to say. And when it comes to consciousness itself, science falls curiously silent. There is nothing […]
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