Mindful Moments (Text)

Mindful Moments are sent out on Sundays, intended to be thought provoking and we accept moments from our larger community.

Daily Exercise

“This exercise requires no movement, no thinking and most of all no judgement or evaluation” After you are awake and ...

Martin Luther King, Jr.

“I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war ...

Age

As i began living my 74th year, years, months, hours and minutes have all become much less significant. As i ...

Crap

As in Who Gives a Crap! This is what corporate responsibility looks like: https://us.whogivesacrap.org/pages/about-us Recently i received notice that the ...

Perspective

Yesterday, a relatively powerful storm interrupted electrical power to 219,000 households in Maine. Today, some were told that it may ...

Fall colors

There are a million differentiated colors on display in New England in the US at this time of year! And ...

IN THE FACE MIRACLES

Right this second you are participating in an absolute miracle. The question is, do you experience it? If you are ...

Breathing

It doesn’t sound like much. Or does it. To me, each breath means I am still alive and that life ...

Evil

Evil is a concept begun to allow us to act as if it were a force beyond our influence. Nothing ...

Ownership Does Not Equal Guilt

In the situations I have witnessed, there is no divine intervention. All we have is each other. We create our ...

Loving Kindness or Other

There are only two conditions: LOVING KINDNESS and OTHER. To work for peace, you must have a peaceful heart. To ...

Want

Wanting something is quite different than believing our happiness has anything to do with that person, place or thing. Happiness ...

Capacity

The Dalai Lama has said that “compassion occurs only between equals.” The capacity for everything resides within each of us ...

Goodness

See and observe those who approach each person with love, kindness and compassion. Perhaps our greatest service is simply to ...

Within You, AND the Person Next to You!

The power to repair the world is already in you. When someone blesses you, it reminds you a little – ...

Personally

Nelson Mandela, “As long as poverty, injustice and gross inequality persist in our world, none of us can truly rest.” ...

Confusion; Really?

"These things will destroy the human race: politics without principle, progress without compassion, wealth without work, learning without silence, religion ...

Conundrum

"A World That Works for Everyone" creates a conundrum for most people. If we believe it can be created, we ...

Allow

Allow us to be present to one and other. Encourage us to be present enough to know when silent support ...

Simplicity

Who have we loved today? To whom have we contributed our time, energy and/or money? Is it clear to us ...

Choice in Weather

In Maine and London there have been a significant number of rainy/cloudy days this Spring, perhaps even more than usual ...

EARTH FAMILY

If we use the Judeo-Christian story of CREATION, one cell from Adam, one from Eve, creating a single cell and ...

Doubt

Whenever you are in doubt or when the self becomes too much with you, try the following expedient: Recall the ...

Tony deMello said these are the most difficult things to achieve:

To return love for hate. To include the excluded. To admit that you were wrong. Which of these will we ...

Good Questions

From Matt Anderson, answered as best I can. My idea of a love letter! With all the love I know! ...

Service

Over the past few years, I have had the privilege of working with hundreds of people in various branches and ...

Engage

How things turn out for our world will depend solely upon how every single one of us chooses to act ...

We

“He said that if you are angry with your brother, you are already in hell. Anger is hell. You only ...

Damage

Each time we speak in a damaging way about another person, we are actually revealing our own fear and insecurity ...

OMG

What causes you (and me) to be trapped is what we call personal importance. Personal importance, or taking things personally, ...

The Mirror

In the situations I have witnessed, there is no divine intervention. All we have is each other. We create our ...

Love

Love is a gift. It must be given without expectation of return. If we expect something in return for our ...

Patience

In the great scheme of things, it is often wise to remember that what people do has nothing to do ...

Illusion

Many people who could previously not vote, can now. Women, people of color, immigrants. There are laws against segregation in ...

Misplaced Outrage

Another horrendous shooting, this time in New Zealand. Hand wringing. Outrage. What is completely misunderstood is that there is only ...

Knowing

The more I know, the more I know that I really know nothing for certain. And the more I see ...

The Value of Self

"We can never judge the lives of others, because each person knows only their own pain and renunciation. It's one ...

Absolutely

Over the past few decades there has been a good deal of conversation about making a difference in the world ...

Happiness

Almost every person you know has a list of things that make them "happy." The right dinner, view, partner, friend, ...

Failure

Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently. - Henry Ford What have you failed at recently? ...

Aliveness

"The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at ...

Silence

Look at trees, the ocean, a leaf, a stone, a plant, anything, Imagine the process of how they were created ...

Anger

When we are well, feeling good about ourselves and someone comes along and messes up something we are working on ...

Simplicity

"Waking up this morning, I smile. Twenty-four brand new hours are before me. I vow to live fully in each ...

Mystery

We are surrounded by magnificent, beautiful and wondrous pieces of a magical universe! Why is it we spend much of ...

Worship

"The various religions are like different roads converging on the same point. What difference does it make if we follow ...

Fear

"The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at ...

Perspective

"We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." — Anaïs Nin The moment i begin to ...

Knowledge

"We can never judge the lives of others, because each person knows only their own pain and renunciation. It's one ...

Simplicity

The vast majority of the most important things, issues and priorities are really quite simple to address. Is what I ...

Responsibility vs Blame, Fault & Shame

The election of Donald Trump is the manifestation of values we have practiced as a country for decades. Money and ...

Anger

About forty years ago, I discovered that any anger I felt was absolutely about me. How dare this condition exist ...

Trust

We are trusted to do the best we know how to do each moment of our lives. There will be ...

Value

Have you ever noticed that the people selling the least reliable products usually have the most aggressive sales tactics? Why ...

Music

Everyone has her or his own taste in music. Why would I ever assume it was my prerogative to play ...

Silence

Just the possibility usually brings up a spontaneous reaction. Generally speaking people either love the idea/and or experience of silence ...

A World That Works for Everyone

Who benefits most from war, conflict, strife and adversity at a global level? Certainly not the soldiers, or their families ...

The War on Drugs

The only possible end to a “war” on drugs is to acknowledge that the drugs have won and always will ...

Motivation

Can you see that if there is anything that you would or would not do if it were suddenly no ...

On Being Human

There is one thing we can never do ….. We cannot fail at being human. We have been raised to ...

Wild Thing

“I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself.” — D.H. Lawrence How is it that so much of our lives ...

Small Children

Small children who are born into loving, consistent, compassionate homes, tend to exude curiosity, loving-kindness, understanding and courage. Perhaps the ...

Colonization of the Moon

Grace shared a video about some folks’ ideas regarding ways to colonize the Moon. Why would we dare to think ...

Ideas

The world is full of good ideas. Have you ever noticed how differently people react when you share your experience? ...

Toilet Paper

If you ask most people they will tell you that it is simply a matter of personal choice whether the ...

Creation

Happiness and satisfaction never arise because of the behavior of others. They are places to come from, not to be ...

Candor

Not telling someone what you really think about an issue is the same as not giving them your best. Why ...

This Second

This second can be the beginning of an entirely new way of being. Are you willing to commit to it ...

Arrogance

"We can never judge the lives of others, because each person knows only their own pain and renunciation. It's one ...

Toilets and Gratitude

One third of the world’s population does not have access to a toilet. That’s 2.3 Billion people. The leading cause ...

Now

Now is this second only. The past is gone and can only be learned from. The future is concepts, not ...

Igor

There is an angel-winged begonia next to my desk. From time to time, Igor has been eight feet wide and ...

Beauty

Many old lines are grounded in the truth. For example, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” What would ...

Quiet

Imagine the place in the world where you experienced the greatest sense of tranquility. It could be a mountain, the ...

Today

Today is a gift. Are you above ground and breathing? Can you see that there is a choice about how ...

Enlightened Capitalism

The top 1% of the richest people in the United States own more than the bottom 90 percent combined. The ...

The Small Letter (i)

Of late, i have been experimenting with using the small letter i instead of capitalizing it. As i do that, ...

EVERYTHING

Everything you see in other people, their strengths, courage and determination as well as their weaknesses, damage, fear and hatred ...

Water

There is an old expression, “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.” First they ...

Dying

Why is the suicide rate among soldiers so high? Could it be that they were asked to do and did ...

Refugees

There would be no refugees or children dying in explosions if there were no war. Do you really believe that ...

A World That Works for Everyone

Grace and I recently launched a website describing how we can create A World That Works for Everyone and we ...

Mirror

Always, when I travel, I am reminded that this is the last second I have any guarantee of. Buses, Planes, ...

Righteousness

Any belief system (religion, philosophy) that claims to be the only “right way,” is surely wrong. What might change in ...

Mastery

Father Tony DeMello said that the following are the most difficult things to achieve: To include the excluded. To exchange ...

DNA

Every one of your 10 to 50 trillion cells know how to recreate you down to the smallest detail. That ...

Deceived

The reality is that 7 billion of us are deceived daily. What has deceived us is actually our own minds ...

PEACE

Peace is not a place to get to; it is a place to come from. What will we bring into ...

GRATITUDE

Are we grateful for the running water in our homes? Are we grateful for hot water? Are we grateful for ...

BEAUTY

No one is any more beautiful than another. In some cultures if you do not have three-inch wooden implants in ...

HAPPY NEW YEAR or NOT

A Happy New Year is not a function of anything that might happen or you might receive in the New ...

Gifts

Please, please do not get too caught up in the idea of giving gifts, that is tokens of affection in ...

Simplicity

Simplicity I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, ...

Hate

Hate We have come to a time where we have become quite good at justifying our hate for this person ...

Thanksgiving

Giving Love Thanks Gratitude Ownership Truth Renewal Each year I learn more about the truth surrounding the founding of America ...

You

How is it you will be today? Not what will you do. Rather how will you be in the face ...

Marguerite Ann Johnson

Original article appeared on The Jon S. Randal Peace Page She was raped at the age of 8. Her rapist ...

Colors

In the fall in northeastern portion of the United States there is a display of color that is spectacular. There ...

Guarantee

If this is the only second you have any guarantee of, and it is, Do you want your contribution to ...

Value

The value and worth of every person is a given. Some have achieved great things. Others have created chaos and ...

Living

Living If we are really living, there is no fear of death. There is only making the best possible use ...

Being Awake

Being Awake "To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable ...

Breathing

Imagine you have stopped breathing. There is no need to do anything. You have no obligations, responsibilities, debt, nothing to ...

Presence

If the “I” in you doesn’t want to be here, What is it that causes you to stay? ...

Care

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children. - Native American Proverb It ...

Affection

What might happen if you gave up any expectation of ever having physical intimacy ever again? Did everything you could ...

Status Quo

The world is exactly as we want it to be. How would we behave if that were not the truth? ...

Staying the Course

Oct 27, 1858, Roland Macy opened Macy's Department Store in New York City. It was Macy's eighth business venture -- ...

Humility

"We can never judge the lives of others, because each person knows only their own pain and renunciation. It's one ...

Death

An appreciation that this is the only second you have any guarantee of creates the opportunity for deep gratitude for ...

Career and/or Passion

Young people who find something they love to do and do that with all their might report that their lives ...

Time as a Concept

"Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given ...

Capacity Within

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." -Anne Frank Those ...

Changing the World

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing ...

Perspective

In 1977, Landon Carter, Neil Mahoney, Levy Swindell and I made a presentation regarding the peaceful desegregation of the Cleveland, ...

Justice

Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are. - Benjamin Franklin ...

Grass

Look carefully at a blade of grass or an anthill. Can you explain why after having been frozen solid for ...

Everything Counts

Until we examine everything we do to see if it moves us closer to a World That Works for Everyone, ...

Honor

It will be my honor to attend the Change of Command Ceremonies for the 158th Fighter Wing of the Vermont ...

Damage

One of the largest non-profit organizations I know (which has done some solid work in the past) just fired 100 ...

Miracle

If you look into the eyes of a child (below is Jacob Howlett, Katie Abbott and Nigel Howlett's son), you ...

All Inclusive

In relationship to anything: laws, businesses, schools, public policies, everything, there is one question that must be asked in every ...

Dogs

Dogs (Service Dogs Specifically) are now recognized as splendid medicine for those who suffer from anxiety, PTSD and a host ...

Seconds

If you were awake for 16 hours yesterday, that would amount to 57,600 seconds. For how many of those 57,600 ...

Imagine

John Lennon’s song was about a World That Works for Everyone. If you personally believe it is not possible to ...

Two Minds

It seems to me, especially of late, that the human mind has two distinct functions. 1. The first is as ...

Simplicity

Whenever you are in doubt or the self becomes too much with you, try the following expedient: Recall the face ...

The Mirror

There’s a good deal of being angry going on right now. I’d be a whole lot more confident about tomorrow ...

Ownership

Today London. Yesterday, 9-11 and Columbine. Mother Nature is the only one who commits random acts of violence. I have ...

Judgement

Judgment and evaluation fills the air these days. I wonder what it would take for us to remember that our ...

Sun, Moon, Ocean, Babies

Any of the above, immediately, if I really look at them, put me in touch with what I mean when ...

Listen

Have you ever noticed that there are two ways to listen to a person? You can listen to their mind ...

Contribution

The capacity for all things resides within all people. That means that what I do in this moment might be ...

Presence

What is the most magical thing you will see, hear, touch, or experience today? Can you see that there is ...

Clarity of Perception

When we hear phrases such as, “Love you. Love you to death! Happy Valentine’s Day,” are we not able to ...

Anger

In our striving to correct wrongs and find ways to contribute, it seems quite often that we rationalize our anger, ...

Meaning

Self-care is a hollow achievement if we do not use our well selves in service of all beings. How else ...

Inauguration

in·au·gu·ra·tion iˌnôɡ(y)əˈrāSH(ə)n/ noun 1. the beginning or introduction of a system, policy, or period. - the formal admission of someone ...

Seeing

If when you look at another person, you do not see miracle, Might you consider going to an Ophthalmologist for ...

Misunderstanding

You are such a huge contribution by how you are being and through each thing you say and do. There ...

Miracle in the Mirror

Miracle is you. Miracle is all around you. May the New Year be an exploration of this glorious miracle ...

Celebration

Merry Christmas Happy Bodhi Day Happy Hanukkah Happy Kwanza If these celebrations don’t mean anything to us, what might that ...

Damage Begets Damage

Have you noticed an increase in rash driving, speech and behavior? Perhaps, now, we can own our unwellness? ...

Ultimate Reality

"A world that works for everyone" is neither a concept or a pipe dream. Could it be that it is ...

Complicity

How much tolerance do you have for people denigrating or insulting others? Whom does that make complicit in the situation? ...

Getting Things Done

Are you aware that all truly effective civil disobedience has always been loving and kind? ...

Contribution

If the next thing you contemplate doing is not loving and kind...... What sort of contribution do you believe it ...

Behavior Modifier

If, in order for me to love you, you have to perform in a particular way, do things I “request” ...

Absolute and Unconditional

In one of my recent classes, a student said in the second week that they were absolutely sure that there ...

Love Bigots

In 1964, Alice Boothby, wife of my Mentor, Albert Boothby, for whom this organization was named, was run off the ...

Cell Development

Every cell in the human body contains the exact plan necessary to create each one of us. All cells in ...

A Mighty Purpose

This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; ...

Observation

Albert Boothby told me I had more to learn from every person than I would ever know. Could it be ...

Perspective

If I do not experience that I live in a miracle, my life becomes about either proving I am right ...

Your Worth in the World

Christ hung out with “sinners” and got along with them very well because he knew he was not one bit ...

Breathing

Breathing is the simplest access road I know to experiencing miracle. Stop breathing for a while in order to experience ...

Simple Not Easy

We know what to do. We’ve been told a thousand times. Love one another. Everyone, no exceptions. Give up all ...

Gifts

Joy arrived at about an hour and a half ago with her new service dog, a lovely rottie, lab, shepherd ...

Taking Our Own Best Medicine

From the heart of Grace M. Smith Have you ever noticed when your friends or children are overworked, up too ...

Perspective From Tiny Creatures

From the heart of Grace M. Smith Some years ago, I saw an ant; its tiny body scurrying across the ...

Sensations and Sounds

From the heart of Grace M. Smith Today I chose to be present to sensations and sounds. I closed my ...

The Body Speaks

From the heart of Grace M. Smith My body was feeling sluggish and bogged down. I had been hard at ...

Care of Self

The mainstream grocery stores in our little towns in Maine are carrying more and more organic and Non-GMO food. Could ...

One Second Only

If it is true that we have NO GUARANTEE of what will happen in the next second, and it is, ...

People into Trees

“When you go out into the woods and you look at trees, you see all these different trees. And some ...

Love the Bigot, Hate the Behavior

I was told today that in addition to there being a plethora of Trump signs in Maine these days, there ...

“BE”

From the heart of Grace M. Smith… Have you ever noticed the eyes of some adults light up when they ...

Light Beyond Light

From the heart of Grace M. Smith… Every night when the skies are clear, I gaze out the bay window ...

No Complaints

When things are not going well in our immediate surroundings, it is more difficult to realize that we are a ...

Gratitude as Experience

As you look at the Sun or light from it tomorrow, see if there is gratitude in your heart for ...

Speed

The earth’s rotation around the sun means that a person sitting at the Equator is traveling at roughly 69,000 miles ...

Precious

If you could see that this is the only second you have any guarantee of, how would you behave? ...

Sexy

In some cultures, unless you have three inch pieces of wood imbedded in your lower lip and ear lobes, you ...

Re-Creating Miracle

What kinds of feelings do you experience when you look into the loving eyes of your children/parents? (Or even pictures ...

Life in a Rocket

When you were born, you had 36,792,000 minutes to live. 24 X 60 X 365 X 70 = 36,792,000. Assume ...

Think Carefully

The keys to “miracle” are all around us and yet we do not see it. Think, very carefully about the ...

John Lennon

A world that works for everyone... can only be created by family. That would be our family of 7 Billion, ...

Being vs. Doing

Nothing you have ever done will be as important, significant and possibly life altering as How you are being in ...

“Seeing” the Truth

In the moment when I can see that I am a miracle, Which does not translate to attractive, “successful” or ...

Natural Knowing!

Whatever you perceive in others is within you. How else would you be able to recognize it? ...

Perspective

A world that works for everyone will actually be a spectacular experience. How would it be if your grandchildren had ...

Owning Donald Trump

Donald Trump has become a serious contender for President of the United States. There is a great deal of angst ...

Opportunity

The “Miracles” I talk about have nothing to do with incredible acts of nature or scientific discoveries that boggle the ...

Ownership

When we are upset and angry, we often have a list of “causes” that is lengthy. I wonder why when ...

Responsibility

What are the ingredients of a world that works for everyone? Who is included? Who is excluded? What makes us ...

Producing Solutions

At a global level, there is no known correlation between the “religion” of a country and the degree of wellness ...

Prejudice Will End When Hearts Have Changed, Not Just Laws

I watched a national news program in the United States on Martin Luther King Day. The news anchor was a ...

Worry

I am increasingly aware of people speaking as if they were afraid of things - terrorist activity, financial crisis, the ...

Abuse

Have you ever adopted a dog that had been abused before you took care of her/him? If you watch carefully, ...

Pope

January 18th is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the U.S. While I never met Dr. King, it was very ...

Weather as Trainer?

Today it is raining heavily. This is January in Maine. It is supposed to be snowing. What might happen if ...

Flow

Every second there is a new picture to be seen in every place in the world. Nothing is static. Why ...

Internal Access

Let us assume that a particular person is able to inspire, motivate and empower the people surrounding them. Who would ...

In the Blink of an Eye

One of my daughter’s classmates in high school is now Chief of Police (with 20 plus officers reporting to him) ...

One Step at a Time

The climate accord reached in Paris this week pleases some and not all. It is, none the less, a step ...

Agreements and Equanimity

The keeping of agreements or lack of same contributes to one’s equanimity. How do you feel when you keep an ...

Ownership

If I am part of any institution, family, business, church, union or team, how can I act as if I ...

Arrogance in Church

Churches have failed to produce a "world that works for everyone" because they spend so much energy attempting to demonstrate ...

Capacity

It interests me that people find entertainment in things that do not move forward the human condition. I wonder what ...

Fear

This is the only second we have any guarantee of. At some point we will die and our bodies will ...

Too Good

If we can conceive it, it is highly likely we can create it. I can imagine every facet of a ...

Discipline

"It is because we have at the present moment everybody claiming the right of conscience without going through any discipline ...

Mine

We spend a great deal of time talking about what others do or do not do. What is it that ...

Beginner’s Eyes

Today I went to the ocean with a thirty-four year old who has been to the ocean twice in her ...

Access Miracle

Sometime today (or very soon) spend 60 seconds looking into the eyes of those closest in your life. Look at ...

Reality

Finally figured out a way to demonstrate miracle. The sun will not come up tomorrow. Questions? ...

Enlightened Self Interest

The only reason a person damages another is because they do not value themselves. Can you see why each of ...

Full of Story

Perhaps the reason we struggle so much with the idea that we live in a “miracle” is due to the ...

Perspective (Mathematically Speaking)

Perspective There are between 10 and 50 trillion cells in the human body. (That, by the way, is the closest ...

Beyond Comprehension

In the time it takes you to read this “mindful moment,” the universe has expanded somewhere between 2 million and ...

Staying Stuck

A wannamle (a totally fictitious creature, of course) is one who complains about everything constantly. Everything is always someone else’s ...

We Make Shanaynay Up

Today it did not rain; perhaps tomorrow it will. Why would my mood or attitude be affected by the presence ...

Reactivation

In my experience everyone gets reactivated once in a while. How can there be any other reason for this other ...

It IS Possible

Love, loving-kindness, kindness, presence, equanimity. All of these words and/or the states of being they represent are considered to be ...

Healing

A person said to me today that their real passion was healing people. There was no question in my mind ...

Connection

Loving all people doesn't mean loving some people. Is there anyone today I have not held in a place of ...

Sounds Like a Plan to Me

Pope Francis is doing an OUTSTANDING JOB! He is asking the church and all his people (which I feel includes ...

Ownership

There are no random acts of violence. There are plenty of acts of violence that are produced by the behavior ...

End to Violence

Another brutal murder in South Carolina last week and a virtual miracle has occurred. The people of Charleston chose to ...

Reality Check

There is an acid test for those who believe their "success" has anything to do with their worth in the ...

You Are The One

God and the Buddha have been spoken of as the ground of being of ultimate Loving-Kindness. What makes you think ...

Loving-Kindness

Loving-Kindness is not circumstance dependent. There are only two conditions: Loving-Kindness and other. What choice will you make in this ...

Receptivity

Loving-Kindness is not an add-on, concept, idea, philosophy, notion or something to be discussed. It is something that can only ...

Proving I Don’t Matter

Why is it that those who can least afford it often smoke and/or drink heavily? If I don't believe I ...

Bliss

Unconditional love has no expectations! Could it be that is why it is such a sweet, lovely feeling to experience? ...

You Cannot Give What You Do Not Have

Knowing that you are loved absolutely and without condition is the most magnificent, warm, wonderful, lovely feeling I know. No ...

Self-Care

There are between 10 and 50 trillion cells in the human body. To how many of them were you kind ...

Perspective

Let’s assume you have 50 million dollars in the bank. Would you trade the smile on your child’s face for ...

We Know What?

In the great scheme of things, we don't know much. Is there life on other planets? In what fishbowl do ...

The Miracle of People

There are occasional moments when I wonder what might have happened if I had done things differently. And then I ...

Junkies

One of the people who responded to "A World That Works For Everyone" said that probably wouldn't fly because people ...

Only Second

We are all going to die (transition) someday. What might happen if we really acted as if we understood the ...

Have or Make?

David Hartman, the original host of Good Morning America, taught me about the idea of creating the experience of a ...

Pay It Forward

I'm grateful for YOU! For the capacity for loving-kindness in you! The caring within you! The grace within you! And ...

Persistence

During its most successful year, www.thehungersite.com generated 3.7 metric tons of food. Last year, they generated 1.6 metric tons. The ...

Priority # 1

My definition of effective parenting is to deliver the experience of being loved without condition, that your value and worth ...

Why Gild a Lily?

Every single person is beautiful is some unique way. My Father, God rest his soul, used to ask, “Why would ...

Last Second

If this were the last second you had any guarantee of, what would you be doing? Why aren't you doing ...

Perspective

Does life seem busier than before, more hectic, more full of responsibilities? Could it be that in this moment we ...

Truth vs. Experience

The truth is an experience. Is it possible that the same thing believed can be a lie? ...

Heart vs. Thinker

Every major religion in the world has been talking about loving people and the need for human kindness. Most of ...

Experience vs. Thought

A few days ago, I tore the tendon in my left elbow that attaches to the muscles in the top ...

“Real Love” vs Concepts

When I first read Greg Baer's pivotal book, "Real Love," the moment I finished it, I called him on the ...

Bully

The only people who bully or insult other people are fearful, insecure and do not value themselves. What kind of ...

Communication in a World That Works for Everyone

If you speak ill of another person, you contribute to the problem. If you disagree with another’s actions, you might ...

You

There is a tremendous amount to be done in the world to make it a world that works for everyone ...

Capacity for Loving and Being Loved

All people are born with the capacity for loving and being loved absolutely and unconditionally. If you had never caught ...

Enlightened Capitalism

According to Forbes magazine, the 400 richest people in the world hold assets equivalent to the assets of half of ...

Cacophony

"There seems to be constant noise in the lives of many these days, from radios to MP3’s, TVs, etc. It ...

Damage Ending

People who are fearful and insecure need to be loved without condition in order to stop damaging themselves and others ...

Trash Talk

There is a great deal of negative communication in the world today, which includes insulting and humiliating all kinds of ...

No Damage Zone

There is a kind of tranquility and peacefulness that surrounds being in a place of loving-kindness. Could that be part ...

Take a Look

Most of us learned to look directly at another person, as if we were paying 100% attention. Do you believe ...

Boko Haram

Will anyone join me in offering ourselves up in exchange for those 300 children held in Nigeria? What are you ...

Self-Righteousness

Believing you are right means that you have not one chance of being anything but wrong. If you are sure, ...

Terrorism in the Mirror

James Foley was killed by every person who treats another with anger, upset, self-righteousness or arrogance. Can you see that ...

End Hunger

We have made progress. In 1971, roughly 75,000 people died each day from hunger and persistent starvation. Today the number ...

Resisting Reality

The weather is an extremely powerful trainer. It is a constant reminder of the fact that what is, is. Where ...

Precious Children

Tell me how important your work will be if one of your children were to die suddenly in their youth? ...

Reality vs. Mind

When the mind takes over it is amazingly easy to get caught up in thoughts of worry, anxiety, have and ...

Sunlight

The sun is streaming in my office window. The beautiful soft light and the warming rays fill the soul as ...

Owning the Planet

Are we responsible for contributing to the well-being of the planet? Why would we have been given the ability to ...

Sea Ice

Recently a very high tide brought huge chunks of frozen seawater up on the banks of the cove in the ...

Ending Hunger

When I began working on ending hunger and persistent starvation in the early 70s, over seventy thousand people a day ...

Life or Death

Ten days ago, a very dear friend of mine who is 87 had a three-artery bypass and valve replacement surgery ...

Giving of Thanks, Really!

Thanksgiving is one of those days that would be terrific to celebrate every day, if we were truly grateful for ...

Last Second

If this were the last second you had any guarantee of, how would you be spending it? In actuality, it ...

Inconsideration = Insecurity and Fear

I am perplexed by what seems to be a very difficult road sign / law to understand: Drive right, Pass ...

Silence

For an hour today, sit quietly without any music, TV, cell-phone or other distraction. What is the most important sound ...

Idiot Box

Try the following exercise. Turn off the television in your house for an entire week. What is it you think ...

Terror as Wake-Up, Not Fear

A pretty good indicator of the need to slow down is when we lose track of what day it is ...

Results

Tonight I went to We’re The Millers, a movie that young Matt Schweppe has a small part in. The cast ...

Godlessness

Any individual or institution that claims to have "the only pathway or access" to God has absolutely nothing to do ...

Us as Road Kill

Today, I saw a newly killed squirrel lying in the road. I imagined the running, gathering, seeming happy existence of ...

What Do You Know for Sure?

It is said that the universe is expanding at the rate of between 100,000 and 2 million miles a second ...

Democracy at Risk

Today, I heard a story from a very high-ranking official in the Maine state government who I know to always ...

Institutional Focus

The last three days have been spent in federal/state briefings for a project we are about to begin in six ...

Goals Do Not Equal Expectations

Anything that becomes an expectation is highly likely to end up being a source of disappointment. What might the advantage ...

Nothing is Sexy

If you study the nature of “sexuality” in various cultures, you will discover that each culture values very different things ...

Focus

In moments when I am clear that we live in a miracle, almost nothing occupies my mind in a negative ...

Attention

Driving today on a narrow country road, I saw about 200 yards of buttercup flowers lining the edge of the ...

They Can

Watching Maria Sharapova play tennis is a demonstration of how to be present in the moment. Whatever happened one second ...

New Alarm Clock

As I awake in the morning, the miracle of life through the process of breathing washes over me. What can ...

Letting Go

The tide is going out in the cove and the sun is coming to rest for the day. What is ...

Family

It has been pointed out that I take things in the world very seriously. I take them far more seriously ...

An End to Violence and Damage

Not long ago, someone asked me what I would do if we had accomplished an end to all violence and ...

Ending Hunger and Starvation

For just a moment, image that today there were no children without food or anyone without shelter. What difference would ...

Loving-Kindness

There is no sound that goes with the experience of loving-kindness. It can be felt in the heart. What might ...

Consideration

I wonder what might happen if every individual and corporation, before taking action, considered the effect of actions they contemplate ...

Family

Each morning, I hold seven billion souls in my heart in a place of loving kindness. When I first attempted ...

Weather as Trainer

We had just short of five feet of snow in the month of February. Last year we had three inches ...

We Are the Issue

March 8th was International Women’s Day. Conversation abounds regarding ending individual and institutional violence against women. When are we going ...

Talk is Not Communication

ATT is now offering a new Application for their cell phones which will allow us to surf the net simultaneously ...

Ownership

Solutions to the world’s greatest problems are immediately available to us the moment we see them as our problems. Can ...

Equanimity

Equanimity is an internal sense of peace, not dependent in any way on external circumstances. How often during the day ...

Sun Power

The sun is often celebrated as the giver of light and life. What might happen if every time we saw ...

Giving It What You’ve Got

It may be that time in my life where I don’t feel the need to work most of the time ...

Miracle Access

What could you do every day that would allow you to know that you live in a miracle? ...

Being Complete

If this is the last second you have any guarantee of, and IT IS, does everyone you care about know ...

Priorities

If you imagine that you are dead, just for a moment now, see if anything you are worried about really ...

Wishes

If you were ruler of the world what one thing would you want to accomplish? Would you want for money ...

What Goes Around Comes Around

Drivers are more aggressive, self-interested and unconscious than ever before in my experience. Why is it we think that only ...

Introspection is Useful

We are all wrong often. Why is it we cannot see we are never more wrong than when we blame ...

Politics (2012 Election)

This past political campaign in the United States has brought forth all kinds of judgment, character assassination, and self- righteousness ...

We Are the Center of All Solution

All actions are either loving-kindness or a crying out for loving-kindness. Is the next thing you contemplate doing going to ...

Value is Not Based on Achievement

What do Abraham Lincoln, Henry Ford, Walt Disney, Milton Hershey, H.J. Heinz and P.T. Barnum have in common? They all ...

Hunger is Very Personal

What do you think would happen if 35,000 people were dying for no reason in the United States or Great ...

Presence

There are times when words are not only unnecessary, they detract from a situation. In the midst of chaos, the ...

Prepare for the Unexpected

Tonight I reviewed the eulogy a dear friend was writing for one of his best friends, who died very young, ...

Everyday “Miracles”

Miracles in Small Things When the water comes through the shower head, I feel blessed by the miracle of it ...

What We Honor

The Olympics were wonderful! I wonder when we will celebrate achievement and not the worth and value of an individual ...

London, Gracious

It is very exciting for me to go to the UK! Perhaps because my Father was born in Scotland, I ...

The “Little” Things

The smell of freshly cut grass is a distinct, unique experience. I wonder whether there is anything for which that ...

Bully

Here’s how to know whether people who run bullying programs understand the phenomenon. Bullies pick on other people because they ...

Part of the Miracle

The tides in my back yard are around nine feet. They go in and out in such a predictable fashion ...

Energy, Enthusiasm and As If It Were the Most Important Job in the World

The sound of a vacuum cleaner running brings about the recollection of my Mother as she did things of a ...

Letting It In

When you know that you are loved absolutely, without condition and that your value and worth are a given, you ...

Solutions Are In Our Hands

Today is the men’s final at Wimbledon and during a rain delay, the television network did a background piece on ...

Namaste, Where I learned the Word

It is vitally important for me that I remember each day that the person who taught me the real meaning ...

Evolution

Perhaps the spider that washed down the drain this morning in the shower is on the way to becoming the ...

Renewal

It is a glorious, rainy, overcast morning! Would you be different if every drop of rain renewed your experience of ...

Prejudice

I saw a bumper sticker that was louder than the owner, the gun and the Confederate Flag in the window ...

A Thousand Shades of Green

It turns out that grass and leaves are not simply green. In the Spring, there are a thousand shades of ...

You Are A Giant

When we realize that wisdom, loving-kindness, compassion and understanding reside in all people, it changes the nature of our relationship ...

Good Feelings and Gratitude

With three bionic joints and the wearing of my bib-overalls, I was recently told that I had the highest metal ...

The Wisdom of the Ages

If we are ultimately connected to each other through direct biological evolution, either from the seed of Adam and Eve ...

The Air We Share

You and I are sharing air molecules right at this second. I am breathing in air that is, cell by ...

The Fifth Beam

Joel Spingarn, a Trustee of the NAACP (National Association of Colored People), served that organization from 1913 until 1939. He ...

No Exceptions

The gifts of God/Allah/Mother Nature are bestowed on every person, rich, poor, white, black, brown, red and yellow. I wonder ...

Freedom of Speech

Rush Limbaugh has never been a favorite of mine. I’ve seen racism and sexism couched in hundreds of different environments ...

It’s In You Too

There have been recent violent tornadoes in the central part of the United States in the past two months. Among ...

And The Winner Is…

It is my understanding that certain Olympic athletes are being told not to shake hands during the upcoming Olympics for ...

Pushing Up The Daisies

Recently I used the expression "pushing up the daisies" in a mixed-age group of people. No one under the age of ...

Look At Your Wrist

If you want to experience a wild ride, sit in good light and look at your wrist. Don't think about ...

Imagine All The People

Imagine for just a moment that every person you know and every one you don't know knew beyond a shadow ...

Madonna and Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Super Bowl featured a halftime entertainment by Madonna. The most interesting thing I know about her is that she ...

Family Man

A good friend of mine is a highly successful individual. You would recognize many of the people with whom he ...

Nothing To Do

For the first time in a very long while, I arose today with not one agenda item or entry on ...

More Important Than Fame Or Wealth

There are a number of people I know who are not famous or wealthy. They have, however, done a really ...

Financial Perspective

In the midst of a challenging economic cash flow situation, I realized, I was down to about two hundred dollars ...

This Thing Called Love

Loving is a wonderful thing. How can it be that I loved you then and not now because you did ...

How Would It Be?

Knowing that the world is a miraculous experience adds perspective to life. How would it be if this miraculous world ...

Name One Thing

The Buddha warned that 'there is chaos in compounded things." Name one thing that is not connected to another? ...

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Possibilities

The Atlanta airport has the best organized TSA Security system that I have encountered. The lines move quickly, supplies are ...

Help Me Understand

Historically, in Somalia, during periods of drought and hunger, the poorer tribes used to be able to get assistance and ...

A Mouse In The House

During the past few days a very small mouse has been making his presence known in more and more blatant ...

The Tides

Each day the tides go out and come in roughly six hours apart, predictable years in advance. How is that ...

Are We Thankful?

The holiday of Thanksgiving is upon us.  I wonder what might happen if we all were actually thankful each day ...

Speak Your Mind

During an "off the record" interview with a reporter, a number of students at Penn State University said they felt ...

That’s Not Possible

I'm told that loving 6.9 billion people is ridiculous and that nobody can do it or those that say they ...

Democracy

The Political Parties in the United States speak to each other and the individuals in the opposition party as if ...

The Power Of Weather

There is a powerful storm headed up the eastern seaboard of the United States and there was an earthquake near ...

Endless Energy

If you are willing to acknowledge that your worth and value in the world are a given, then you gain ...

Simplicity

If you are willing to give up whatever you think you cannot do without, you will soon realize that you ...

The Preciousness of This Second

"A friend of mine is currently an inpatient in a stem cell transplant unit at a hospital in Rochester, NY.  ...

Loved Absolutely

If you are willing to acknowledge that you are loved absolutely and unconditionally, then you no longer need to waste ...

Do You Love Everyone?

(While a bit out of our usual format, I think you will understand why this moment it is presented without ...

Lessons From a Wood Pigeon

Yesterday in the courtyard of Regents College in London, I saw a spectacular, new (only to me, of course) species ...

Seeing Miracles Even In Pain

Recently, there has been strenuous physical exercise such that the only parts of my body that didn't hurt were my ...

We Can End This Now

The estimates of loss of life as a result of the earth quake and tsunami in Japan are at 17,000 ...

Being High

There is a natural high I have discovered that transcends any high associated with chemical substances or activities. It is ...

Strife

The majority of strife in the world is, at present, about access to money (oil) and the difference of religious ...

Brilliance

Two days ago, there was an ice storm that covered the branches with about a quarter of an inch of ...

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of my life. This second is the only one I have any ...

Precious Relationships

My life is blessed with deep, powerful, long lasting friendships and family. I cannot imagine my life without these spectacular ...

Before Having Children

I just got off the phone with my youngest client. She is nine and wishes her parents weren't going through ...

Miraculousness In Unusual Places

A friend asked me why I wasn't at all concerned about this operation.  I am so into the miracle of ...

Wake Up Call, It’s Life

Each day as part of my morning ritual, I go to www.thebreastcancersite.com, read the story from today’s contributor and click ...

Human Innovation – Bionic Parts

This week, I will be having an operation that will install my third bionic part (two knees done over the ...

It’s Time for a Change

As I often do on Sunday morning, following self-care, I will turn on the CBS program, Sunday Morning, which is ...

Good Tools and Intention

During the holidays, there was a “blizzard” which deposited varying amounts of snow from a few inches to a few ...

Christmas Courteousness

Relatively early on Christmas morning, I drove the three hours from central Maine to Dorchester, just south of Boston, where ...

Department of Peace

“…harness the genius of our citizens not for making weapons, but for building better communications, curing disease, combating hunger and ...

A Great Street Sweeper

If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven ...

Everybody Wins

There is no sensual pleasure in the world comparable to the delight and satisfaction that a good man takes in ...

What Is Your Plan

Life is not holding a good hand; Life is playing a poor hand well. - Danish proverb Imagine you were ...

The Day After Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. It allows us to give thanks for the miracle of life and those ...

Weapons and Words

Blessings from Pat*: A U.S. serviceman who formerly worked with Iraqi troops was interviewed for a radio report on Iraqi ...

Look No Further!

Think of all the most powerful and impactful people you know or have read about and consider that with all ...

Common Sence

There are hundreds of religions around the world. I wonder what it says about us when we do not study ...

Isolation

It is my experience that we have, in general, lost the ability to communicate our differences of opinion while at ...

Innocent Bystanders

The other day I watched as a couple drove into the parking lot of a supermarket, parked and walked toward ...

Perspective

The leaves are turning here in New England. You can feel a chill in the air that conjures up the ...

Hearing

While sitting in the waiting room of the place where I get my car serviced, I began to identify the ...

Priorities

Kirk Ferentz makes a very good salary as coach of the Iowa Hawkeye Football Team. He has been offered five ...

Ageless Wisdom

My Dear Brother recently pointed out that age and wisdom are not necessarily congruent. I wonder what might happen if ...

Concentration

Tennis is a game that requires intense concentration. I wonder why we have not realized that the same concentration is ...

Determination

The longest winning streak in the history of tennis is held by Esther Vergeer at 386 consecutive games. Perhaps you ...

Conundrum

A seemingly bright person I know recently said she was bored. I wonder why I have always assumed that intelligence ...

Absence of Will

It is obviously possible to rebuild continents and countries with the will of the human spirit. I wonder when and ...

Passionate Commitment

Because my Father was born in Edinburg, Scotland, we grew up very aware of the Second World War, the shadow ...

History

The home where I stayed for the majority of my recent visit to England is three hundred years old. I ...

Graciousness

In Great Britain the country roads are narrow, large enough to manage the biggest vehicles and only if people “give ...

Lost Time

I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned ...

Responsibility

Institutions and individuals all over the world know that we have damaged huge portions of our populations. The Dahlit of ...

Beyond Forgiveness

Taking a stand regarding an ethical issue means little until the moment where it is your life or that of ...

Dignity is Not Circumstance Dependent

A man that served his country bravely by every standard we set during the Vietnam war told me he could ...

Interconnectedness

Put human beings in inhuman conditions for long enough and many of us will do anything to survive. What kind ...

Depth

There are people I do not see or speak to for days (and months in some cases) and yet it ...

Aromatic Perspective

Riding on the bus with a student, the familiar intense odor of Spring-spread manure came in the window. I smiled ...

Acknowledgement

I have begun to capitalize Mom and Dad, Mother and Father, when speaking about a specific known individual because I ...

Real Love

I wrote a letter this week in which I almost apologized for loving lots of people. I am so glad ...

Friendship

Tonight I made a wonderful chicken salad. Each time I make this particular meal I think of one person who ...

Awake

On days when I experience the power of loving-kindness, the world seems beautiful, magical and complete. I wonder why, when ...

Reality is Miraculous

I told Diane that I would "create some new moments for the stockpile" this afternoon. In the writing of those ...

The Search for “Truth”

What if the "search for truth" has always been the wrong goal, since truth is always filtered through personal experience? ...

Opportunities in Every Moment Abound.

A small child sees everything as an opportunity. I wonder at what point we begin to decide that certain things ...

Doingness vs Beingness

I have been taking yoga for years and recently found a great new studio. What I am learning is how ...

Our World, Our Family

I wonder what people might not consider as essential items in life. Pleasure boats, vacation homes, make-up, beer, televisions, sound ...

Significance

The Buddha used to say that there were seventeen million mind moments (17,000,000) every second. Isn’t it amazing what can ...

Family of Persons

It is my understanding that people are upset about the idea of paying for health care for everyone in this ...

Blossoming

The last few days have been unseasonably warm here in Maine and the trees are beginning to bud. I wonder ...

Death as Teacher

At sixteen I became less concerned about whether I lived and more concerned about how I live. I wonder whether ...

Contributors

Think about who grew your food, delivered it, cooked it, served it or cleaned up after you. I wonder how ...

Love the Bigot, Dispise the Action

Much of the influence in the world is negative. What might happen if each time that negativity was greeted with ...

Ultimate Well-Being

Each day I look at pictures of people dying from man’s inhumanity to man, of war and hunger. Why is ...

Alive

Today, the sun came up here in West Bath, Maine. What about for you? ...

Privilege

If you are reading this, you are lucky. You are one of the richest people on the globe. If you ...

Simplicity

Dependency on anything beyond the self for solace or tranquility creates a problem in and of itself. I wonder what ...

Horse Sense

A very dear friend of mine has become acutely aware of the healing, soothing, power of touch in relationship to ...

Senses

The smell of peeling a tangerine by hand is a terrifically refreshing experience. I wonder how many other sensational moments ...

Touch

With all of the miracles that go with “full knee replacements,” I have found that the most miraculous of all ...

Titanium

When there are human-made parts that contribute to every step you take, it feels impossible to miss the miracle of ...

Awake on the Table

Waking up from being under general anesthesia and not being able to speak or move changes one’s perspective on everything ...

Screaming

Recently and frequently, I have seen young parents screaming at children and watched the children cower in response.  I wonder ...

Love is Everything

For about the past year, it has been obvious to me that there really isn’t very much, if anything, that ...

Precious People

Because I have always known that there is the risk of dying with any surgery where a general anesthesia is ...

Quick Change

In watching a recent Iowa/Indiana football game being played in Iowa, the score was 21-7 in favor of Indiana. An ...

Unconditional Loving-Kindness

A twelve year old with a brain tumor. A twenty-three year old scholar with a totally dysfunctional immune system.  A mother ...

Are We The Problem?

This morning as I was driving to the Post Office, I had one of those incredible moments of absolute perfection ...

Ownership

Over the years, I have done many things that have resulted in people being angry with me about my choices ...

Unconsciousness

Recently, I traveled to Mexico and had plane connections through the airport in Cancun. There were complications, resulting in long ...

You Are Loved

A small child recognizes that the gentle touch of a hand to the side of their face is of comfort ...

NAMASTE (original Sanskrit definition)

I honor the place in you where the entire universe resides. I honor the place in you of love, of ...

Silent Presence

In a place of equanimity, silence is spectacular. Every sound is new. Every sight is new. I wonder why I ...

We Only See What We Value

This morning I listen to the weather person bemoan the fact that there have been the fewest sunny days and ...

The Judge

Recently a friend of mine said she could not add numbers well in her head and that she wasn’t good ...

Foolish

Blood becomes bone to heal a break and skin to repair a cut. Every cell in the body is replaced ...

Timeless Machine

Recently, on a fairly consistent basis, I have had the momentary experience that there is no time, or as H.G ...

Not All Things Are Consistent

In a serious and somber setting, I listened to a monk talk about the importance and sanctity of all creatures ...

It Is All About the Children

Today is Father's Day and it makes me aware of other days like Mother's Day that celebrate some of the ...

Speed

The other day, as I zipped over the top of a hill, I came across a mother duck and her ...

Influence

Yesterday I went to the 50th wedding anniversary celebration of Jane and Cliff Ives, parents of one of our Board ...

Miracle

Every single time I focus on my breath moving comfortably in and out of my lungs, I am aware, newly, ...

Ideas Before the Mind

It has been a little more than nine years since my Mom passed on to a new way of being.  ...

Reality Check

Unless there is breaking news I have not heard, death is inevitable. Why would I want to do anything other ...

Equanimity

Today a young person who is fighting very challenging medical issues and has already mastered what many would have considered ...

Solutions

In one of our “Inspired Teaching” courses this week, one of the participants asked why something that is really quite ...

Without Provocation

Yesterday, a teacher in one of my classes told of a young faculty member who had died a couple of ...

Barack

Increasingly, I am aware of the attitude of "Barack (President Barack Obama served as President of the United States from ...

Make What You Will of the Miracle

Violence, damage, rudeness, inconsideration, greed, urgency, “stress,” pressure, scarcity, fear, doubt and contention or Peace, tranquility, consideration, beauty, dignity, grace, ...

Simpatico

I received a lovely card not long ago about the value of the friendship that exists between the sender and ...

Clouds

It is a beautiful, clear winter day. There are white fluffy clouds drifting past the window over my desk. I ...

A World That Works for Everyone….

You know and experience that you are loved absolutely, unconditionally and are powerful enough to make choices that allow you ...

Presence

A couple of days ago, I went to the grocery store and the cashier in the checkout line had  an ...

More to Learn

It struck me full force, while watching the events in Washington this week, that the election of Barack Obama as ...

Compulsions

There is a wonderful little bakery in Litchfield, Maine called The Black Crow Bakery. With clients and company coming today, ...

Mortality

As I get older, the small motor control in my hands seems to be deteriorating. Envelopes and storage bags are ...

Who?

A man sat at a metro station in Washington, DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold ...

Noticing

Last night / this morning, I awoke about 4:45 a.m. (much earlier than I usually do). On the way to ...

Connecting

I was recently driving on traffic-clogged streets during a snowstorm on my way to pick up my daughter. I was feeling ...

Natural Knowing

A friend of mine has a 14 year old Lab named "Bella" who is showing degenerative signs.  Sue called her ...

Places in the Heart

The end of October and early November are when my Mom and Dad were born. They passed away respectively eight ...

President Obama

On Tuesday, November 4, 2008, the people of The United States of America elected Barack Obama, the first African-American President ...

Turkeys One and All

A few mornings ago, I spent a few minutes studying a flock of turkeys as they passed through the yard ...

Inspired Schools?

There is serious talk of a national curriculum for public schools. If we want to do that, why not consider ...

Under God

In the early fifties, the words, “under God,” were added to the Pledge of Allegiance. It is my understanding that ...

Paul Newman

Paul Newman had the same drama teacher in college that I did, though in different decades. Simply because we have ...

Capacity Not Potential

A very young participant in our “What One Person Can Do” conversation recently developed a truly spectacular “purpose-in-life” statement. It ...

Honor

We capitalize the word president when it refers to a specific individual, such as President Bush.  It seems to me ...

Animal Communication

A friend recently sent me a picture of a dog saved from a burning house by a fireman, previously unknown ...

Possibility in Death

A few nights ago I saw a story about an Air Force pilot from WWII whose body was found after ...

To Be At Peace

As of last week, we are working with people in Mexico, Canada, Great Britain, France, Germany as well as the ...

Teaching

This school year marks the forty-fifth anniversary of the first organized class I ever taught. Now I understand why my ...

Thoughtfulness

Today I found a note, a few pages down on the pad of paper I keep in the kitchen, that ...

Loving-Kindness

Today I read the annual report of a company that provides 150M dollars of programs to children who are abused ...

Tranquility is Not Caused

I am privileged to live in the country, where there are often long periods of no discernible sound at all ...

Lightning Bugs

A few nights ago, I drove into the driveway late in the evening. As I turned off the lights, I ...

Passage

My Mother died recently. All four of her children were there with Mom the day she died. We were able to express our ...

Presence

In the movie “My Girl,” Macauley Culkin and Anna Chlumsky share a beautifully captured, innocent, sweet, kind, gentle, magical first ...

Security

A few days ago I took a trip to a town in Maine where I rarely visit. For the first ...

Teaching Facts or How to Think?

In the age of information storage, it seems as though most things worth knowing are being warehoused in places open ...

Observing

Just up the road from me when I lived in Litchfield, there is a spectacular bakery nestled in the kitchen ...

Necessary

About six years ago, I moved from a larger house to a much smaller apartment.  I now wonder how little ...

No Corner on Wellness

Governors, Presidents and just plain citizens do great damage to themselves and others around issues of fidelity and integrity? I ...

Self-Care

A client I worked with for a couple of years, a few years ago and was doing really well, called ...

Payoff for Discipline

I enjoy making fresh juice at home, in the mornings.  Sometimes after I drink the juice, I clean the machine ...

A Simpler Way

Not long ago I realized that even people who have known me for many years did not know what we ...

Perspective

My legs were killing me. I had walked the entire length of a good sized concourse at the Cleveland Hopkins ...

A World That Works for Everyone…

A recent advertisement announces that we can now insure our pets as well as the passengers who ride in our ...

Passing Over

Last month I visited the beach where you can see, off in the distance, the place where my parent’s ashes ...

The Capacity for All Things

Sitting in one place for many hours watching people creates the opportunity for the imagination to run wild. I wonder ...

Acts of Loving Kindness and Compassion

My daughter became a licensed veterinarian in June of 2007.  She called me upset last weekend as she euthanized nine ...

War is Hell

“War is at best barbarism… Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have never fired a shot ...

When Self Care Matters Most

Almost everyone who knows me knows how important I think self care is. The kind of self care that truly ...

Interconnectedness

When I am truly in touch with my connection to all living beings, there is an incredible sense of tranquility ...

Fame and Fortune

Lindsay Lohan has become the center of a tremendous amount of media attention. Within two weeks of her release from ...

Grasping the Reality of the Only Second

One of our “What One Person Can Do” conversations currently contains two participants, one of whom was recently diagnosed with ...

Religious Rightness

A great deal of the conflict that exists in the world and damage that has been done through war is ...

The Last Second

It is my experience this is the last second we have any guarantee of. Is the way you are spending ...

Priorities

A co-worker brought in an old movie from home that she’d thought I’d enjoy. For two weeks, it sat on ...

Dr. Kevorkian

Dr. Jack Kevorkian was released earlier this month, having spent eight years in jail at a cost in excess of ...

Gestures

My brother and I attended a Chicago Cubs baseball game a few weeks ago and part of the fun was ...

Reminders

We transported my daughter's horse 1600 miles.  When we walked into the boarding stable, relaxing music was playing as well ...

Who Has the Power?

As a society, we consistently speak as if we can teach, motivate, inspire, educate and empower other people. I wonder ...