While it's appealing to "Trust the Force," it's important to recognize that trust shouldn't be forced. Trust typically develops over time...

The practice of mindful self-awareness, focusing on emotions rather than thoughts, emphasizes that we not avoid, deny, suppress, or...

A person considered to be a founding member of a Twelve Step recovery program often said, "Whatever it is that you're looking for, you're...

Mossy fence crumbles, Indelicate barbwire clings, Vine, emptiness flows. 一We Are the Practice Itself

Suffering is neither random nor arbitrary. In Buddhism, particularly in the Way of Universal Loving Presence, this concept is related to...

What can make life really hard for us, oftentimes harder than it perhaps needs to be, is us. For me, it would usually begin with negative...

Once, Ruth and I were hanging out at Cosi's, a place close to a meeting we'd just attended. We were going over my Step work when she...

Yesterday, I had a conversation with a youngling in recovery. I invited him to get a pen and paper because the tendency is that we talk...

The pure wind skims the bright moon, The bright moon skims the pure wind. Calligraphy note: 純風 | Junpū | Pure Wind!

This morning, before I opened my eyes, I was brought back to a moment from my past that was a pivotal way in which I met my life. It was...

What is Codependency? From my perspective, it's a blend of emotional and behavioral tendencies where a person forms an unhealthy...

Eyeglasses removed, All beings, Earth's great dance, Universal Loving Presence prevails. Calligraphy note: 醒 | Sē | To awaken, become...

This morning, someone messaged me, attempting to give me a raft of shit; for my lack of belief in God and accusing me of leading people...

Don't say yes, when you mean no. Don't say no, when you mean yes. Simple Simple = Happy Happy. 一We Are the Practice Itself Calligraphy...

In Japanese sword making... "Nihon-to" there are usually four qualities that are valued in the blade, which can also be applied to Zen...

Sitting, reflecting on the question that greeted me upon waking this morning--"Is it possible that how we live our life is the personal...

Daily, we flex our stupidity as adults to the young. Refusing to get out of the way of our societal stupidity, like fashion models, we...

In Zen world, when we say, Mūshin... "no mind" or "no thinking" it's often misunderstood as a state of emptiness or absence of thought,...

Sharing some personal re-translations from the Shodōkā (Song of Awakening) by Zen Master Yokā Daishi, based on my personal experience....

Living without being mindless, we can more easily embody a presence that emanates from our genuine nature. Mindlessness often leads to...