I often refer in my writing to turning your will and your life over to your true Buddha nature, the divinity that is you, or the child of the universe that is within you - interchangeably.  I also say that things are the way they are because it's just the way it is; it is meant to be and it's all ok.  I also refer to Buddha-mind and ego-mind. Realizing that these words can cause confusion - these are foreign concepts for many if not most people - I thought I should explain the connection of these thoughts in one post, rather than just referring you to various posts I have written ov ..read more

It's one thing to seek guidance when you're sitting on your cushion, meditating or praying.  It's another thing to do so throughout the day, and not just seek guidance but hear guidance and choose to follow the guidance. To do this, you have to be in the right space.  When you are in the control of your ego-mind, you won't think of seeking guidance and if it arrives unbidden you won't hear it because the ego-mind is not receptive to that guidance. So if you want to seek and receive guidance from Buddha/god*/the universe, you have to be free of your ego-mind, at least at that moment ..read more

It's one thing to seek guidance when you're sitting on your cushion, meditating or praying.  It's another thing to do so throughout the day, and not just seek guidance but hear guidance and choose to follow the guidance. To do this, you have to be in the right space.  As I've stated in previous posts, when you are in the control of your ego-mind, you won't think of seeking guidance and if it arrives unbidden you won't hear it because the ego-mind is not receptive to that guidance. So if you want to seek and receive guidance from Buddha/god*/the universe, you have to be free of your ..read more

Cloudy overcast weather affects many people negatively.  It affects mood/spirit and energy level.  Especially in places that have lots of overcast days, this often creates psychological problems for many people. Early on in my Buddhist practice, I wrote that behind the clouds, the sky was always blue and the sun was always shining.  The lesson here was that regardless what is going on at the moment, your true Buddha nature within you, your divinity, is constant. The other morning when I was driving to work on an overcast day, I suddenly realized that even on grey days, the sun ..read more

An important, essential part, of freeing myself from "the conceit, 'I am"," has been turning my will and my life over to the care of my true Buddha nature, the divinity within me, the universe (which  as I've explained in other posts is one and the same thing). How to actually implement and achieve this transfer has been a years-long adventure.  In the interim, as the reader of my posts well knows, I have in important ways remained in the control of my ego-mind.  I have felt like a bifurcated person: on the one hand, few things pushed my buttons anymore and I was largely at pie ..read more

I have written several posts that include the practice of "mirror time," but the practice is so beneficial that it deserves a post of its own. Every morning when I get up, the first thing I do after washing my face in preparation for my morning meditation/prayer, is to practice mirror time.  Mirror time is an opportunity to love yourself, recognize the divinity within you, and begin your daily conversation with god, with the divinity within you. This is what I say with fervor while smiling at myself in the mirror: "Good morning.  I love you. I rejoice in the lord and am happy. I s ..read more

There is a Buddhist maxim that we have everything we need inside ourselves to be at peace and happy.  Although we say the words, and believe in the Buddha dharma, it is hard for us to believe that this is true. Our conditioning – meaning how our ego-mind has reacted to our life experiences – has created within us the belief that we are dependent on many things for our happiness and security:  the actions of other people, having a certain amount of money, having things our way, and having "success"  however we define it.  Plus we feel that we are really not deserving of any ..read more

In my previous post on this topic, I discussed the revelation from god that the reason why I did not feel grateful throughout the day, why that wasn't my default state, why I was not filled with wonder was self-loathing.   As a result, I began to forgive myself the harm I had caused others and myself – which remarkably was not part of my previous practice despite my 12-step work.    I also invited my Buddha nature, my child of the universe, into my subconscious. But I found that this did not work in that, despite my prayer and intent, although I was feeling more gratefulness an ..read more

Most of us spend much time and energy searching for what we want, what we desire.   Since we feel we don't have it. we feel it has to be found someplace other than where we are, whether in a physical sense or a personal sense. Not only do we spend much effort searching, but inevitably we are frustrated in our search.   Either we do not find what we are looking for, or if we chance to find it, within a short time we find ourselves dissatisfied and go on the search again.   It is an endless cycle causing us much frustration; we are distraught and suffer. Why is this?  This ..read more

One of the things that comes most unnaturally to modern man is humility, even humility before Buddha/god/the universe.   Of course since most of modern mankind does not believe in any force larger than himself, it is not surprising that he is not humble.   But even those who do believe in a larger force find it very difficult to be humble, even to have the intent to be humble, because they are so in the control of their ego-mind.   And the ego-mind has no interest in humility because to it's way of looking at the world, adopting that state is not how you protect yourself. I sta ..read more