Growing Gratitude can be a powerful practice to build a positive feeling in the mind and heart. I think the energy of gratitude goes deep and when practiced faithfully and wholeheartedly it can yield incredible results. Gratitude is the quality of being thankful. And in communication with others, it is a readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness. We are most often grateful for the good and positive things in our lives. When we acknowledge our capacity to endure hardship and difficulty, we can be grateful for our fortitude. When it comes to gratitude in communication, try this…(click below to read more)

What do I value? Do I value what the world has to offer in its empty promise of fulfillment of an identity which is subject to the changing tides of consciousness? Do I value the impermanence which persists in its unrelenting obvious reality as the earth crumbles and submerges before our very eyes? Destruction and the constancy of change making itself known on our beautiful pulsating planet... Do I value the junk food media of divisive rhetoric that puts upon pedestals the most fearful mongering to keep the masses powerless as the hypnosis of social media swoons the intellect into frail receptivity...

Each morning of everyday, my heart is filled with gratitude for her Eternal Presence which lives in the energy of boundlessness…The heart, where seeds of wisdom have been planted and are watered with Love and Devotion.

Guru Purnima Day is a special day to cherish the relationship between students and teachers. It symbolises the significance of teachers in removing the darkness of ignorance and imparting knowledge. This year it is celebrated on July 21. The full moon on this day is said to amplify the energy of gratitude and spiritual connection. I came across the following expression that I had written on the eve of Guru Purnima last year. A few days ago I shared it with one of Ngeton’s students who encouraged me to share it with all of you. (click read more to continue.)

The following Prayer, written by me, is intended to invoke and expand Light in the Heart of our Humanity. It is Universal and inclusive of all Faiths.

May the Heart of our Humanity - The essential Light in each and every one ever expand in the potential of Peace and Unity. May we continually persevere in the strength of Spirit to overcome obstacles and divisiveness perpetuated by hatred and ignorance. May Light, Love and Peace prevail in the Heart of our Humanity and in every Nation on earth.

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Teaching / Contemplation

Thoughts aren't a dime a dozen. They are free. And yet they are bound at the same time by the sense of "I.” That thing that says all thoughts are me. They are not you. They are a vibratory ripple imbued with feeling. Your feelings are not you. They are sensation. You observe sensation. How is it qualified? Does it feel "good", "bad", or "indifferent"? Watch and observe fearlessly. The fearless witness is you. The deluded experiencer is not you. And yet experience arises as the play. Sometimes a tragedy. Sometimes a comedy. But always a play of mistaken identity. We give power to our experiences as they are considered "Life." Life is THAT which is prior to experience and has the capacity of the gentle watcher. Knowing that it wouldn't even give a penny for your thoughts.
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Unfulfillment goads desire and fantasy. All will be temporary. All will change. The foundation of Divine Love and Awareness doesn’t change. The changeless Presence is the seat of happiness as it is not engaged in the dance of duality. Rather it sits quietly on the throne of Peace, knowing that it is fulfillment Itself and not bound by the ever changing array of Life’s wondrous display. (end post)

A Poetic Evolution…
When I think I have come to the end of my wits, I play my new album, God’s Greatest Hits. The first side sings gently to my heart that’s been broken that Eternal Love is forever unspoken. It lives in the stillness of Peace and Light and urges the warrior, ‘continue to fight’. Fight the delusion of false disposition and unmask the True Nature free of contrition. You see, God is abundant in every pore of our human being and essential core. The core of Reality ever glowing… Simplicity of Truth always bestowing the Graceful Light of Love Divine. God ends side one with ‘You are all mine’. Side two hastens quickly all thats been seen both inner and outer living serene…

In honor of Kay Huckabee & Precious Moments.

I walked through the hall of the hospital in my double mask and into the ICU, as I turned the corner and entered her room, I saw her beautiful eyes. “You came!” she said with her eyes and consciousness shining in spite of her Physical condition. “Of course I came! I came as soon as I heard!” I said emphatically as waves of emotion gave way to Love of Being. There. With her. In that moment. Throughout my time with her on that day, her spiritual strength, the depth of her yoga practice and internal spiritual work was so apparent and deeply inspiring…
I had gotten a phone call a little earlier from a friend who said he had some unusual news. He told me she was in the hospital and could pass very soon, within a day or two…a week. Shock, sadness, tears and a sense of urgency were simultaneous. I needed to get to the hospital. Period.
He said, “Kay wanted me to tell you that she has been chanting White Tara Mantra and that she appreciates the work you are doing.” I had been in touch with Kay two weeks prior via text expressing a strong intuition I had for her to do the White Tara practice. Her text back to me the next day read: “Ring the bell on enlightened awakening through White Tara friend.” I met Kay in the late 90s after moving back to Maui from NYC…

Article for Maui Vision Magazine
Theme “Returning to Wholeness”

Wholeness is the essence of our True Nature and the core of our humanity. We may call it Source, God, Buddha, Nature, etc.. When we allow the attention of our thinking mind to rest in the heart, we nurture our True Nature. This present wisdom has the capacity to illuminate our experience.
The past can serve us in our present wisdom. The pandemic has brought about much loss, suffering, and sometimes seemingly insurmountable challenges. It has also given us an opportunity for transformation, both individually and collectively. We have had an opportunity to reflect and expand our capacity for spiritual resolve and resilience, as well as to strengthen our endurance.
Resilience deepens our present wisdom and overall sense of well being. We can nurture our nature by recognizing this aspect of ourselves that is constant and unchanging.

Don’t shoot the Unicorn

Excerpt from my forthcoming book. “The Art of Awakening True Communication”.

When we look at the events and increasing divisiveness in the world it’s really easy to feel pessimistic and lose hope for the collective capacity of our shared humanity to overcome the challenges we face. Awakening and increasing our spiritual strength, the core of our humanity from the inside out, from the individual to the collective is the key. Most people have a positive association with the unicorn and its symbolism. The symbolism of the unicorn is linked to purity, freedom, gentleness, positivity, innocence, joy, divinity and magic. There is an inherent purity and divinity in all of us. A Divine spark that we can ignite in ourselves and others or let it fade in darkness. We tend to cloud or obscure our divine nature through our lack of awareness of the divine nature in ourselves and others. Once we see the clouds we create that cover the positivity and gentleness which are natural qualities of our true nature, well….then our spark burns a little more brightly. We want to nurture that spark in ourselves and others.

Nobody gets better at samsara. Samsara gets the better of everybody. We invest unreality with our best. Precious attention consumes itself in the battle of the world and its discordant voices, ringing upon one another in vibrational madness. Nobody gets better at samsara. Samsara gets the better of everybody. And yet, samsara is the lonely creator because it alone cannot exist without everybody’s best.

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An excerpt from “The Art of Awakening True Communication.” my forthcoming book.

Feeling Connection is a resonance and recognition of our interconnectedness that surpasses thoughts, ideas, and emotions. Sometimes we limit our sense of connection to those who share our same beliefs and points of view. Our human connection is so much deeper and richer than that. When we engage our values and express honestly and authentically, we touch the core of our human nature of which the essence is unconditional and unchanging love. This is what holds us together and is the foundational Unity of our shared Humanity.

Connection is felt when we understand our habits and patterns of disconnection. Connection is Openness, Presence and Love. Love and acceptance are the forerunners of feeling connection. Connection is unspoken. Connection is fluid. Connection doesn't get stuck in disconnection. Connection is life. Connection is now and lives in the present moment of unknown possibility.

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Prior to a Gathering to honor Ngeton, I was sitting quietly and thinking of her with the question , “how do we honor you?” the immediate response I felt in my heart was “ you honor me by being Truth” and then this came…

We honor her through courageously applying the teachings to master the substance of our minds and clear the obscurations of the essential light that we are. We honor her through discerning patterns and transforming negativity within our minds and in relationship to others. We honor her through loving one another and having compassion in our hearts for all Beings. We honor her through acts of kindness and words of encouragement to others in times of difficulty. We honor her with a courageous mind and a wild open heart! We honor her in laughter and Joy. We honor her as the single unicity of unconditional love that lives in our hearts. We honor her through devotion. Nisargadatta Maharaj said, “devotion is unity”. We honor her through continually receiving, recognizing and feeling abundant gratitude for her Graceful transmission of Love, Wisdom and infinitely powerful compassion.

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Goodwill is always in Season
For it abides in Truth and Reason
That Our shared Humanity is woven Eternally by the thread of Love
In the Light of Christ.

May We look upon ourselves and others with the Wisdom of equality. May we view our differences with discernment and as an opportunity for awakening acceptance, kindness and compassion.

May we express Goodwill in all Seasons and create Peace on Earth. Together.

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Many years ago, I lived and performed in New York. It was there where I began to hone my craft in Stand Up Comedy as well as study dance and acting. I had been acting in plays for most of my life and was fortunate to study with a brilliant and well respected acting teacher. One of his former students was Dustin Hoffman to whom he referred to as “Dusty” when he was critiquing our scenes and monologues…..No pressure there!! In my own small acting world, I had done quite well in getting good roles and a few awards here and there. After I completed my first monologue for him, he looked at me and said emphatically, “My God, you’re working so hard!”. Working hard sounds like a good thing, right? In acting it’s not. It means that I was pushing and over compensating. In that moment I knew I was in for a ride… All of my habits and “acting techniques” were going to burn in the fire of finding the truth in the moment…

The sustaining heart of love through grief, loss and difficulty.

The beauty of the human spirit can be experienced in the throws of our greatest difficulty. It is when we sometimes hit our highest lows that we break the bonds of sorrow in our courage to face our feelings of loss in the moment. We are reminded of those that we shared embodied life with. A memory of a touch, a smell…a tactile resonance of our life together. We long for them in memory and weep for ourselves in the present moment of recollection. There is a visceral reality to loss. After the passing of my mother, who was also my beloved Guru, I experienced layers of loss that at one time I thought would never end. I have found that grief is a process that when experienced in honesty and compassion that there can also be insight and understanding. At a time when so many have lost loved ones and are grieving, I would like to share a couple of insights. I hope that what follows can be of benefit….

Blessed are those who see beyond the bonds of time and limitation.
Blessed are those who perceive the Eternal Light of essential nowness that has no part in time whatsoever, but is the gentle watcher of appearances in the phenomenal world arising. Blessed are those who devote themselves body, mind and soul to Truth. Blessed are those who live the truth of what they have realized. Blessed are those who do not rest on the laurels of past realization and make them another conceptual prison for the mind. Blessed are those who seek complete and total freedom. Blessed are those who devote themselves to the essential presence of God within and without. Blessed are those who see God in others and love God….

Timeless Grace effortlessly moves the Luminous Heart…
Love in Action
The beautiful potential of our humanity.

There is a presence of Grace in every moment …..a vibrant openness. In every given moment in relationship, circumstances and events there is a sublime opportunity to shift our ordinary mind of perception and experience something new and unexpected. We have an opportunity to live in the Grace of the Heart which knows no boundaries of self and other. This all-inclusive and embracing Love is a gateway to True Freedom.

With our coming change in leadership, a great relief and welcomed by so many, I was considering America’s Idealism and Ideals….what follows is a spontaneous writing.

America’s Idealism & Ideals. We strive for becoming a nation with shared values of human decency and equality, the core of our democracy and who we are or would like to be as a nation. Who are we as a people and who are we individually? To expect unity to come from a leader only is to be mistaken. “Opportunity lurks where responsibility has been abdicated”. —J.P.

So, what are we responsible for at the inception point of interrelatedness?

The lava rocks embedded in the ocean sand remain grounded as the waves of water wash over them. Eventually over time the rocks slowly change form. The elemental play….God’s sacred expression. Nature in Divine interaction of natural change. The elements have no resistance nor conceptual relationship to change. Simply sublime naturalness… as effortless as the space in the sky.

Effortless changeless Self Nature
Eternally Present in all that is arising and changing
Ceaselessly

As people pit against one another as well as unite in shared humanity, we are indeed at a pivotal moment. A crossroads, where we can choose the Spiritual bounty of the Hearts resonance or we can choose the materialistic downslide which seeks to denote and destabilize the essential nowness where creative potential thrives in open possibility…..The possibility of a new world in which our humanity and shared values are honored and all is made equal in our essential sameness. A new world in which the power lies with the Heart of Spiritual equality which is indicative of our human equality. A world in which we steward the land of our beautiful earth with respect and care for the natural order of Life on this planet.