I see and hear this line everywhere—in church, on the mouths of well-meaning friends and neighbors, as well as on the little pearls of internet wisdom that travel mindlessly around. Years ago, in the midst of a monstrous catastrophe, I was at the receiving end of this comment countless times. It was usually delivered with …
Stop chasing happiness
Anyone who has ever felt true happiness at any given point in her life knows what a rare and special gift it is. Extensive studies have shown that money can contribute to happiness up to a point, but only the point at which it buys us the basics and a few discretionary dollars. People with …
Who do you profile?
The population of my neighborhood is diverse in every way you can imagine, cutting across the spectrum of race, creed, sexual-orientation, socioeconomics and age. Because of its proximity to Manhattan, there are many languages spoken, and on any given day during my daily river walk, I hear accents and languages from the Near, Middle, and …
Does Hawking’s grand design really exclude God?
I have just finished reading Stephen Hawking’s new book, The Grand Design which was hyped more or less as the book that disproves the existence of God, or at the very least, disproves God’s involvement in the creation of our universe. In the words of the authors (it was co-authored by physicist Leonard Mlodinow), “…the …
Are you “exactly where you are meant to be”?
There is a prayer (*see note) that circulates the web which I’ve received countless times. It contains the line “May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be.” Depending on your life, situation, or the day you’re having when you run across this line, it may lift your spirits or crush …
Would you wear the “God Helmet”?
Some of you may already know about this experiment, but if not, watch. You will either be amazed, grateful, upset, or if you’re prone to cynicism—suspicious. But chances are you will feel something. It documents the efforts of a neuroscientist to magnetically stimulate a specific area of the human brain in order to induce a …
Everyone’s a guru.
The other day I attended a seminar given by a woman I have known for a long time. She is a visionary, medical intuitive, spiritual mentor and mystic—the real thing. In addition to owning a number of impressive patents, she has also developed a powerful system of energetic healing that she teaches to lay persons …
Are you awake yet?
I remember many decades ago when I first heard about the now ubiquitous “onion theory”— how much sense it made to me. For those who are not familiar with it, it is as obvious as this: the self is like an onion—the truest part lies deep in the center wrapped in layer upon layer of …
Take a walk with your Higher Self
Most of us are familiar with the ancient mystical concept of the Higher and the Lower Selves and the grand, nearly impossible divide that lies between. In some mystical circles the Higher and the Lower Selves are also known respectively as the Permanent and the Present Day personalities—the perfect and the corrupt. This makes sense, …
Take a walk with your Higher Self
Most of us are familiar with the ancient mystical concept of the Higher and the Lower Selves and the grand, nearly impossible divide that lies between. In some mystical circles the Higher and the Lower Selves are also known respectively as the Permanent and the Present Day personalities—the perfect and the corrupt. This makes sense, …
