As I have gotten older the reality of death and dying has started to show itself more and more. Many of my elders have passed, many relationships have ended, and all of my relationships have in some way changed form. As we get older the reality of death becomes constant, both literally and figuratively. In […]

Avidya: Knowing That You Don’t Know Who makes these changes? I shoot an arrow right. It lands left. I ride after a deer and find myself chased by a hog. I plot to get what I want and end up in prison. I dig pits to trap others and fall in. I should be suspicious […]

The most beautiful people are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross In discussion with many people […]

I didn’t start practicing yoga in India, nor did I begin my studies under the tutelage of any great renunciate. I initiated my practice in much the same way most modern people do—I went to my neighborhood yoga studio and began practicing with a genuine teacher who had dedicated the last several years to intense […]

Ever since puberty, I can’t remember a time when my appearance wasn’t on my mind. Being a teenager was all about feeling too fat, too pale, too short, or just plain not pretty enough. By the time I was 16 I realized that if I simply didn’t eat much, I’d stay thin enough to feel […]

“And when He sees me in all and sees all in me, Then I never leave Him and He never leaves me. And He, who in this Oneness of Love Loves me in whatever he sees, Wherever He may live, In truth, He lives in me.” -The Bhagavad Gita In a recent dialogue with a […]

I’ve broken a lot of bad habits over the years: nail biting, excessive caffeine consumption, sugar, junk food, etc. I’m running out of “things” to let go of. Now, my experience is not necessarily a “habit” that I am letting go of, but rather a way of being. This is proving to be very frightening […]

photo credit: Kanani Ann Daley You fit into me like a hook into an eye a fish hook an open eye -Margaret Atwood My old home had a vicious cross breeze that often blew open the kitchen cabinets and tossed things from the dining table. One day, the wind blew over a full glass of […]

I was raised Roman Catholic and for the first nine years of my schooling I went to a Catholic School. We had confession twice a month, said rosaries, and opened some morning lessons with The Lord’s Prayer. Every spring our religious studies would shift focus towards Easter. We were often asked to give something up […]

Raga, attachment, and dvesha, aversion, both function to satisfy and perpetuate the existence of the ahamkara (I-Maker), whose main function is asmita, or egotism. In reverse we see that the ahamkara uses attachment and aversion to keep us stuck in the grooves of our latent impressions, or samskaras. Basically, asmita/ahamkara is afraid of dying. We’re […]