Throughout history, few subjects have aroused the fear, fascination and terror that entities have. Our folk history is filled with tales of ghouls, goblins, evil spirits, bewitchings, demonic possession, devils, spells, ghosts, angels, curses, the occult, demons, miracles and magic. Our lore about entities is also replete with ignorance, fear mongering, hyperbole of unimaginable proportions, enough lies toRead more
The Heart Sutra
Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, meditating deeply on Perfection of Wisdom, saw clearly that the five aspects of human existence are empty*, and so released himself from suffering. Answering the monk Sariputra, he said this: Body is nothing more than emptiness, emptiness is nothing more than body. The body is exactly empty, and emptiness is exactly body. TheRead more
Finding Faith I
It is easy to get tangled up in the differences between faith and belief, so let me offer two simple definitions. First, I will define faith as that which connects one to the divine, to essential Truth. “Divine” can range from your perception of God to a deep connection with the Self. It is the essential spiritual connection.Read more
Seeking Truth
Seng-ts’an lived in the late sixth century, and was the third patriarch of Zen Buddhism in China. He wrote a famous poem blending Taoism and Buddhism in which he said: “Do not search for the truth; just let go of your opinions.” He also wrote: “The great way is not difficult for those who are unattached to theirRead more
Learning From Failure
You know your failures. They are vividly (and painfully) etched into your consciousness. There is a reason for this and we’ll talk about that in a minute. We are here to learn and grow, and the primary way we do that is through failure. Success is wonderful, but you don’t learn as much from it because success largelyRead more