Individualism Versus Collectivism: A conversation about human nature
If I had to boil the world's political struggles down and throw them in one pot, it would be the fight of individualism versus collectivism. Anarchy versus communism. Starting with Aeschylus, Zeno and Socrates, some of the world's greatest philosophic thinkers have...
A Different Kind of “No!”
Like all the residents of Maui, Hawai'i, and many millions around the globe, I'm still emotionally and psychically reeling from the deadly Lahaina fire. Like millions around the world, I'm asking myself, "What really happened? What's really going on?" Most pressing is...
Stories, illusions and lies, oh my!
I was on a group call the other day, and a guy was talking and he said, "If I don't feel, it isn't real." And then he kept on going and I don't remember a thing he said after that because I was so riveted by that one short statement. It led me into an examination of...
The Teaching of No Words
Many years ago, a spiritual teacher freaked me out at a retreat by saying out of the blue, "Soon will come the teaching of no words." No words? How was that supposed to work? Surely, I wasn't going to have to read my teacher's mind? Was that what he wanted? Was that...
The Great River Crossing of Our Times
River crossings are tricky. Rushing, turbulent waters, slippery rocks, no visible footing, no hand rail, no assurance you'll make it to the other side. Back in the 1960s, every Western I ever saw about people headed West to a new life had a scene where the pilgrims...
Before We Even Understand our Humanity … Transhumanism
“For four billion years, all of life was subject to the laws of natural selection and the laws of organic biochemistry. But this is now about to change. Science is replacing evolution by natural selection with evolution by intelligent design. Not the intelligent...
Transmutation Ahead!
My dear friend, astrologer Emily Trinkhaus, says tomorrow's (Monday’s) Equinox marks a massive turning point. "Saturn has just shifted into Pisces for the first time since 1996," she says, "while Pluto is about to enter Aquarius for the first time since 1798. We’re...
The first time I saw hula performed I was standing under the enormous banyan tree shading the front yard of the old courthouse in Lahaina, watching dozens of traditional hula artists and students perform. I wept. Watching traditional hula was like getting hooked up to...
Kicking Unhealthy Habits
I don't know if you can relate, but I've struggled with excess on and off my whole life. Excess alcohol, excess cigarettes (thank God that habit got snuffed out 40 years ago or I'd be dead by now), excess sugar, excess pizza ... just plain excess in the consumption...
Simplicity
What a surprise after 40 years walking the spiritual path, to suddenly discover myself no longer interested in the journey of seeking something "better," "higher" or "purer." How strange, after all the years of spiritual struggle, to discover that the same rules...