Alleviating Suffering
When we see real and unavoidable suffering all around us—on television and even within our own communities and families—we may experience helplessness or guilt. We know that these two responses do not serve others yet we don’t know what else to do sometimes.
It may seem particularly indulgent and selfish to focus on ourselves when others are struggling with basic survival. How can we let ourselves get wrapped up in figuring out whether we should go back to school, start a …
It’s A B*tch Being Conscious
Do you ever feel that it takes more work, more out of you emotionally, to live a conscious life than it did to live less-than-consciously? Many years ago I had a T-shirt made with the saying, It’s A Bitch Being Conscious. I wore it on the first day of my Journey Into Ecstasy workshop intensive because I could count on it to evoke instant, knowing laughter from all the participants.
So why do we do it? Why do we keep working on ourselves when it takes so much effort, when w…