Maybe one of the more painful, or even frightening things, is when we are unable to get another person—especially one we love—to hear and understand us. The person listening doesn’t necessarily even need to agree with us—if only they would listen and understand our experience. Can you hear me? Is that too much to ask? […]
Tag Archives | finding peace
The Answer To ALL Relationship Issues
Is there such a thing as the answer to ALL relationship issues? Could relating with other people be straightforward and uncomplicated? And, with our partners, can love truly be easy? The answer to all these questions is yes. Before I tell you the secret formula, let me tell you a bit about the man who […]
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 Is Reality?
“It is sometimes said that our image of reality is an illusion, but that is misleading. It may all be an appearance in the mind, but it is nonetheless real—the only reality we ever know. The illusion comes when we confuse the reality we experience with the physical reality, the thing-in-itself.” Peter Russell A […]
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 […]
The Worst Thing I Almost Ever Did To Myself
If you consistently read our blogs you know that, recently, my mother passed away. The way I have processed her death has been very—I’m searching for the right word—nourishing, affirming, enlightening. These seem like strange words to use when talking about losing someone I dearly love. Yet, I feel good about the way I spontaneously […]
Acceptance
The difference that makes the difference. Over the last few days I’ve been thinking about why Live Conscious is different than other forms of psychology, self-help practices and group dynamics. I’ve been in therapy several times over the years— in my mid-thirties I did cognitive therapy—basically I spewed and my therapist asked questions and felt […]
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 […]
Live Well So You Can Die Well
I want to die in the same manner that I am learning to live—with gratitude and a sense of wonder and awe. Wednesday night I got a message that one of my oldest and dearest friends had a stroke. I’ve been a good friend with Jimmy and his wife Katie for over 30 years. I […]
Be Here Now Like Maow
Years of study with a Japanese Zen master gave me a strong referent experience of what it means to be here now. He was my first Zen teacher and now there’s our cat, Maow. We can all learn to be here now, like Maow. He is the master of simple enlightenment. Maow is always in […]