Your Truth May Not Be Another's Truth

Your Truth May Not Be Another’s Truth

I joined another large Facebook group. I learned the bigger the group the bigger the lion’s den. Sometimes I feel vulnerable, thinking a lion might attack me at any moment. I shared my Living Promises, which are brief guidelines to fully live our potential, which include joy, thankfulness, and forgiveness. Some agreed. Some were confused. One girl said I seemed a little creepy. If I were nine…

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What Holy Book Do You Read?

Rather than judging someone by their appearance, it is much more rewarding to find my reflection in others.  From my car window in downtown Los Angeles I saw this unidentified man strolling down the morning street before the city started to bustle.   His blanket contrasted beautifully with the grayness of the old buildings.  I wondered what was on his mind and if he was   content with his…

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A Chair is Made of Non-Chair Elements

It was Thich Nhat Hanh that redirected the path of my thinking many years ago. Until that time, I thought I was quite aware of what a chair was. It must have hit me at a vulnerable moment when Thay said, A chair is made of non-chair elements. Drunk with exhilaration, I tried to share my newfound revelation with my family, who I’m sure thought I had gone mad. But from that day on, I could never…

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Whose Nightmare is This?

I woke from the stabbing pain of shingles. I drearily tilted my neck to see the bottle of aspirin on the table. With large red numbers, the alarm clocked said 1:11AM. The date also glowed with beautiful symmetry- 2/2/22. I had taken two pills before I went to bed. I suppose one more wouldn’t hurt. Carmen was snuggled close. Many hours later, or so it seemed, it sounded like Carmen was chanting…

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Paradise is here. Paradise is now.

I once went with a friend to see Thich Nhat Hanh when he came to my town. From a distance, I was proud to see the man who had already transformed my life with his teachings. There are many that have not seen him personally. Fortunately, we are now bestowed with his wise teachings that have been preserved in his writings. Beautiful words never die. They are living things. They have the power to…

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A Great Leader Does Not Have to March With a Sword

Perhaps it is once in a lifetime a leader arises amongst us to remind us what is important and to challenge our thinking. Thich Nhat Hanh taught us that a fearless leader does not have to be a powerful warrior. Thay’s power came from something much more effective than a sword and shield. His power came from his patience, compassion, and understanding how the universe is wonderfully woven together…

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There Are Many Paths to Enlightenment

Many years ago, shortly after becoming a father, I felt the need for my growing family to have spiritual guidance. I was raised in the Protestant faith and my wife was Catholic. We settled on going to a Presbyterian church close by. I yearned for a universal truth about how we can be the best humans we were intended and that we were on the correct path of fulfilling our purpose. I wanted to…

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The Sea of Interbeing

Nearly a decade ago, Thich Nhat Hahn’s simple, yet profound words showed me how everything we see and cannot see is wondrously woven together in a sea of interbeing. I had never given previous thought how a cloud, the rain, a tree, and a simple sheet of paper are dependent on each other. Thay matter-of-factly explained how they cannot exist without one other. After penetrating the depths of his…

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Be Thankful for your Suffering.

Hooray! I survived Covid (actually, being vaccinated I recuperated quickly.) But I got shingles at the same time! I feel somewhat slighted because I couldn’t separate the Covid experience with the other ailment. I’m not complaining. Soon I will be jumping around. I try to live as I teach and I am thankful for this temporary discomfort. Suffering is not bad but a normal human condition. I hope…

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Touching the Universe

Many years ago, shortly after becoming a father, I felt the need for my growing family to have spiritual guidance. I was raised in the Protestant faith and my wife was Catholic. We settled on going to a Presbyterian church close by. I yearned for a universal truth about how we can be the best humans we were intended and that we were on the correct path of fulfilling our purpose. I wanted to…

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Pal was a good dog

Pal was a hood dog His house was small. Dad sad he was warm at night.  Pal had a chain on his neck.  The chain came off.  Pal ran in the street and got hit by a car.  Pal was a good dog.  Photo- 1963. 

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To Adoptees: Enjoy the Ride of your Journey

To Adoptees: Enjoy the Ride of your Journey

At seventeen dad gave me his old car.   I was free to go anywhere.  While friends planned parties, I planned my first trip to Indianapolis to search for the woman who gave birth to me.  I would later find her, although deceased, nearly twenty years later.  I met uncles, aunts, cousins, a grandmother and even two brothers and a sister who shared my bloodline.   Twenty five years later I found…

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Thirty Years and a Tiny Dream

Thirty years ago my wife, Carmen, and I opened a small jewelry boutique that was half the size of our tiny one-room apartment.  We started slow.  It was all we could afford. After a few newspaper ads, customers trickled inside. Looking back, it is amazing the amount of jewelry one could buy for only a few hundred dollars.  Times have changed, and what was once $200 may now be $1,000.  But then…

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Mourning

Do not make yourself look haggardly or unkempt when you grieve.  You do not need to show the world you are grieving. If you hold joyful memories in your heart, and know that you contributed more happiness than sorrow to your loved one, you must not frown, but be joyful.  If there is consciousness beyond the grave, your loved one will receive more benefit from your smile, not your tears.  One…

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MY RING IS TURNING MY FINGER BLACK

MY RING IS TURNING MY FINGER BLACK

The problem of the black finger has always been a mystery. Even though a ring can be 14K gold or higher alloy, a person’s finger can suddenly turn black. Usually this can last from a day to many weeks but the problem usually goes away. Every jeweler has their own answer to this mystery and its solutions. Unless the ring was created with a high percentage of nickel alloy, the ring itself is not…

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The Secrets of the Universe

As a young adoptee I had one simple quest: to find my birthmother. Twenty years later I found her, but she had already died. I did, however, joyously find loving aunts, uncles, two brothers, a sister, and even an 87-year-old grandmother! When it rains, it pours. My mission was successful, but a new quest began: I was told I had another sister who mysteriously vanished before she was one-year…

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I Never Asked to be Born

I never asked to be born. But I’m glad I was. I never met my birthmother or father. But I’m glad they met one another. That’s why I can type this. Whew! Their acquaintance was probably anonymous and brief. Sometimes humans need something from another at particular moments in their lives. Sometimes it’s a need to be loved, or validated, or justified. I think all of us have felt this way at some…

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