How to avoid becoming discouraged due to our mistakes?
Just because we have slipped and fallen doesn’t mean we have to keep slipping and keep falling. And it certainly doesn’t mean that we have [...]
Self-improvement: The PIE we can’t have and the PIE we can have
Self-improvement: The PIE we can’t have and the PIE we can have Self-improvement is one of life’s most challenging endeavors—not only because changing ourselves is [...]
When being nice is not nice…
When being nice is not nice... Be nice to contain the vice that is inside, not to conform to the vice that is outside Being [...]
Bhagavad-gita as the LED light for our life
Bhagavad-gita as the LED light for our life - On the occasion of Gita Jayanti, let us consider the life-affirming and enriching message of the [...]
How to change when we don’t feel ready to change?
Even if we don't feel ready to change, we can change to feel ready. Start from wherever we are, not where we think we need [...]
Three differences between educational warnings about danger and fear-mongering
Three differences between educational warnings about danger and fear-mongering - Fear is one of the most common and widespread human experiences. We live in a [...]
When our mind doesn’t care for the things that matter to us
When our mind doesn’t care for the things that matter to us, we don’t have to stop caring for those things. We can choose to [...]
Even if we have to live with our mind we don’t have to live for our mind
Even if we have to live with our mind we don't have to live for our mind - We are stuck with our mind, but [...]
Stick to your words, but don’t be stuck with your words
Intelligence means to know when to stick to our words and when to not stay stuck with our words. Our trustworthiness is determined, in the [...]
Does surrender necessitate checking the brain at the door of the house of God?
Does surrender necessitate checking the brain at the door of the house of God? - Surrender doesn't mean checking our brain at the door on [...]
Are we connecting the dots or concocting the dots to connect?
Connecting the dots is a sign of perceptive intelligence, while creating the dots that can then be conveniently connected is a sign of deceptive intelligence. [...]
How desire abducts and abandons us
Desire abducts with the promise of pleasure and abandons us in the province of trouble. The Bhagavad Gita (18.38) states that sensual desires lead us [...]
What truth will our life story demonstrate?
We can choose what truth our life story will demonstrate: what is possible with God or what is inevitable without him. Our life is defined [...]
Tackling impurity from indulgence to transcendence
Impurity needs to be tackled by focusing on transcendence, not tickled by fantasizing about indulgence. Whenever we have any impurity within us that triggers desires [...]
“If you say yes I say no” – why we sometimes make irrational decisions
To reject an opinion by default just because we dislike the person giving that opinion is just as bad as accepting an opinion just because [...]
Feeling better or healing better?
Feeling better or healing better? When we are trying to grow spiritually, it’s important to be clear about the parameters for growth. Frequently, we understandably [...]
Regrettable but not regretted decisions
Just because a decision is regrettable doesn't mean that it will be regretted. Our life is filled with decisions—some small, some big, some good, some [...]
Going beyond spiritual dumbness & numbness
Overcoming our numbness and dumbness toward spiritual things, including ultimately God, involves addressing two ways in which we become spiritually deadened. As indicated in the [...]
When an action triggers fear…
The Bhagavad-gita (18.30) states that intelligence in the mode of goodness is able to view actions holistically in terms of their consequences, whether they are [...]
Transform our wandering into a pilgrimage
In the Bhagavad Gita (18.61), Krishna states that he is directing the wanderings of all living beings from his strategic vantage point, which is within [...]
Are nostalgia or utopia distracting us from meditation?
Meditation is essentially about connecting with a timeless divine reality that resides and presides beyond the mundane reality, which is constantly subject to change due [...]