Breaking my time away from social media just to announce this bittersweet moment. I’m becoming a grandfather today. What joy! But my son (the father) hasn’t spoken to me in ten years. Still just rejoicing that my grandson is about to be on this earth.

I love interacting with you all but for the sake of my soul I’m taking some time off from social media. Bluesky has been my best online place but I need a break even here. Maybe just the rest of the month but I’ll reassess then. May you all be happy, well and safe. Much love.

Six years ago today Ram Dass (formerly Dr. Richard Alpert) left his body. I feel so much gratitude for him, his journey and all her taught us.

"Meditate like Christ. He lost himself in love." - Neem Karoli Baba (Maharaji)

The present emotions are not attacking you, my love. It’s all just interpretations of your mind. You are divinely protected. See that.

See beauty in everything. The morning sun slipping in to brighten my day.

You are an ocean of inestimable depth and worth. Why live as though merely this confining container of flesh and bone? You are the Universe. Today, live as ever-expanding wisdom, love and strength. This is you.

I think of this often. We are so lost in our phones that we have lost touch with one another. We numb our deepest hearts rather than sharing them with each other. Ultimately, this is a loss of our very humanity.

If you want peace and harmony in the world, you must have peace and harmony in your hearts and minds. Such change cannot be imposed; it must come from within. ― Nisargadatta (in I Am That)

“Loneliness does not come from having no people around, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to oneself, or from holding certain views which others find inadmissible” - Carl G Jung

“Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy.” -Thomas Merton

“When you are spontaneous and aligned to the Nature, then mistakes do not happen.” -Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

"I was ashamed of myself when I realized life was a costume party, and I attended with my real face." - Franz Kafka

I exist as I am, that is enough. -Walt Whitman

You are loved just for being who you are, just for existing. You don't have to do anything to earn it. Your shortcomings, your lack of self-esteem, physical perfection, or social and economic success - none of that matters. No one can take this love away from you, and it will always be here. RamDass

"Our efforts to remove hatred and indifference from the world begin by trying to remove them from our own mind." -Amma

"The benefits of meditation are never lost. They will always remain with you, ready to bear fruit at the right time." -Amma

“I know more than I understand. I’m intellectually ahead of where I am intuitively; I can say all the things, but I’m not yet fully being them. Inevitably, I’ve got to be them, there’s no choice.” -Ram Dass

“If your mind doesn't go out to disturb the noise, the noise won't disturb you. -Ajahn Chan-

"One should remain as a witness to whatever happens, adopting the attitude, 'Let whatever strange thing that happens happen, let us see!' This should be one's practice. Nothing happens by accident in the divine scheme of things." - Ramana Maharshi

Once we begin to see encounter the true Self it becomes so much easier to laugh at the ego body. I just teared up listening to Rocky Mountain High in the car. Must’ve looked nuts both laughing and crying as I drove home. I love this adventure of Self discovery.

Learned an amazing acronym yesterday. For those of you who also battle with shame this may hit home: Should Have Already Mastered Everything I’m really going to try to think of this each time I feel shame over all the many things I feel it over. Credit Anne Lamott’s forward in There is No Othe

Aging can be fascinating. Many fight against it but if you choose just to watch the changes in your impermanent body and mind it can even give a few good chuckles. Just grabbed reading glasses as I head out to shop. There will be labels to read after all. Where did this old man come from?

There is no point worrying about the outer events of your life because you can exercise no control over these destined activities. Your responsibility in this life is to see who you are, not to rewrite your life script.” - Annamalai Swami Keeping this mindset is perhaps our hardest struggle.

Father/Daughter fun day! Her semester ended and I had a spare vacation day so off we go to the art gallery and lunch at my favorite Indian restaurant. So excited, I’m giddy. Love this incredible young woman.

Journaling honestly is an incredible tool of svadhyaya (self study). But it must be honest and not written for an audience. This ruined my journaling for years. Much time spent imagining how I’d look if others read it. Giving that up has made all the difference.

“He alone knows to whom He will reveal Himself under which form. By what path and in what manner He attracts any particular man to Himself with great force is incomprehensible to the human intellect. The Path differs indeed for different pilgrims." -Anandamayi Ma

In our escapist culture, I think we must each learn to be able to simply sit with uncomfortable thoughts and emotions without reaching for a distraction. Just sit, acknowledge and observe even things which feel terribly painful. This strips their power without self-harming forms of distraction.

“You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is like an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.” -Mahatma Gandhi

The spiritual path, such as it is, starts much like a twelve step program. You recognize and admit that there’s a problem.

“The very awareness of my dullness is the freedom from that dullness.” -Jiddu Krishnamurti

"To believe in Him under any particular form is not enough. Accept Him in His numberless forms, shapes and modes of being, in everything that exists. Aim at the whole and all your actions will be whole." - Anandamayi Ma

" Listen to your heart and not your ego prompts you to boast of vain assertions to obtain the glory of this world. Turn away from vanity and seek Him in the recesses ... of your heart and soul. " - Abdul Qadir al- Jilani

“Happiness is our very nature. What overshadows this happiness is, 'I want this', or, 'I want that'. I want something, this is what puts away happiness.” -Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

"Right within us is the key to the mystery of everything." - Paramahansa Yogananda

The great change comes in seeing thoughts and feelings simply as phenomenon like anything else and no longer seeing them in terms of me, my and mine. When conditions are right the rain storm arises. When the conditions are right a thought or feeling arises. These only arise in a me-shaped space.

Practicing meditation, pranayama, asanas, chanting will not mean bad things will never happen in your life. They will instead change your inner environment and the perspective from which you view things both positive and negative. This makes all the difference in the world.

You must look at where you came from and go back to the root. You aren’t looking for a new place, you are looking for the original place, which is the place you have lost. In Dzogchen, we call this the “meeting of mother and child.” ~ Jigme Losel Wangpo

“Whatever tale you tell me, whatever suffering you are going through, I see only God in you - the Blessed Lord Himself. And yet, your sorrow touches me.” -Anandamayi Ma May we all learn to look at each other with eyes like this.

Feeling unappreciated for what you do for others? Resentment building? Remind yourself that the true motivation for helping others is not to earn praise or even thanks but just to just being doing the right thing. Be kind and helpful for its own sake and then resentment will trouble you much less.

If you are doubting today and feeling unloved or unworthy of love, let me assure you, you are both worthy and loved. No matter what mistakes you’ve made or things you’ve failed to do you are worthy of all the love in the world. I love you.

If I could leave you with one message today it would be a reminder to do your sadhana today. Whatever your practices consists of, please, don’t let the day pass without doing even a small bit of them. It will change the outcome of your day.

“Millions of trees in the world are accidentally planted by squirrels who bury nuts, then forget where they hid them. Do good and forget. It will grow someday.”

“Stay quietly at one place and do your spiritual practice sincerely and earnestly, and thus fill your own emptiness. Only then, the treasure that you have accumulated will of its own accord communicate itself to others.” -Anandamayi Ma

“God alone is Peace. Relentless, one pointed perseverance brings about the change in perspective which will establish you in Peace.” -Anandamayi Ma

"Whether you worship Christ, Krishna, Kali, Allah, in fact you worship the only light that is also in you, since it permeates all things. Everything originates from light, everything in its essence is light.” -Anandamayi Ma

“Happiness is your nature. It is not wrong to desire it. What is wrong is seeking it outside when it is inside.” -Ramana Maharshi

“By whatever path you go you will have to lose yourself in the One.” -Ramana Maharshi

“To have faith is to trust yourself to the water. When you swim you don't grab hold of the water, because if you do you will sink and drown. Instead you relax. and float.” -Alan Watts

As I awaken to myself I awaken to God.