For the first many years of my life I sought ways to make myself feel safe. I sought out people who were safe and avoided those who were scary. Even before I had words for “safe, safety” and “scary,” my instincts guided me. This is true for most of us. Abraham Maslow, an American psychologist, […]
Tag Archives | Enlighten
3 Degrees of Consciousness
Imagine a circle. There are 360 degrees. You are locked inside the circle. The circle is—let’s call it your ego, or identity. The truest “you” is on the outside of the circle. To get out of the circle you must fire your booster rockets and go through an opening that is 3 degrees wide. If […]
As Consciousness Rises Tension Decreases
Our consciousness can rise, like the sun rising in this stunning photograph taken in the Carpathian mountains in Ukraine. And it is my belief that as my consciousness rises, the tension in my life decreases. Inversely, when there is tension in my life, the tension pulls my consciousness down to lower levels. So one of […]
What Awaits You On The Other Side?
Imagine you are walking down a dusty road between two tall hedges and carrying a heavy load. This is the road of an ordinary life. You notice that some people get ahead of you and some fall behind. You have struggled at times along this road to keep up, to get ahead, to connect, to […]
Happy New Year 2015
Hannah and I want to wish you a Happy New Year — we hope you make it wonderful. I believe that I’m more likely to have a wonderful New Year if I slow down long enough to ask, “How will I be a better person in 2015?” If I were to use Perception Language to […]
Why Not Be Present? There’s A good Reason
Life is difficult There is a simple reason why most people choose to not be present in their lives. It’s because being present sucks—if you don’t like your job, don’t get along with your partner or don’t feel good in your body—and therefore you’d rather be someplace else. I remember many years ago when I […]
A Remarkable Woman — my mom
How old do you feel like you are? It was about a week ago when I asked my mother, “How old do you feel like you are?” She said, “Twenty-three.” And if I were to measure her by her spirit and enthusiasm for life I would agree. In physical years she is eighty-nine—and dying. She […]
Make The Most of NOW
Do you want to be happy? Do you want to live with an open heart? Do you want to conduct yourself so that you feel good about yourself? All of this is possible—the key is learning to do two things. Not “learning two things,” but “learning TO DO two things.” Both of which I wish […]
Why Therapy Fails
Tens of millions of people go to one form of psychotherapy or another because they want: To be happier To escape their anxieties and fears To create a happy romantic partnership To find their life purpose and feel satisfied And when I look at the results I reach the conclusion that most therapy fails. It’s […]
Don’t Waste Your Life
I have a client I’ve been working with for a couple of years who recently fell off the self-help wagon and then found her way back onto it. I share this story with you because, to me, her experience is emblematic of so many people who are trying hard to make the most of their […]