Reality Does Not Explain Itself The older I become, the more I recognize that an event and my interpretation of that event are not always the same thing. Something happens, and almost immediately my mind begins explaining it. Someone does not return my telephone call, and I wonder whether they are upset with me. A
The Space Between What Happens and What I Decide It Means Read More »
Why Good Intentions Are Not Enough I have reached a point in life where I understand that wanting something good to happen and creating the conditions that allow it to happen are two different things. I can hope for stronger families, safer communities, better schools, economic opportunity, racial justice, peace, and equality. I can pray
Pray, Then Move: When Faith Must Become Action Read More »
The Ancient Fascination With Other Worlds Human beings have been imagining other worlds for thousands of years. Long before telescopes, particle accelerators, or modern physics, ancient civilizations wondered about worlds beyond their own. They told stories of gods coming down from the heavens and spirits entering other realms. These stories described mysterious boundaries between the
What Success Looked Like When I Was Young When I was a young man, success looked different to me than it does today. Like many young people, I associated getting ahead with what I could accomplish and what other people could see. Money mattered to me. Having a good job and earning a decent living
A Life Worth Keeping: How My Definition of Success Changed Read More »
The Conversation That Never Really Stops There is one person I have been talking to for my entire life, and that person is me. Long before I understood anything about psychology, I knew there was a voice inside my head constantly commenting on what was happening. It reminded me of things I needed to do,
The Voice I Hear Most: Learning How to Talk to Myself Read More »
Another Nervous System Inside Us For most of my life, when I heard somebody talk about having a “gut feeling,” I understood it as a figure of speech. We say something does not sit right with us, that we have butterflies in our stomach, or that our gut is telling us not to trust a
The Second Brain: When My Gut Has Something to Say Read More »
What “Feel It to Heal It” Means I have heard the expression “You have to feel it to heal it,” and there is wisdom in those few words when they are understood carefully. Pain that is constantly avoided does not necessarily disappear simply because we refuse to look at it. Grief, disappointment, fear, anger, and
Learning to Feel Without Being Overwhelmed Read More »
Understanding the Body as a Temple I have heard the expression “your body is a temple” for most of my life, but I understand it differently today than I did when I was younger. A temple is usually thought of as a sacred place, somewhere deserving respect, protection, and thoughtful care. When I apply that
My Body Is the Home My Spirit Lives In Read More »
What I Mean When I Talk About Attraction I have come to understand the law of attraction less as magic and more as a way of thinking about attention, intention, and behavior. The phrase “like attracts like” sounds simple, but life is more complicated than wishing for something and waiting for the universe to deliver
When Intention Gives My Choices a Direction Read More »
Life Does Not Wait in Line One of the biggest misconceptions about adulthood is believing life will patiently happen in sequence. Many people believe they can handle life one step at a time—first school, then a career, money, relationships, family, and health. Spirituality often gets pushed to the end, as something to think about later.
Adulthood Is Not a Straight Line Read More »