It feels like there is a wall around us. We are “inside” and the rest of existence is “outside.” We stop. It starts. But what if there’s no wall, no barrier. What if it’s all part of the same thing? It may feel like a separation, a binary either/or. But it’s just imagined.

It feels like there is a wall around us. We are “inside” and the rest of existence is “outside.” We stop. It starts. But what if there’s no wall, no barrier. What if it’s all part of the same thing? It may feel like a separation, a binary either/or. But it’s just imagined.

“You’re making me angry.” No, I’m not. You’re abandoning your agency. You’re allowing yourself to react in a way you can’t control. That’s what, deep down, you’re really angry about. Look in the mirror. And, yes, this is auto-biographical. I’m furious with myself because, especially with some people and some situations, I don’t have the control I want.

“You’re making me angry.” No, I’m not. You’re abandoning your agency. You’re allowing yourself to react in a way you can’t control. That’s what, deep down, you’re really angry about. Look in the mirror. And, yes, this is auto-biographical. I’m furious with myself because, especially with some people and some situations, I don’t have the control I want.

There’s a need to rank, to order, to prioritize, to compare. To say “this is better,” or “that is worse.” It helps. Without a refined model, it’s difficult to make decisions and even more difficult to figure out what the “right” decision is, at a given moment. What we are optimizing for is an important, but different decision. But when we feel like we understand a “ranking,” we feel empowered. Feel stronger. But when there’s a lot of information, we need shortcuts, heuristics, guides. So, we ...

There’s a need to rank, to order, to prioritize, to compare. To say “this is better,” or “that is worse.” It helps. Without a refined model, it’s difficult to make decisions and even more difficult to figure out what the “right” decision is, at a given moment. What we are optimizing for is an important, but different decision. But when we feel like we understand a “ranking,” we feel empowered. Feel stronger. But when there’s a lot of information, we need shortcuts, heuristics, guides. So, we ...

Tension breeds the awareness of harmony. The presence of one thing indicates the absence of its opposite. I woke up this morning feeling tightness. Almost everywhere. My shoulders were a mess. My hamstrings were wound tight, like a spring. My back and chest felt like they were constrained a straightjacket. Initially, all I wanted was a quick release, a salvation of some sorts. It wasn’t forthcoming. I didn’t have a path. So, I stretched and did some yoga. Then, I sat for 30 minutes, just tryi...

Tension breeds the awareness of harmony. The presence of one thing indicates the absence of its opposite. I woke up this morning feeling tightness. Almost everywhere. My shoulders were a mess. My hamstrings were wound tight, like a spring. My back and chest felt like they were constrained a straightjacket. Initially, all I wanted was a quick release, a salvation of some sorts. It wasn’t forthcoming. I didn’t have a path. So, I stretched and did some yoga. Then, I sat for 30 minutes, just tryi...

When exploring a new city or new place, we are “filling in the map.” Slowly, as we probe new streets or new corners of the building, the unfamiliar becomes familiar. Discomfort morphs, gradually, into comfort. We figure things out. Get the lay of the land. For me, whatever that means, the mindscape, the mindspace, is a vast frontier for exploration. Slowly, sometimes painstakingly slowly, the beam of an awareness flashlight reveals another area. Sometimes, the reaction is fear and terror. I t...

When exploring a new city or new place, we are “filling in the map.” Slowly, as we probe new streets or new corners of the building, the unfamiliar becomes familiar. Discomfort morphs, gradually, into comfort. We figure things out. Get the lay of the land. For me, whatever that means, the mindscape, the mindspace, is a vast frontier for exploration. Slowly, sometimes painstakingly slowly, the beam of an awareness flashlight reveals another area. Sometimes, the reaction is fear and terror. I t...

If the proverbial tree falls in the forest, does it make a sound? If I can “hear” it in my mind, it does. If I “hear” nothing in my mind, it does not. The question leads to an image of a tree being conjured in the mind. And the issue of sound is resolved in the mind. We think-or at least I think- of a “world” in my head and a world outside of my head. But the birds chirping, the breeze flowing, the waves crashing….those are all in my head, in my mind. Whatever I am thinking of is in my mind. ...

If the proverbial tree falls in the forest, does it make a sound? If I can “hear” it in my mind, it does. If I “hear” nothing in my mind, it does not. The question leads to an image of a tree being conjured in the mind. And the issue of sound is resolved in the mind. We think-or at least I think- of a “world” in my head and a world outside of my head. But the birds chirping, the breeze flowing, the waves crashing….those are all in my head, in my mind. Whatever I am thinking of is in my mind. ...

Sitting like a round stone, it pulls me down. Behind my solar plexus. Like the tension of a muscular knot. There’s an invisible weight that I carry. It’s a fear, a terror, of scarcity. Of not having enough. Of running out. And around me, there’s an energy field. Almost like you’d see in a movie. It’s an energy field of fear. Constricting me, it tells me…”you always need to be afraid, afraid of not having enough, of running out.” There’s a survival thing going on, I suspect. Some of its physic...

Sitting like a round stone, it pulls me down. Behind my solar plexus. Like the tension of a muscular knot. There’s an invisible weight that I carry. It’s a fear, a terror, of scarcity. Of not having enough. Of running out. And around me, there’s an energy field. Almost like you’d see in a movie. It’s an energy field of fear. Constricting me, it tells me…”you always need to be afraid, afraid of not having enough, of running out.” There’s a survival thing going on, I suspect. Some of its physic...

We’re all in the narrative selling business. We observe the animate, inanimate, physical, and metaphysical world around us and then, like organizing an overstuffed closet, the contents of which have been tossed on the floor, we start to try and make sense of things. Winter clothes go here. Summer clothes here. Or clothes we haven’t worn in years, we donate and others we bring back to our daily routine. It doesn’t matter what sorting algorithm we use, but what matters-and what’s difficult for ...

We’re all in the narrative selling business. We observe the animate, inanimate, physical, and metaphysical world around us and then, like organizing an overstuffed closet, the contents of which have been tossed on the floor, we start to try and make sense of things. Winter clothes go here. Summer clothes here. Or clothes we haven’t worn in years, we donate and others we bring back to our daily routine. It doesn’t matter what sorting algorithm we use, but what matters-and what’s difficult for ...

Attached to the past. Memories, emotions, sensations that once were present are now gone. But they linger, somewhere. And in that somewhere, there’s a yearning to have them again, to experience them “one more time.” But it’s not possible. The cake isn’t as good as was remembered. And the comparison itself changes the experience, making it different, by defintion. It’s all new. It always was. Always will be. Yet, even if that’s known, it doesn’t make it easy to let go.

Attached to the past. Memories, emotions, sensations that once were present are now gone. But they linger, somewhere. And in that somewhere, there’s a yearning to have them again, to experience them “one more time.” But it’s not possible. The cake isn’t as good as was remembered. And the comparison itself changes the experience, making it different, by defintion. It’s all new. It always was. Always will be. Yet, even if that’s known, it doesn’t make it easy to let go.

It sits like a heavy stone, deep in my belly. There’s a rumble. A wave of energy passes through. A project-a series of whats and hows- are done. A new project hasn’t started yet. So there’s a gap, a space, where the brain can’t be satisfied with “being busy” with something that is tangible and can be solved. Instead, there’s that ache, a tug, a yearning…”why are we here?” “Why are we doing this?” “Why is this important?” The natural, understandable desire is to run from it. To get distracted ...

It sits like a heavy stone, deep in my belly. There’s a rumble. A wave of energy passes through. A project-a series of whats and hows- are done. A new project hasn’t started yet. So there’s a gap, a space, where the brain can’t be satisfied with “being busy” with something that is tangible and can be solved. Instead, there’s that ache, a tug, a yearning…”why are we here?” “Why are we doing this?” “Why is this important?” The natural, understandable desire is to run from it. To get distracted ...

There’s a beautiful custom in Japan-or at least there was when I was there-that when the cleaning crew comes off the Shinkansen bullet train, there’s an announcement that says “Dear customers, we are honored to have had the opportunity to clean this train for your journey” or something like that. Then, the cleaning crew bows to the customers (who are patiently waiting in a straight line) and the customers bow to the cleaning crew. I’ve never seen such dignity given to such typically “low stat...

There’s a beautiful custom in Japan-or at least there was when I was there-that when the cleaning crew comes off the Shinkansen bullet train, there’s an announcement that says “Dear customers, we are honored to have had the opportunity to clean this train for your journey” or something like that. Then, the cleaning crew bows to the customers (who are patiently waiting in a straight line) and the customers bow to the cleaning crew. I’ve never seen such dignity given to such typically “low stat...

Sitting in stillness, I feel the breeze arrives. It arrives from one side and flows across my arms and face. Soon though, I feel its effects inside, almost as if it is gently winding its way through my internal organs, wrapping them in a cocoon of tranquility. I feel whole, connected to the universe, to the moment, and to eternity. All at once. Then, of course, it is gone. Maybe not the breeze, but the awareness of the breeze. My mind goes elsewhere, momentarily. But the breeze, a breeze, of ...

Sitting in stillness, I feel the breeze arrives. It arrives from one side and flows across my arms and face. Soon though, I feel its effects inside, almost as if it is gently winding its way through my internal organs, wrapping them in a cocoon of tranquility. I feel whole, connected to the universe, to the moment, and to eternity. All at once. Then, of course, it is gone. Maybe not the breeze, but the awareness of the breeze. My mind goes elsewhere, momentarily. But the breeze, a breeze, of ...