When you were just an infant, your experience was, in the words of William James, a “blooming, buzzing confusion.” You had no language and hence no discrete categories of thought to label, classify, and organize your perceptions. Everything just swirled around you, bombarding your senses from every side. It was fascinating – and frequently overwhelming.Continue reading “Seeing the Truth”
Category Archives: Education
Working on Ourselves
When it comes to understanding ourselves, humans tend to be a fairly confused species. This is not to say that other species really understand themselves, either. It’s likely our evolved talent for self-conscious reflection and contemplation that makes understanding ourselves even possible, as well as what’s behind our confusion – and a lot of ourContinue reading “Working on Ourselves”
The Path Through College
It is common for college students to envision their career as something that’s ahead of them, as the anticipated next step after graduation. As they make progress on their degree plan, many are secretly hoping that their credential will open the door to a job that pays well and doesn’t suck. A significant number ofContinue reading “The Path Through College”
5 Floors
Ego is just your “I,” the center of self-conscious experience that locates and manages a personal identity in the middle of everything. It’s not what is wrong with you, or the “obstacle” on your path to liberation, enlightenment, and wellbeing. In fact, none of those long-sought goals of salvation would be possible without your ego.Continue reading “5 Floors”
A Family History of the Passions
We like to think that we act the way we do, believe what we believe, and curate a philosophy of life based on rational choices. We thought it all out and made a decision. Where we stand on things and how we feel about it is the product of careful consideration and common sense. Right.Continue reading “A Family History of the Passions”
The College of Unconditional Love
I don’t get it perfect every time, but with practice I’m getting better. Over the years working in higher education with students who are trying to find their path, I’ve come to understand what they are seeking as “vocational clarity” – not a major, not an occupation even, but a freely chosen path of purposeContinue reading “The College of Unconditional Love”
A Glossary of the Spiritual Life
It is common to assume that since religion is such a complicated topic, spirituality should be as well. The sprawling variety of deities, symbols, rituals, sanctuaries, traditions, customs and beliefs across the landscape and history of world religions might lead one to conclude that the spiritual life of humans is just as variegated. We mayContinue reading “A Glossary of the Spiritual Life”
Our Human Adventure
I can absolutely guarantee that after a short orientation, you will be able to find yourself on the map illustrated above. Now, whether you build on that discovery and successfully find your way to the fulfilment of your human journey, also known as self-actualization, salvation, and the liberated life, is entirely your choice. You mightContinue reading “Our Human Adventure”
A World Worth Imagining
That little plant in the illustration to the left is rooted in a Mystery of deeper oneness named Being. It is also connected inside a Web of higher wholeness named Universe. If our plant knows any of this, it is not at some epistemic level of knowing, using logic and rational thought to construct aContinue reading “A World Worth Imagining”
E Uno, Plures. E Pluribus Unum.
When Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson agreed on the phrase “Out of many, one” (in Latin e pluribus unum) for the Great Seal of the United States, their idea was of the new nation as a manifold unity of individuals. America’s diversity would be the secret to its success – particularly as thatContinue reading “E Uno, Plures. E Pluribus Unum.”
Tracts of Revolution 