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When Smiling Toddlers Cry

4/29/2018

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I have written often recently about how my smiling toddler is the avatar of my true Buddha self.  That has been both great comfort and practical use to me every day.

This morning when I was meditating, the thought came to me, “What about when the toddler cries?”  There is no question that my toddler, as all toddlers, cried and I would imagine occasionally even threw a temper tantrum, although I never heard anyone describe me in that way.  My father wrote that I was “always smiling;”  that “I was his sunshine.”  And my mother made no mention of such episodes in my baby book.  So who knows?

But all toddlers cry.  I can’t imagine I didn’t.  At some point, my toddler experienced pain or loss of one type or another, whether it’s physical or emotional.   And he cried.

However, and here’s the point, a toddler gets past that and resumes his state of being joyful and open to all that the present moment offers.  That’s what toddlers do.  And how does that work?  It’s because they have no memory; their minds aren’t developed that way yet.  And they don’t think of the future for the same reason.  Nor do they apply labels to experience.   That begins around age 3, when their ego-mind begins to form.

And so they are truly present.  It’s like I observed and described in my post, “The Wisdom of Chickens.”  (See post.)  Chickens will get very upset when something bad happens.  But within a few hours or certainly the next day they are back to going about their business, fully present, good natured, a joy to behold.

I stated in that post that they and other animals in the wild are perfect examples of the Buddha  dharma.  And the reason is that while they do have brains, and they do experience sensations, they are not capable of thought.  That is man’s curse.  Of course it’s also a blessing, but in practice more often a curse.

​
Similarly, a toddler is free of thought.  He has no ego-mind.  That is what enables him to experience things directly.  And get past whatever pain he experiences quickly, returning to his joyful self.  That is what makes him the avatar of my true Buddha nature.
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Who/What Is Your True Self?

4/24/2018

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“Who am I?”  This is not only a very legitimate question, it is central to the spiritual process of freeing ourselves from suffering, of finding peace.   In a post several years ago (“Who Am I?”), I wrote that our true self is our true Buddha nature, our heart.

Until you know without doubt that your true self is your heart, your God-essence … not just intellectually but identify with it … you will not know that you have everything you need inside yourself to be at peace and happy; you will not have faith that regardless what is going on around you or happening to you that all will be well because you will always return home to your heart and be at peace and happy. And so you will not be able to withstand the powerful pull of your ego-mind.

Knowing that, and having disabused yourself of any thought that your ego-mind is your true self, will take you far on the path. But it is still not sufficient to free you from suffering and find peace and happiness.

The problem, I think, is that for most of us humans, this is all a bit too abstract.  For years, this question of who I am was a puzzlement for me. I believed the teaching that my true self was my true Buddha nature, my unborn Buddha mind. But what was that?  I had no experience of that (or so I thought). I couldn’t wrap my head around the concept. And so while I mouthed the truths as a mantra, it did nothing to move my practice forward.

Then one day when I was meditating, I saw a photo of me as a smiling toddler in my mind’s eye. Happy, open, unwounded, smiling for no reason at all other than just being. I knew at that moment that was my true Buddha nature, and I wept, tears rolling down my cheeks.

I was able to have that experience because a few days earlier my mother had sent me my baby book together with photos of myself from that period of my life. Obviously those photos made a deep impression on me.

We forget there was a time when we were not engulfed by suffering, when we had not yet felt wounded by life, when the joyfulness in our heart shone and we were a light unto ourselves and others. Those photos brought that awareness back to me with a real force.

Even though the wounding process starts shortly after birth for most of us, we are as toddlers remarkably resilient. Just think of all the wide-eyed, smiling toddlers you’ve seen. These are not children who have not had negative experiences in their short life, yet their spirit is still flowing from their heart; they have not lost faith that they will be nurtured and loved.

That happens a little later (around age 3) when they begin forming thoughts based on their experiences and their ego-minds develop. At that point, the thoughts “unloved” and “neglected,” among many others, enter the psyche.

For those of you who think that regardless what you may have been as a toddler, that spirit is irretrievably lost, that pure spirit is not within you any more, reflect on this. Have you never had a moment when you experienced an internal discussion between what we often refer to as the “good” me and the “bad” me over what to do?

Where do you think these voices come from?  The angry, distrustful, hurt voice comes from the ego-mind. The voice which is full of compassion comes from your heart, your smiling toddler. That is the voice of your true Buddha nature.

This experience, which we all have had, often with some regularity, is proof that our true self, our spirit, is not irretrievably lost. It is just usually drowned out, overpowered, by the volume and force of our ego-mind.

Last night, I watched a video interview of Charles Whitfield, the author of the best-selling book, Healing the Child Within.  In the interview, he explained that your inner child, pre-wounding, is your true self.  And that when your inner child gets wounded, a false self is generated which is your ego-mind.

This was scientific or at least intellectual confirmation of what I experienced directly long ago when I realized that my smiling toddler was my true self.  Further as I realized just a week ago, my wounded inner child was the avatar for my ego-mind (see my post, “Smiling Toddler + Wounded Inner Child.”

As I said earlier, this talk about true self and false self and ego-mind is too abstract for most people.  The question is still commonly asked, “But who or what is this true self, this Buddha nature?  What is the ego-mind if not my true self that I’ve identified with all my life?

For that reason, the step of visualizing your true self as your smiling toddler and your ego-mind as your wounded inner child is very helpful in the process both of turning your will and your life over to the care of your true Buddha nature and of healing your inner child, and thus healing your ego-mind.

I strongly encourage you to find a photo of yourself as a smiling toddler to connect with. If one is not available, conjure up such an image in your mind’s eye.  And then embrace your smiling toddler and allow him to hug you.
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Attachment to Self

4/19/2018

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I was meditating the other morning, aware that even with all the inner child work I have recently done, there was still a barrier to my truly being at peace and experiencing happiness.  I was aware that except when I conjured up my smiling toddler or now my healed inner child, although that is happening more frequently, I still was mostly in my blah space.  I know part of it is a matter of retraining my facial muscles.

But I felt there was more; I asked myself whether I have faith in the universe, or what that even means.  I know what it doesn’t mean.  It doesn’t mean that I have faith in my fellow man to do the right thing.  I doesn’t mean that I have faith that something “good” will happen for me.

What it comes to, I think, is that I have faith in the order of the universe; of the laws, physical or otherwise, that govern the interaction of all matter.  In thinking about the universe, I was aware what an infinitesimal spec I am in the larger context of things, not just at the moment but even more so over the course of cosmic time.

This is not to say that my life is not important.   To the extent that I offer others joy, to the extent that I make a positive difference in people’s lives, then my life is important.  I have used my time here well.

But in the larger scheme of things, it is not important.  Whether I live or die, am rich or poor, am healthy or sick, it really makes no difference.  That is the real source of humility.  To the extent that I focus on these things, it is purely a function of my ego.  Even after the practice of getting over myself (see my post, “Get Over Yourself”), which frees me my ego-mind, there is still clearly some attachment to my self, my being.

To free myself from this attachment, as with all others, I need to be aware of the suffering that it causes and say, “Not me!”

The other part of freeing me from this attachment is reaffirming my faith in the basic truth that all things that rise must fall.  And that certainly includes me.  I reconnected with what I call my “death practice,” which is reciting that I have no fear of death because I know it is just a natural part of life.  And that I know that when it happens I will be prepared because I have lived my life well, I have offered others joy, I have made a difference in other people’s lives.

And I reaffirmed that I am on this Earth for one reason and one reason only … as is the case of every human being … to offer others joy.  Nothing that I do has any import or any value if it does not offer others joy.  Everything else I do is ego.

​
The Buddha said that the hardest battle is to be rid of the conceit, “I am.”  I know now that that doesn’t just mean the ego-mind, but also means attachment to my true self and the body it inhabits.
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Walking on the Beach

4/14/2018

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I was walking on the beach the other day.  And as is sometimes the case, instead of being present and soaking up the beauty and power with my senses, I was lost in thought.  The problem of the day preoccupied me.

Until I became aware that I was seeing, yet not seeing.  Once aware, I did what I needed to do to bring myself back to the present.  I conjured up my smiling toddler, and when I felt him holding my hand, I was present, one with the beauty of nature surrounding me, and smiled.

And that day, for the first time, no sooner had my smiling toddler appeared, than I felt my inner child (the 12-year old version) holding my other hand, smiling.  The experience of walking down the beach with my smiling toddler holding one hand, and my inner child, now healed, holding the other, listening to them laughing and commenting on what they were seeing, was overwhelming.   I was overcome with gratitude and cried.

In one of my visions, when I free myself from the burdens of the five skandhas, I emerge from the depths of the ocean and join my unborn Buddha mind and true Buddha self on the other shore.  We hold hands and dance around in a circle, with the music from La Strada playing in the background!  When I was walking down the beach that day, it felt like that vision had been realized.

Clearly, the work I had been doing with my wounded inner child had borne fruit.  Talking to him, asking him to express himself, giving him my unconditional love.  As well as my smiling toddler doing tonglen for my wounded inner child and leading him out of the dark room into the light.  (See my previous post, “Smiling Toddler + Wounded Inner Child.”)

The last time I had “visited” my inner child in our childhood home, he was smiling and said that he knew he was loved unconditionally and loved himself unconditionally.  He said that when my father would yell at him for not cleaning up his plate, getting all red in the face, and sending him up to his room, he knew that my father loved him and that he just wanted to make him strong. (Context: I grew up in a generally very loving home.)

He said my father knew, because of what he had gone through in life, that one had to accept and adapt to life if one was to survive with sanity.  Eating what was on my plate. not being picky, was to him accepting my life.

And he said that when my father said there was something wrong with me, I wasn’t normal … because as a 12-year old I would regularly throw up before going to a dinner party (it was bar mitzvah time) …  and so he first sent me to the family doctor and later to a psychiatrist, my inner child said he knew that again he did that because he loved me and wanted to help me be strong.  Because strength was needed to navigate life’s challenges.

Having encouraged my inner child to hug himself, to embrace his emotions, to know that he will be ok regardless what life throws his way, to love himself unconditionally, my inner child was now able to forgive my father, to see him for who he was, not who the child wanted him to be, and to see through the actions that caused him such pain.  By having healed himself, he was open to seeing my father as he was.

But my inner child knew that had he been an adult, he would have said to my father, “No, I am normal; there is nothing wrong with me.  I am gay.  And your yelling at me about my eating habits has made me neurotic with fear of offending others by my eating habits.  I know you love me, but you are wrong.  This is not the way to make me strong.”

My inner child has been healed.  He is his own person.
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The Mind and the Wounded Inner Child

4/9/2018

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As any reader of my blog will know, perhaps the greatest puzzlement or challenge in my practice is freeing myself totally and consistently from the influence of my ego-mind.  I can say that I no longer become agitated by anything; I experience all things with dispassion.  I am consistently at peace.  But there is an overall ambiance in my life which is lacking lightness; which feels dragged down by the past.  And it has been a puzzlement.

The other night I listened to a spiritual “healing your inner child” video.  The speaker made the point that the wounded inner child was the source of all strife in the world, all violence, all personal antagonism.  That it is a force alive in each adult and is a harmful presence.  When I heard that, I related that to what I’ve written regarding the ego-mind and insecurity, so nothing new.  (See my post, “Facing my Insecurity.”  Also “The Root of All Abuse and Violence - Insecurity” at PreservingAmericanValues.blogspot.
​com)


But in talking about this later with my partner, who was taken aback by what he heard … that his inner child was his antagonist (as opposed to his ego-mind) … I all of a sudden had an epiphany.   Just as my smiling toddler is the avatar of my true Buddha self, my wounded inner child is the avatar of my ego-mind.

This should not have been an epiphany.  As I’ve noted before, when people talk about the “good” me and the “bad” me, or when they picture the “angel” me sitting on one shoulder whispering in the ear, and the “devil” or “evil” me sitting on the other, that is recognition by our popular culture of the opposing natures and power of our two aspects, out Buddha nature and the ego-mind, of light and darkness.  But I did not connect the dots.  (As an aside, when we say this, we are not consciously subscribing to the perspective that our ego-mind is bad or evil, just that people would view its advice as not something one would learn in Sunday school; it’s not goody two-shoes.  And somehow we like that.)

The embodiment of my ego-mind in my wounded inner child is why it continues to have a presence in my life despite all the progress I have made on the path.  I have focused my practice on freeing myself from the influence of my ego-mind by connecting with and strengthening my true Buddha self, my heart.  By being discerning, saying “no” to the emotions and judgments of my ego mind, and turning instead to guidance from my heart.  And that has worked … up to a point, as readers of my blog will know.

But I now realize that the ego-mind is not a disembodied specter, it is a live being in the form of my wounded inner child.  And so it is with me always in a very palpable way.  The path to end suffering and find peace and happiness must therefore combine connecting to, being one, with my true Buddha self on the one hand, and healing my wounded inner child on the other.  And the only force that can do that is my true Buddha self, my smiling toddler.  “I” cannot do that, because “I” am still too entwined with my ego-mind, with my wounded inner child.  Only my true Buddha self can.

In The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, Sogyal Rinpoche recommends that before doing tonglen for others, one must first do it for oneself.  He recommends “for the purpose of this exercise” dividing oneself into the part that feels harmed and the part that feels whole.  What I realize now is that he is describing my true Buddha self, my smiling toddler, on the one hand and my wounded inner child on the other.

My true Buddha self needs to perform tonglen on my wounded inner child; breathe in all his pain and suffering and send him unconditional love, compassion, faith, and trust.  And so I am doing that.  (I have practiced tonglen on myself previously, but in an abstract way, unconnected with my wounded inner child.)

When I imagine myself in a dark room and seek my smiling toddler who stretches out his hand to me and leads me out of the darkness into the light, it is my wounded inner child who is in the dark room, not the adult me, and my smiling toddler leads by wounded inner child into the light.  They are like twins separated at birth who have found each other again.

Also, when my true Buddha self opens up my heart and embraces all aspects of my being, that now includes my wounded inner child.  And when my true Buddha self opens up the well-spring of loving kindness in my heart and lets it flow out to myself and to others, and thus is a light unto myself and others, the loving kindness flows out to my wounded inner child, and so my true Buddha self is a light unto that child.

Early in my practice, I had struggled to put my hands around the concept of my true Buddha self.  It was only when I saw the image of my smiling toddler during a meditation that I knew at once that that was my true Buddha self.  Likewise, the concept of ego-mind was one which, although very familiar and clear, I could not conceptualize and all I could do was to negate it.  Now I know it is my wounded inner child and my compassion is endless.

And since my true Buddha self has already to a large extent healed my wounded inner child, that means that it will be able to heal my ego-mind.  In the past I was certain that because the ego-mind could not be trained or controlled, my only choice was saying “no” to it.  I now know, however, that my ego-mind can be healed.  This healing will continue to be a focus of my practice.

I know deep within that this epiphany is a turning point in my practice.  And I am deeply grateful for the happenstance of my partner watching that video, calling me to listen to that one part, and talking about it later.
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Releasing All Desire

4/3/2018

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In an earlier post, I described how desire, and it’s inevitable companion craving, is the root of our suffering.  (See my post, “Desire - The Gerbil Trap.”)  This is the central point of the Buddha’s Four Noble Truths.

Knowing this truth and doing something about it to end our suffering is something else again.  Especially when the desire we have is something which comes from the heart … the desire to have friends, to have a loved one, to help others, to be surrounded by quiet, to grow our own food.

The problem is that when we pursue these Right desires, our ego-mind attaches to them and they become cravings.  And so we suffer.  It doesn’t matter that the source of the desire is skillful.  It doesn’t matter how important it is to our inner fulfillment.  If we cannot approach a desire with equanimity, if we cannot say, “If it happens, great.  If it doesn’t, that’s ok too,”  we will suffer.  We can’t be present, we can’t be grateful when we crave something we don’t have.

So if what is most important to us, to our soul, is peace and happiness, then one must accept that if we cannot find a way to approach the yearnings of our heart with equanimity, then we have to let go of those yearnings in order to be in a state of peace and happiness.  There is no other way.

For most of my life, I was caught in this conundrum.  Then one day when I was meditating, and I recited the mantra, “Breathing in, I’m aware that my life is exactly the way it is at this moment because it’s just the way it is; breathing out I release all unskillful desires and am happy and content, free of all frustration,”  I realized that this does not go far enough.

My heart’s desires may be skillful, but they had been made unskillful because they had been transformed into cravings.  And since I hadn’t been able to approach these desires with equanimity, I needed to let them go.  I needed to release all desires.  When I changed the mantra and recited “I release all desires” I felt like a burden was lifted from my shoulders.  It was palpable.

Since that time, I have truly felt no desire.  I accept my life as being exactly the way it is right now.  I feel good about my life as it is and am grateful.  I certainly still have an interest in having friends, in helping others, etc., and so I pursue those things.  But since they are not desires, I have not attached to them and they have not been transformed into cravings.
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    All
    1. The Goal Of Buddhism
    1. The Goal Of Buddhism - Clarified
    2. End Of Suffering Cheat Sheet
    3. 12 Steps On The Buddhist Path
    4. The Choice Is Yours
    5. You Have A Self But It's Not The Ego
    6. The Mind - Understanding Its Facets
    A Buddhist Trinity - Amended
    A Buddhist Trinity - Further Support
    A Buddhist Trinity - The Core Path To Peace And Happiness.
    A Carefree Day And Life
    Acceptance Is The Answer
    Accepting The Life Of Those Around You
    Acknowledgement Of The Cause Of Suffering Is Key
    Allow Nothing To Disturb Your Peace And Happiness
    An Open Letter To President-elect Trump And All Americans
    Antagonist Or Challenge?
    A Path To Compassion And Loving Kindness
    Approaching The Other Shore
    A Prayer For America On This Election Day
    Are You Reading And Willing To Let Your Cravings Go?
    As A Buddhist How Do You Plan - Revisited Again - Relying On Your Buddha Nature
    As A Buddhist How Do You Think About The Future?
    As A Buddhist … Revisited Again - Do We Need To Know Where We’re Headed?
    As A Buddhist ... Revisited - Planning Without Thinking
    As A Buddhist … Revisited Yet Again - How Do You Implement Moving Forward Without Having A Destination Point?
    A Simpler Path To Experiencing Joy
    Attachment To Self
    Avatars - Their Usefulness
    Back To Basics
    Be A Light Unto Yourself And Others
    Be Aware When Reading - Yearn To Please Or To Offer Joy?
    Be Careful The Monk/Teacher You Choose
    Befriend Yourself
    Being Aware Of Abundance
    Being Good To Yourself
    Being - Not Being
    Being One With Your True Buddha Self
    Being Present Is Being Flexible
    Being Present Is The Key To Peace And Contentment
    Being Present - No What If’s Or Imagining The Future
    Being Present - Part 2
    Being Present Requires Faith
    Being There For Someone
    Belief In You Buddha Nature - The Beginning And The End
    Believe In Yourself
    Be One With Your Divine Essence
    Be Sustained By The Love Of Buddha Within You
    Be The Eye Of The Hurricane
    Beware Complacency
    Beyond Acceptance
    Beyond Awareness
    Beyond Dispassion - The Next Step
    Boredom
    Boundaries
    Buddha Mind - Child Mind
    Buddha Mind Free Of Thought
    Buddha Nature Gentle And Serene
    Buddhism And The Divine
    Burying Your Old Identity
    Burying Your Old Identity - II - Separating Yourself From Your Old Identity
    Can't Find Your Buddha Nature - Look In The Mirror
    Change Your Life By Changing The Direction Of Its Energy Flow
    Changing The Direction Of Your Energy Flow - II - Manifesting
    Changing Your Reactions
    Chicken Or Egg ?
    Cleansed
    Co-existence Of Buddha Nature And Ego-Mind
    Compassion
    Control
    Control Your Reality
    Craving "Survival" Condemns You To Suffering
    Crying - An Understanding
    Darkness Before Light
    Darkness V Light
    Death And Life
    Death And Life - Part 2
    Death Heaven And Hell
    Deflating The Ego
    Dependence
    Desire - The Gerbil Trap
    Desperate For Love And Acknowledgment?
    Discipline - It’s Essential
    Dislike - An Insidious Obstruction
    Dispassion Does Not Mean Wtihout Feeling
    Dispassion - Enter The State Of By Becoming Aware Of The Emptiness Of Our Ego-mind
    Dispassion - Obstacles And Options To Achieve It
    Dispassion - Unlocking The Doors
    Don't Just Negate Specifics - Replace Your Total Frame Of Reference
    Don't Just Say No To Your Mind
    Don’t Speak/Help Unless Asked
    Don’t Waste A Moment
    Don’t Waste A Moment
    Do We Suffer Or Not? - The Choice Is Ours
    Do You Really Want To Be At Peace And Content
    Ego - Changing Your Relationship With It
    Embrace The Moment Not Merely Accept
    Emptiness - What Does It Mean?
    Emptying Myself Of Myself - The Divine's Will Not Mine
    Enter Your Buddha Mind
    Equanimity But Feel Someone’s Pain
    Everything That Disturbs Us Is A Product Of Suffering
    Everything You Need To Be Happy
    Everything You Need To Be Happy- II
    Evil - How Should A Buddhist Respond?
    Expectations? - Not If You Want To End Suffering
    Experiencing The Fullness Of The Present
    Facing My Insecurity
    Faith And Mind Not Separate
    Faith And Mind Not Separate - 2
    Faith And Mind - Take III
    Faith And Reason
    Faith Even When You Are Dependent On Others
    Faith: The Essential Element Of Spiritual Practice
    Faith: What Is It And Why Is It Essential?
    Fear And Anxiety - There's More
    Fear Anxiety And Craving - Chicken Or Egg #2
    Fear Arises From Our Desire To Control
    Fearlessness
    Fear's Destructive Impact
    Fear V Common Sense
    Fear V Faith
    Feeling Lack - A Most Insidious Perception
    Feeling Off? - Adjust Your Attitude
    Finding Happiness In Each Moment
    Forgiveness - A Different Take
    Freedom From The Future
    Freedom From The Known
    Freedom - What Does It Mean?
    Freeing Yourself From Anger And Resentment
    Freeing Yourself From Attachments
    Freeing Yourself From Fear
    Freeing Yourself From Fear II
    Freeing Yourself From Fear - III
    Freeing Yourself From Suffering - The Prerequisite Step
    Freeing Your Soul
    Freeing Your Soul - II
    Freeing Your Soul - III
    Free Of Thought - Important Clarification
    Frustration ... Our Canary In The Mine
    Get Over Yourself
    Getting To Know Your True Buddha Self
    Give Yourself A Choice
    Going Through Life With Blinders - The Obstruction Of Labels
    Good Guys Finish Last?
    Go Slow
    Grateful For Being Alive
    Guilt
    Guilt And The Defensive Beast
    Half Measures Don't Work
    Happenstance
    Happenstance - Part II - You Your Buddha Nature And The Universe
    Happiness Is Elusive
    Happiness - What You Need To Be Happy
    Happy New Year 2017?
    Have Directions Not Goals
    Have Faith In The Process
    Have You Heard Of Narcs - The Final Answer To Why I Was Frowning
    Healing Your Inner Child - Healing Your Wounded Heart
    Healing Your Inner Child - Update
    Hell Is Just Resistance To Life
    How I Failed Myself
    How The Ego-Mind Tries To Destroy Faith
    How To Desire Yet Not Crave?
    How To Find Faith?
    How To Find Your True Self Your Heart
    How To Free Yourself From The Control Of Your Ego-Mind
    How To Live In Our World
    How To Love Yourself
    How To Maintain Joy Regardless What
    How To Observe Through The Eyes Of Your True Buddha Self
    How To Offer Others Joy
    How To Process The Election
    How To Protect Yourself Against Psychic Attack
    How To Respond To Acts Of Aggression
    How To Spiritually Respond To The Election?
    How To Start The Day
    How To Surrender Your Ego Or Turn Your Will And Your Life Over To The Care Of Your True Buddha Nature
    Humbling Myself
    Humility
    Humility - How To Gain It?
    Humility - The Price Of The Lack Of Humility
    Humility: The Truth About "My" Good Accomplishments
    I Am Being Reborn
    I Am Therefore I Am
    If Nothing Offends All Internal Struggle Ceases
    If This Is Practical Buddhism Why The Pastoral Setting
    "If You Love Someone You Will Suffer"
    Imagining In Meditation
    I'm Back
    I’m Grateful To Be A Jubu
    Inner Happiness - Outer Happiness
    Innocence Or Ignorance?
    Insecurity - Nurture Not Nature
    Instead Of Forgiveness Show Compassion
    It Doesn’t Have To Be
    It's All About Survival - Or Is It?
    It's A Sin -The Harm We Inflict On Ourselves
    It’s Just The Way It Is
    It’s Just The Way It Is And It’s All OK
    It's Just The Way It Is - Take III
    It’s No Crime To Think About Oneself!
    Joy - A Hopefully Final Take
    Joy - At Last Real Understanding
    Joy - Experience It Now
    Joyful Dispassion - Excited Non-attachment
    Joyful Dispassion - Update
    Joy/Happiness - A Choice We Make
    Joy - One More Take
    Joy - The Final Take - Taking Joy In Each Moment Is Only Possible When You Radiate Light
    Joy - Yet Another Take
    Knowing Best?
    Know The Greatness Within You
    Know Thyself - The Power Of Awareness
    Know Who You Are - Be Who You Are
    Lack V Abundance
    Learning From Falling Off The Spiritual Wagon
    Let Go - Let God
    Letting Go
    Letting Others Go Their Way
    Liberate Yourself From Thinking
    Likes And Dislikes - A Potential Trap Examined
    Listening To Others
    Listening - Why Is It So Difficult?
    Looking For Your Treasure
    Love At First Sight - NOT
    Love/Loving-Kindness - Defined In The Buddhist Context
    Love Yourself Unconditionally
    Make It Your Own - An Extension Of “The Heart’s Embrace”
    Making Lists - Objectifying Your Fears The Things That Push Your Buttons
    Making Peace With The Outside; Making Peace With The Inside
    Making Sense Of Being Tested
    Making The Most Of Every Day
    Manifestation - DANGER DANGER!
    Manifesting
    Manifesting In The Moment
    Meditation - Coming Home Releasing And Being At Peace
    Meditation - The Importance Of Daily Practice
    Memory - Don’t Trust It
    Mental Obstructions
    Mind Resting Undisturbed
    Mirror Mirror On The Wall - A Revelation
    Mirror Time
    Money And Spirituality
    My Daily Task
    My Daily Task - 2
    My Ego's Sneak Attack
    My Life - A Being Dichotomized
    My Meditation Isn't Working!
    My Mind Trapped Me
    My Road To Peace
    My True Buddha Self And Me
    Nature Of Mind Revealed - A Transformation
    Never Stop Going Deeper
    Newly Discovered Trauma
    Nirvana - It's Right Before Your Eyes
    No Expectations No Hope?
    No One’s Life Is Ordinary
    No Reason To Be Defensive
    No Self - Not!
    No Spiritual Force Can Protect You From Yourself Your Mind
    Not Engaging Your Thoughts
    Nothing To Prove
    Not Me - Peeling Off The Layers Of Our Ego-Mind
    Observe
    Offering Others Joy - From The Heart
    Offer Joy Experience Joy
    Offer Myself Joy!
    Oneness Does Not Mean Sameness
    Opening The Door To Being Present
    Our Over-sexed Culture And Lives
    Pain - A Cry For Help
    Paradise Lost
    Peace And Happiness Is Your Birthright
    Peace - What It Is And How To Achieve It
    Personal Boundaries As Part Of A Buddhist Life
    Preparing A Child For Life
    Pride Is A Function Of The Devil
    Problem - NOT!
    Proof Of The Nature Of Mind - Fear Ego And Buddha Mind
    Prosperity And Abundance
    Protecting Yourself From The Elements
    Psychiatry Needs To Incorporate Buddhist Teaching
    Putting Spirituality Into Practice 24/7
    Que Sera Sera - Whatever Will Be Will Be
    Real Clarity V The Delusion Of Clarity
    Reality Is Not What We Experience
    Receiving The Love Of Your Buddha Nature
    Reciting Affirmations
    Reclaiming The Narrative Of My Life - II
    Reclaiming The “Story” Of Your Life
    Reflecting On 75 Years
    Reincarnation - An Unorthodox Take
    Rejoice And Be Happy
    Rejoice And Be Happy - II
    Releasing All Desire
    Releasing All Desire - II
    Releasing Negative Energy
    Renouncing What You Have Always Depended On
    Replacing Weakness With Strength
    Reprogram Your Mind To End Your Suffering
    Returning Home - Returning To Your True Buddha Nature
    Right Attitude
    Ritual Burning Of The Past
    Safety Defined
    Saying Grace
    Saying “No” To Negative Thought
    Seeing The Light
    Seeing Through The Eyes Of Your True Buddha Self
    Seek And You Shall Find
    Seeking Guidance From Buddha Mind Not Ego Mind
    Seeking Guidance From The Buddha/God/the Universe - II
    Seeking Guidance From The Buddha/God/the Universe - III
    Seeking Guidance From The Buddha/God/the Universe - IV
    See Things Through Your Heart Not Your Mind
    See Yourslef And The World Through Different Eyes
    Self Re-examined
    Self-Responsibility During The Pandemic
    Sex - Misused And Abused - A Different Perspective
    Shall We Dance? - An Invitation To The Dance Of Death
    Shame
    Soul’s Yearning Distorted By The Ego-Mind
    Soul -True Self - And Ego-Mind
    Speaking The Truth
    Speaking To Your Buddha Nature/Divinity/Heart
    Speak The Truth But Beware
    Starving The Ego
    Step #10: Continued To Be Mindful Of The Arising Of Cravings And Desires And When They Arose Did Not Attach To Them And Allowed Them To Subside.
    Step #11: Sought Through Meditation To Constantly Improve Our Conscious Contact With Our True Buddha Nature
    Step #1: Admitted Our Cravings Cause Us Suffering And That We Are Powerless Over Them
    Step #2: Came To Believe That Our True Buddha Nature Could Restore Us To Peace And Created A Platform Of Serenity
    Step #3: Committed Ourselves To The Path By Practicing The Five Precepts And The Six Paramitas
    Step #4 Came To Believe That All Our Perceptions Are Learned - That They Are Just A Product Of Our Ego-mind - And That Our Ego-mind Is Not Our True Self - Instead We Knew That Our True Self Is Our Heart.
    Step #5: Were Ready And Willing And Made A Decision To Surrender Our Ego And Turn Our Will And Our Lives Over To The Care Of Our True Buddha Nature Opening Our Heart To Embrace All Aspects Of Our Being.
    Step #6: Came To Believe That We Have Everything We Need Within Ourselves To Be At Peace And Happy
    Step #7: Came To Be Free Of Our Cravings
    Step #8: Were Entirely Ready To Love Ourselves Unconditionally And Have Compassion For Ourselves And To Accept Ourselves And The World Around Us As Being The Way They Are Because It's Just The Way It Is.
    Step #9: Made A List Of Persons We Had Harmed And Made Amends To Them
    Stopping Self-Sabotage
    Strength Not Courage
    Suffering Is Universal - But Why?
    Survival - The Force That Controls Our Life
    Taking Pleasure In Each Passing Moment
    Taking Refuge In Yourself
    Taking Responsibility Is Not Blame
    Teaching Only Points The Way
    Test The Wisdom Of What You’re Doing Or Thinking Of Doing
    The 3-legged Stool Of Spirituality
    The Art Of Self-Nurturing
    The Challenge Of Staying Aware
    The Coexistence Of Ego And Buddha Nature
    The Conceit "I Am"
    The Devil Is Alive And Well
    The Distinction Between Pain And Suffering
    The Divine And Man
    The Ego As Saboteur
    The Emptiness Of Intrinsic Existence And Its Relevance To Global Warming
    The Felt Need For Acknowledgment
    The Five Precepts
    The Four Bodhisattva Vows
    The Fourfold Path To Freedom
    The Four Noble Truths
    The Fragility Of Man
    The Freedom Of Focusing On Someone Or Something Outside Yourself
    The Heart/Mind Divide
    The Heart’s Embrace - More On Freeing Ourselves
    The Heart's Embrace - Updated
    The Hurt Of Rejection - Its Enduring Impact
    The Illusion Of Control
    The Imperative Of Self-Preservation
    The Lessons Of Siddhartha
    The Light Within You
    The Limits Of Rational Thought
    The Lord's Role In Your Work
    The Meaning And Power Of Selflessness
    The Middle Way - A Way Back From The Breach
    The Mind And The Wounded Inner Child
    The Mind And Your Inner Child - II
    The Mind Is Sneaky - Surrender It
    The Mind's Deep State
    The Mind - Suffering Connection
    The Miracle That Is You
    The Misleading Teaching Of No Self
    The Missing Noble Truth
    The Myanmar Situation
    The Mystery Of The Ego - An Answer
    The New Me - I Not I
    The Noble Eightfold Path
    The Original Trauma - Birth
    The Parable Of The Raft
    The Path As Tightrope
    The Path From Peace To Joy
    The Path Is Never-Ending
    The Power Of Affirmations - Use Carefully
    The Power Of Giving Voice To Thoughts
    The Power Of Prayer
    The Present Beyond Us
    The Purpose Of Life
    The Purpose Of Meditation
    The Push/Pull Of Ego-Mind
    The Question Is Not Whether The Glass Is Half Empty Or Half Full
    There Are No Bad Persons
    There Is Nothing Wrong With You
    The Remnants Of The Ego
    The Serenity Prayer
    The Serenity Prayer - II
    The Soul’s Yearning And How Best To Fulfill It
    The Source Of Equanimity And Peace
    The Stages Of Acceptance
    The Stages Of Man’s Spirit
    The Subconscious
    The Sun Is Always Shining/ There's No Such Thing As Bad Weather
    The Three Stages Of Embrace
    The Truth – Seeing It And Speaking It
    The Unaware Consumer
    The Wisdom Of Chickens
    The Wisdom Of Now
    This Is Not Me This Is Not My Self
    Thought Objects
    To Free Yourself From Cravings You Must Free Yourself Of Fear
    To Love Unconditionally = Loving-Kindness
    Tonglen - How To Approach Its Practice
    To Observe Free Of Mind - To Experience Joy
    To See Opportunity You Must Be Free Of Fear
    To Thine Own Self Be True
    Trauma
    Trauma Begets Trauma
    Trauma Denied No Longer
    Trauma - Healing It Is Critical
    Trauma - It’s Release
    Turning Your Will Over To Your True Buddha Nature
    Waking Up
    Walking Away From Modernity
    Walking On The Beach
    Walking The Path - It’s A Lot Of Work But It’s Well Worth It
    Wandering Until ?
    Wealth Poverty And Buddhism
    We Are All One
    We Are Not Meant To Suffer
    We Have Everything We Need To Be At Peace And Happy Inside Ourselves
    We Have Lost Our Sense Of Place
    We Make Our Own Mental Environment
    We Never Stop Healing
    What Activates The Ego-Mind?
    What Are We Celebrating On July 4th?
    What Blocks Me From Being Truly Present And Radiating My Inner Energy 24/7?
    What Drives Us Mad?
    What If The Present Is Bad?
    What Is Joy? What Is Happiness?
    What Is Life Without Emotion?
    What Is Most Important To You?
    What Is Your Task In Life?
    What Lies Behind Our Good Deeds?
    What Nourishes My Soul?
    What Price Peace And Happiness?
    What's In A Name?
    What's Real And What’s Not Real?
    What’s The Real Challenge - Life Or The Ego?
    What To Do When You Lose Faith?
    What Use Fame Power Fortune?
    What You Can’t Will And What You Can
    When A Heart’s Desire Is Commandeered By The Ego
    When Joy Is Not Joy
    When Love Is Not Love ...
    When Nothing Offends
    When Really Bad Things Happen
    When Smiling Toddlers Cry
    When The Mind Intervenes
    When Things Are Not The Way We Want Them To Be
    Who Am I?
    Who Are You?
    Who/What Is Your True Self?
    Why Diets Fail - A Buddhist Perspective
    Why Do We Crave?
    Why Is Being Grateful Such A Challenge?
    Why Is It So Hard To Be Free Of Your Ego?
    Why Is Mankind Trapped In A Box?
    Why Point The Compass Towards Tomorrow?
    Why We Take Offense
    Wisdom - What Is It?
    Wounded Our Ego-Mind Becomes The Devil
    Yes Virginia There Is A True Buddha Nature
    Yet Another Past Attachment
    You Are Not Alone
    You As Observer
    You Can Be In Control
    You Cannot Radiate Light If You Are Filled With Fear
    You Don't Need To Be Liked
    Your True Self And The Irrelevance Of The Min
    Your Will Not My Mind's - II
    Your Will Not My Mind's - III

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