I have included some of my articles, essays, and even an interview on this website, some of which have also been published elsewhere. Just click on the title to read the entire piece. (This material is copyright © by me. If you are interested in reprinting anything you find here, please contact me for written permission.)
Awakening to the Miracle of Ordinary Life
“We are faced with a profound mystery: the mystery of ourselves here and now, on this earth. Whatever scientific or religious beliefs we may have about this mystery, about how and why we have come to be, most of us are ‘asleep’ to its unfathomable immediacy, its ‘now-ness.’ We move through our lives in a state of waking sleep, a state of psychological, cultural, and spiritual hypnosis. …”
Gurdjieff & the Further Reaches of Self-Observation
“Self-observation is a powerful method not only of self-study but also of self-change. First introduced to the West by G. I. Gurdjieff, the remarkable teacher of psycho-spiritual transformation, as part of his overall system of work on oneself, self-observation is best approached not as a technique but rather as an entirely new relationship to oneself as a living, breathing being. Self-observation as described by Gurdjieff is an intimate pathway into one’s own mind, body, and spirit. It allows us to experience new levels of self-awareness, and by so doing to live more conscious, harmonious lives. …”
“‘Today words no longer arise out of silence, through a creative act of the spirit which gives meaning to language and to the silence, but from other words, from the noise of other words. Neither do they return to the silence but into the noise of other words, to become immersed therein.’ …”
“Because of the way in which we constantly identify with one or another aspect of ourselves, we find that our ideas, our knowledge, our feelings, and our sensory perceptions pull us in many different directions, without a real sense, a real understanding, of our wholeness. Nevertheless, the great teachings tell us that this understanding, the global perception of the nature and significance of our own being, is always available to us. All that is required is a kind of self-remembering, the instantaneous experience of the immediacy and openness of our own existence. …”
“If there is a thread that connects human beings throughout history, it may be the thread of real thinking, the thread of heart-felt questioning about life and death, joy and suffering, and our place and destiny on this earth. Since ancient times we have looked both within and without for answers to the perplexing questions that challenge us at every breath. We have felt, perhaps instinctively, that these questions—and our search for the answers to them—are what give our lives real meaning. …”
Self-Sensing & Effortless Action
“… What is self-sensing? In simplest terms it is the turning of our attention toward our own organism in the midst of whatever we are doing–a kind of “sensory listening.” Though this definition may at first seem vague, it is possible, through simple experiments, to understand what I mean. As you read these words, for example, allow your attention to include not only the words themselves, but also the muscular tensions in your shoulders and neck. Don’t analyze, judge, or try to change these tensions; simply sense them. …”
“Fear plays an enormous role in the way we live our lives. From childhood to old age it shapes our behavior and our perceptions by imbuing certain actions, thoughts, and experiences with a “negative” emotional charge. From the fear of “the other,” to the fear of punishment, to the fear of pain, to the fear of illness, to the fear of success or failure, to the fear of censure or controversy, to the fear of our boss or our mate, to the fear of someone passing us on the street, to the fear of intimacy, to the fear of loneliness, to the fear of psychological exposure, to the fear of change and the unknown, to the fear of death, to the fear of damnation—our lives are filled with fears of every conceivable color and form. …”
Taoist Healing & Chi Nei Tsang
“What is Chi Nei Tsang? It is an educational process using various hands-on techniques – such as massage, acupressure, and guided breathing – to help people clear negative or unhealthy energies, as well as various toxins, from their internal organs, tissues, and bones, and to transform and recycle these energies to promote physical, emotional, and spiritual health. CNT also uses meditation techniques involving internal awareness of colors and sounds to aid in the detoxification and transformation process.”
The Power of Grounding: Connecting to the Earth’s Energy
“As human beings there is a part of us that finds its identity and meaning in the heavens above us. Looking up at the stars at night we resonate with the vastness of space and time that is evoked. We sense a great mystery there—a mystery that beckons us beyond the mundane concerns of everyday life. …”
Healthy Living through Free, Natural Breathing
“A powerful tool that is often overlooked in our quest to heal ourselves and to live healthier, more-conscious lives is our breathing. The quality of our breathing, of our exhalation and inhalation, reveals a great deal about our self-image, our basic stance toward life. By observing, by sensing, our breathing in the midst of action we can greatly expand our direct knowledge and awareness of ourselves. …”
Breath Qigong: Transforming the Energy of Negativity
“Qigong is a wonderful tool for energy awareness and cultivation. And it can bring with it a great sense of inner peace. When we are not practicing qigong, however, and are faced with the often difficult situations of our daily lives, many of us sometimes find ourselves at the mercy of negative thoughts, judgments, and emotions that have little to do with the actual situations themselves and more to do with the self-serving stories we tell ourselves about them. And we frequently find ourselves expressing this negativity to others, often in disguised ways. …”
“In March 1993, I interviewed Father Alexander Mumrikov, a Deacon of the Russian Orthodox Church, during a visit I made to Moscow. We met at the offices of Inward Path, a magazine devoted to human development. The interview was arranged by the editor of the magazine, and was handled through an interpreter, the deputy editor of the magazine. …”
“When Edward Bernays, proclaimed by many as the father of public relations, published his book Propaganda in 1928, few people realized the far‑reaching influence that the new discipline of public relations would have on society. Propaganda, Bernays claims, is not something pernicious that one government or group inflicts on another, but is rather an integral part of democracy itself. …”
