It was my nature at a very young age to be observant and contemplative. I observed the restrained and reverential behavior of people in church. I also observed, curiously, that many of these same sanctimonious people were often irreverent, insensitive, and sometimes cruel outside of church.

Why we are here? Who and what are we really?. The great mystical traditions are astonishingly united in their answers to these questions; they each claim, in different ways, that we are essentially sparks of Divine Consciousness, emanated by the Divine out of itself, and placed here in this dimension to travel back to conscious union with the Godhead.

We do not practice meditation to gain admiration from anyone. In this essay we learn some basics of meditation and how to meditate.

We usually have a love-hate relationship with emotions. When we aren't subduing our difficult emotions, we love to feel them and explore their meaning. We hold onto them, recall them, even obsess about who's to blame for them, gossip to our friends about how bad they are...

I walk with the Great Spirit, with God. I talk to Him. The Great Spirit guides me in my life. Wakan-Tanka, that's what we call him in Lakota. You can call Wakan-Tanka by any name you like. In English I call Him God or the Great Spirit. So call Wakan-Tanka whatever you like. Just be sure to call Him. He wants to talk to you.

People are eager to return to normal after a year of coronavirus, but is the U.S. there yet? Hardly. The ongoing psychological and spiritual damage caused by the pandemic is rising, too.

We look at things always with old eyes. You come to your home; you look at it without looking at it. You know it -- there is no need to look at it. The last time you looked at your wife or at your husband may have been years ago...

One of the most devastating elements of the coronavirus pandemic has been the inability to personally care for loved ones who have fallen ill. Some had to say their final goodbyes through smartphone screens held by a medical provider. Others resorted to using walkie-talkies or waving through windows.

The technique of the "Inner Advisor" brings forth an image that represents wisdom, love, support, and safety. This image can be anything. Inner advisors can be guardian angels, imaginary friends, or simple intuition -- that important small voice within.

Some grow up against a backdrop of strong pious traditions, while others are born into families in which both parents belong to different denominations, or no denomination at all. Most of us tend to adhere to the religion of our parents, but some choose to venture on their own spiritual paths...

Generally speaking, humility is a virtue. Foolish pride and ego glorification are pretty much universally recognized as the opposite of spirituality. An effective way to cultivate your spirituality and lessen your ego is to put yourself into the service of another...

Yes, love your brother. Yes, live in harmony with nature. But first and foremost, pave the way for the best within each one to shine outward. In other words 'Heal your mind'. But how? 

Thank you, infinite goodness, for your bounteous gifts, including peace, love, freedom and joy, health, energy, and abundance which liberally surge through me and to me each time I live fully in the here-and-now with you, and let go of all my perceived pain from...

Change is ongoing. So, you are finding yourselves energized, mobilized to move beyond the present motion in your lives, beyond the present attachments, beyond the present alienations. The alienation, aloneness, frustrations, resentments, angers, doubts, and fears -- all of this you can leave behind in one swoop...

In late winter, many Christian denominations observe a 40-day period of fasting and prayer called Lent. This is in preparation for the spring celebration of Easter, a religious holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

In our youth-obsessed culture, the advancing specter of growing old becomes something to be tirelessly avoided. Our society's beliefs about growing old don't honor the eldership status of our seniors. What's usually overlooked is the tremendous storehouse of knowledge and wisdom that...

"Our findings dispel the myth that mindfulness-based intervention outcomes are exclusively the result of mindfulness meditation practice, and suggest that social common factors may account for much of the effects of these interventions," researchers write in a new study.

These times of uncertainty, anxiety and overwhelming information, mean that many of us are seeking to find a sense of calmness. A mindfulness practice — the simple act of pausing, taking a breath and becoming aware of our mind, body and heart — may offer some respite as well as a way to support one’s desire for action.

Sense ability is the skill to observe your thoughts, your feelings, and your behavior. It also makes you aware of others and provides real-time feedback as to how your feelings and behavior affect others -- inhibiting or inviting closeness, empathy, tolerance, emotional intimacy, interconnectedness, and oneness.

These are the instructions for the meditative practice, The Gate of Forgiveness, from The Alchemy of Stones, Chapter 13: Forgiveness.

In the 17th century, the French philosopher René Descartes came up with the "explanation for it all": I think, therefore I am. This statement was the source of debates in philosophy classes. It was the existential "which came first" dilemma: the chicken or the egg?

Realizing that we create everything we experience - no matter how positive or negative it may seem - is the first step in spiritual mastery. But it's only the beginning. Trying to satisfy the endless needs of the ego leads to complete disillusionment. I'm a strong proponent of viewing acts of service as a...

Spiritual progress is painfully slow and uncertain until the eyes of discernment are opened. Without discernment, we too often mistake the inward promptings of our small self for the voice of the higher spirit of Truth.