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Get Over Yourself

10/23/2017

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I have noted often in my posts that despite all the progress I have made on the path and the disciplined nature of my practice, that my ego-mind continues to pull me away, even if less frequently and in a milder manner.  Even after I opened my heart to embrace all aspects of my being and experience and felt that that was the key to turning my will and my life over to the care of my true Buddha nature.

I thought perhaps that’s just the way it is. But when meditating one morning recently I realized that the reason why this keeps happening, even though to a far lesser extent, is that I had not fully turned my will and my life over to the care of my true self when I opened my heart. I, as observer, was still in charge.

The next morning I sat with this question: how do I fully turn my will and my life over to the care of my true self? And the answer came back in two parts: the first was, “Get over yourself,” the second was, “Just do it!”

Interestingly, I had recently been to a presentation given by a philosophy professor regarding how to use philosophy to handle mid-life crises. Afterwards, I thought that the real answer was not anything he suggested but rather the advice, “Get over yourself.”

I mean this not in the sarcastic way the phrase is often used, nor as meaning that people should not be aware of their value or talents. Rather, I mean that after learning that your true self is your heart not your ego-mind, and that all your feelings and perceptions are just a product of your ego-mind and are the cause of your suffering, one comes to the realization that whatever is going on around you, whatever is being done to you or in the past was done to you, has nothing really to do with you. It’s all about others.

Thus there is no need or reason to “deal” with these things. We only feel the need to deal with them because we take them personally. If you don’t, you can go forward doing the things that are important to you, the things that nourish you, you can be who you are without regard to these external matters.

When you realize that and act on it, you experience peace and happiness because you are doing what you truly want to do; you are being true to yourself. When you are in that state you affirm that you have everything you need inside yourself to be at peace and happy. And that regardless what life throws at you, all will be well because you will continue to do what’s important to you and be yourself.

And when you’re in that state, you have no reason or need to have any desires because you have everything that’s most important to you … you’re doing what you are meant to do and you are being yourself and experiencing peace and happiness. What more could one desire? The ego-mind could obviously come up with lots of things, but that’s the point.

You will also realize that your ego-mind adds and has added nothing positive to your life. To confirm this intuitive feeling, I reviewed the events in my past that were important positive moments. And I found that all of those occurred because of the guidance of my heart. My ego-mind was not the catalyst for my doing any of those things. To the extent that my ego-mind involved itself, it instead created problems by creating expectations and goals, rather than just being satisfied by the process, the journey.

When you understand these truths and act on them, getting over yourself, you will in effect be one with your true self.  And the last barrier to your fully turning your will and your mind over to your true self disappears. You will have no fear of an ego-free life.

To “do it,” to bring it all together, I decided to devote a meditation the next day to getting over myself, releasing my ego, and turning my will and my life over.  The process deserved and needed that focus. I also decided to add some ritual to the process.

First, I acknowledged that what I experience and had experienced in life has nothing to do with me, that I will no longer take them personally, and that there thus is no need or reason to obsess about these events. And so I recited, “I am now fully over myself,” three times. A ritual followed that involved writing “ego,” “emotions,” “perceptions,” “desires,” “cravings,” and “attachments” on little pieces of paper, putting them in a bowl, and burning them. As the paper turned to ash, I recited three times, “I release all ego, all emotions, all perceptions, all desires, all cravings, all attachments.” Then I recited three times, “I turn my will and my life over to the care of my true self.” Afterwards, I recited the Heart Sutra.

​
And so I just did it. It has now been some time since I performed this ritual. I can attest that as I have gone through my days I feel an unaccustomed lightness. It’s not just that nothing agitates me, now I feel that nothing burdens me. I always feel present, able to be open to all the present moment has to offer, be grateful, and find happiness in the moment. I know that I am free to be myself and do the things that are important to me regardless of what the surrounding situation is. I am at peace and happy in a way that I never experienced before.
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Getting to Know Your True Buddha Self

10/10/2017

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To be free of the ego-mind is necessary for one to experience consistent peace and happiness, to be content.  As one writer put it, “being in the moment without the intellect, but with the consciousness of all things.”  Or as I have translated the Heart Sutra, “Experiencing all things directly without the intervention of thought.”

Many people walking the path understand that this is necessary, and yet they find it almost impossible to free themselves from their ego-mind.  For many, they do not really want to free themselves from their ego mind because they still identify with it so strongly.  But even for those that do want to free themselves, as I have written often, the ego-mind is very powerful, it’s roots go deep. It has for our whole lives defined who we are, how we relate to ourselves and to the world around us.  In trying to free ourselves from its control, we are trying to change the paradigm of our life.

What is necessary to make real progress on this aspect of the path is to believe without any doubt that your true self is your true Buddha mind, your unwounded heart.  And you must know what that means; you must be able to clothe that concept with substance, put flesh on the words of those bones.

Until you have knowledge and absolute confidence in your true self, knowing that your ego-mind causes your suffering will not give you the strength to say no to it, because it’s all you know.  Knowing that your ego-mind is not your true self, that it’s just a product of the mind, will not give you the strength, because even with that knowledge, there’s no positive alternative there.  If you try to embrace all aspects of your being and experience before you have knowledge and confidence in your true self, you will likely come up short because your ego-mind does not want to embrace all aspects of your being and experience.

So how do we gain this knowledge and confidence in our true selves?  How did I gain it?  It happened in stages.    

The first stage occurred when I was meditating one morning.  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.

But as powerful as that experience was, it didn’t stay with me.  There was nothing there for me to connect to, other than the image.

Then I read a Sufi book, Personality - The Art of Being and Becoming, by Hazrat Khan.   He teaches that for the heart to be tuned to the right pitch, “it must have a certain awakening, a certain amount of life in it, that can only be brought about by sympathy.”  And what is inner sympathy?  It is a combination of kindness, mercy, goodness, compassion, gentleness, gratefulness, appreciation. “It is in reality love. And what is love?  Love is God.”

Following this teaching, I discovered through meditation that my heart is light, love, compassion, humility, gratefulness, joy, contentment, strength, courage, and wisdom.  With wisdom being the knowledge that my ego-mind is not my true self and seeing all things through the eyes of my unwounded heart, experiencing things directly without the intervention of thought.  Now I knew what my true self was.

Finally, to more completely connect with my true self, I undertook an exercise that I heard of.  Imagine yourself in a bare room. And imagine finding your true self in that room; for me it was my smiling toddler.  Say to it, “I’m coming home.”  See it reach it’s hand out to you.  Take that hand and let your true self lead you out of the room into the world.

Every time now when I am in some negative energy situation, and I feel that smiling toddler beside me and my hand in his, I feel his positive radiance course through me and outward. I am filled with light regardless what is happening around me.

And so I have found absolute confidence and belief that my true self is my unwounded heart.  And my ability to conjure up my smiling toddler enables me to create a forcefield of positive energy around me that my ego-mind cannot penetrate.  And so I am able to experience things directly and be at peace and happy.

But as I’ve learned before, I must still remain ever-vigilant, awake; if I am distracted, my ego-mind will use that opportunity to rise and try to pull me away from the light within me into darkness.
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Freeing Yourself from Suffering - The Prerequisite Step

10/1/2017

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There are many steps to freeing yourself from suffering.  In summary form I have noted them in my posts, “12 Steps on the Buddhist Path,” and the “End of Suffering Cheat Sheet.”  But there is one step which is a prerequisite to progress on that path.  And because of its importance and difficulty, it deserves to be highlighted in a separate post.

The first teaching the Buddha gave was The Four Noble Truths: we all suffer in countless ways; the cause of our suffering is our craving; the cessation of suffering comes with letting go that craving;  the path enabling one to let go that craving is the Noble Eightfold Path.

So right from the start, the Buddha made clear that we do not suffer because of the facts of life, because of the way we are treated, because the way the world operates. No, he said that we suffer because of our cravings, which is how our ego-mind responds to those life experiences. Thus we crave security, love, success, recognition, respect.

“That sounds totally natural,” you may say.  Yes and no.  The Buddha made a clear distinction between having those feelings and craving those things … what he termed “clinging” to them.  The feelings themselves are not harmful; they are indeed a normal reaction to life.  It is our clinging to them, our obsessing about them that cause suffering.  And so it is the craving, the clinging that we must let go in order to end our suffering, not the underlying feelings themselves.

Likewise, when these needs are not fulfilled, when we do not duly receive what we crave, we respond not with hurt or pain but with anger, hatred, a desire for revenge, or fear.  Again, the problem is not with feeling hurt or pain when we are not treated properly.  That is natural.  It is the enflamed emotions that come from clinging to those wounds that cause us suffering.

If one looks at the classic seven deadly sins … lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, pride … all but one are examples of clinging, obsessing about otherwise natural and not harmful feelings:  sexual desires/lust, desiring food/gluttony, desiring material things/greed, desiring rest/sloth. experiencing hurt/wrath, feeling good about oneself/pride.  Only envy does not have a non-harmful basis, for one should never compare yourself to others or want what they have.

So long as we feel that we suffer because of what has been done to us, we cannot experience peace and happiness, at least not on a consistent basis.  Because we feel dependent on external forces over which we know we have no control, hard as we may try, we suffer.

It is only when we accept and acknowledge that we suffer solely because of our attachment to our feelings and perceptions, the way our ego-mind has reacted to our life experiences, that we can effectively begin the process of finding peace and happiness.  That truth is the prerequisite.  Because we do have control over how we respond to life.  We do have a choice.

Further, it is when we realize that our suffering is not caused by external events that we can stop denying the things that have happened to us or aspects of ourselves.  The reason why we are so often in denial is that the truth is too painful; external events have that power only because they cause us suffering.  This applies equally to labels we apply to ourselves, which are external in that they don’t come from our heart, they come from our society, peers, or family.  And with denial our pain festers.  But if we feel these facts/events don’t make us suffer, don’t bring up guilt or shame, there is no reason to deny them and they lose their power over us.

And so each of us must sit with this truth … that our life experiences do not cause us suffering, it is how we respond to those experiences that cause us suffering. Sit with the things that push your buttons and discern the difference between the natural hurt or pain caused by the experience and the turmoil/suffering caused by your anger, hatred, or fear, for example, which was your emotional response to the experience.

This truth will open the door to experiencing peace and happiness, to be who you are.  Because the truth will give you the strength to reject the guidance of your ego-mind, embrace all aspects of your being and experience, know that things are the way they are because it’s just the way it is.  Nothing then offends, nothing blocks your connection with your true Buddha self, your heart.  And so all internal and external struggle ceases.  You will know you have everything you need inside yourself to be at peace and happy.


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    All
    1. The Goal Of Buddhism
    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
    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 Courage And Wisdom
    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
    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
    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
    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 ?
    Co-existence Of Buddha Nature And Ego-Mind
    Compassion
    Control
    Craving "Survival" Condemns You To Suffering
    Crying - An Understanding
    Darkness Before 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 Say No To Your Mind
    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
    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 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 Suffering - The Prerequisite Step
    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
    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 Observe Through The Eyes Of Your True Buddha Self
    How To Offer Others Joy
    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: 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 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 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 - Yet Another Take
    Knowing Best?
    Know Thyself - The Power Of Awareness
    Lack V Abundance
    Let Go - Let God
    Letting Go
    Letting Others Go Their Way
    Liberate Yourself From Thinking
    Likes And Dislikes - A Potential Trap Examined
    Listening - Why Is It So Difficult?
    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 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
    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
    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
    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 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 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 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 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 Soul’s Yearning And How Best To Fulfill It
    The Stages Of Acceptance
    The Stages Of Man’s Spirit
    The Subconscious
    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
    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 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
    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 Don't Need To Be Liked
    Your True Self And The Irrelevance Of The Min

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