I saw a great quote recently: "People are like tea bags—you can’t tell how strong they are until you put them in hot water." Interesting and well put...

We have all heard the ideal of living in the present. But what does it really mean and why is it so strongly advocated?

Well, it's finally over. And if you are like most folks living in California, you are not happy with the results. Some folks here are extremely happy, however. Both camps may well be overstating the impact of what has transpired.

If God is generous, just, and kind, why is there suffering? How can our little planet see such injustice, pain, and cruelty? Maybe an image can help make what is happening clear.

As I have written before, the major human delusion and desire is to find peace and happiness by getting everything just right—and then freezing things so they do not change. We imagine that if we just try hard enough we can somehow enter that Promised Land. If that is your plan I’m afraid I have some bad news...

We all know how imprecise language is, and how hard it is for our words (and thoughts) to capture reality. The best we can do is an approximation. I heard a marvelous story recently on this point.

Just the other day I was shaving in my bathroom at home when I noticed a small spider in the tub. He was trying to climb out, but of course the slick walls made it impossible. He tried over and over and over. While impressed with his fortitude, I felt to lend a hand (and a jar).

Wow. What a spate of not-the-most-comforting news these days. Ukraine? Israel? Political strife? Recession fears? Martians attack New York City? (O.K.—maybe I made that one up…) Time for a little levity. Here are some of my favorite cute stories from East West. A smile on the face is often a cure for what ails you…

A few people have come into the store recently asking questions like, “So what is the spiritual path, really?” “What does it mean to be ‘on a path’?” A friend thought this would make a good letter. I hope this is so, and thus felt to take a shot at answering briefly…

Many have perhaps heard the term satsang. It is Sanskrit and means "collection of truth seekers." There is something called the Three Pillars of Buddhism: The Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. The Buddha is the perfect example for each of us. The Dharma is essentially the teachings. The Sangha/Satsang is the collection of truth-seekers. Why are gatherings of devotees so important as to be central to Buddhist teachings?

Most spiritual traditions make it quite clear that Spirit/God/The Divine knows better than we do what is best for us. That is why it pays to ask for Divine Guidance. But if that is the case, why bother to pray? Are we letting Spirit know something that is not already known? And if not, what’s the point of the attempted communication? Maybe we think Spirit might be having a memory lapse, so we are helping out? (I think that’s mostly me these days, actually…)

Clearly one cannot see Spirit, nor touch it. In fact, none of our senses can make it known or heighten our awareness of its presence. If that is so, why do we have images of saints, enlightened beings, or other images on our altars, walls, and shelves?

Well, we live in a material world and we thus have a generally materially-oriented mind. We can try to conceive of Spirit as something like "The Cosmic Ground of Being," but I have to say, for me at least, that is not especially inspiring or heart-opening.

Yes! Thus completes the shortest newsletter ever. See you next week. :-) Oh, wait, maybe I should explain? Well... since you asked...

We tend to think of uplifted states as outside of ourselves. "Looking for inner peace." The "search for happiness." "Trying to find myself." But this is a confusion of what is really going on. Joy is our nature and joy is within everyone... even you! The more appropriate question is, "If joy is within me, what am I doing that prevents me from knowing it and feeling it?"

One of India's great lights was named Lahiri Mahasaya. There was another great soul in India named Trailanga Swami. Trailanga referred to Lahiri as "God's kitten."

Trailanga's disciples naturally asked him what he meant by that. He explained that a kitten is picked up by the scruff of the neck by its mother and instantly and completely relaxes. The kitten totally trusts the mother and knows it will be taken to wherever is best.

Well, that's sort of a big question, so before jumping in I thought to tell a story:

George Washington Carver was born into slavery and became a deeply spiritual man. He also had an insatiable curiosity about—well—almost everything. One day as he was praying, he asked God, "What is the purpose of everything? I want to understand it all!" God answered, "Well, George, that's a mighty big question for a little fella like you." "O.K. then," George said, "how about telling me everything there is to know about the peanut?" God answered, "O.K... now we're talking."

This is a story that has made the rounds over the years, but is just too good not to share…

There was a businesswoman sitting in the airport waiting for her flight. A gentleman sat down next to her. Her open bag of mini-cookies was between them. She reached in, grabbed one, and started to munch. A moment later he smiled at her and he reached in and grabbed one himself, not saying a word.

It is easy to see something that is "off" and allow a desire to blot it out to well up within us. This is of course understandable, but when it comes to dealing with ourselves, often not the right idea. It is not, of course, that discipline and will power have no value—they obviously have great value—but using our will to prevent a negative tendency can be exhausting and somewhat self-defeating.

I believe a humorous story can often be more effective than the expounding of an idea. To that end, there are a couple of stories I’d like to share this week with a similar theme: that we are not as much in charge as we think! The part of our lives that is our responsibility should receive 100% of our focus and energy, of course, but there is more going on beneath the surface than we are aware of…

Yogananda spoke about being even-minded and cheerful in all circumstances. The mind immediately goes to an extreme. "Do you mean to tell me that if this horrible thing happens [fill in your own blank] I am supposed to stay even-minded and cheerful? How absurd!"

This is a trick of the mind. Rather than seeing success as directional improvement, it latches onto an extreme, to show that whatever thought it does not like is therefore unrealistic.

Perhaps you have seen one of those old movies about a hard-working scientist. He suddenly shouts “Eureka—I found it!” with great joy. It’s a well-known cliche, but there is perhaps a bit of a flaw in the depiction.

There’s a great quote uttered by John Kenneth Galbraith, famed Harvard economist:

Faced with the choice between changing one’s mind and proving that there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the proof.

It is of course quite perceptive and somewhat endearing, but the deeper question is… why is it so true?

I have just returned from Italy and was with many friends at the large Ananda center there. It reminded me of an experience from years ago that is a great subject for this week's letter...

A friend of mine was talking with an atheist one day. As the topic drifted to God and he described his atheism, she had a marvelous reply: "I don't believe in the same God that you don't believe in."

I have recently run up against a pandemic perhaps more dangerous, and certainly more widespread, than the one that caught all the news recently: perfectionism. If this afflicts you or someone you love, please read on (even if you discover a typo! :-) ).

I bet you do not fix your car yourself. I bet you do not fix your plumbing yourself. I bet you seek expert advice on complex tax situations. I bet you seek advice from a physical therapist if a muscle or joint problem persists. Why, then, are people so terribly hesitant to seek advice or guidance about something much more important: Their inner life, relationships, or even life in general?

I had a most interesting experience some time ago…

I went to Castro Street for a walk with my wife and to have a coffee at Red Rock. Outside the shop I saw a cute, tiny dog. A woman had the adult dog in a small baby carriage.

There’s a good friend of mine who is an American living in India, where he has been a teacher of yoga philosophy for many years. He has been a disciple of Yogananda for over 50 years, and is one of those I have looked up to as a friend and mentor for decades.

It is a natural tendency to focus on what would be better for everyone were a given situation different. Obviously there are times where focusing on and preventing something from happening is both best and entirely sensible.

But it is a habit of the mind to focus on the darkness and it is very often not particularly helpful for either the situation or for ourselves.

We live in such an us-centric universe in our own minds that we assume our perceptions are rock solid, so whatever we are seeing that is “off” must itself be out of whack. If you knew that someone had slipped a drug into your drink, you’d be less confident in your own perceptions as being true to reality. Well, the truth is — we all have been slipped a drug. The Yogis call it maya, the sanskrit word for “delusion."

I want to tackle a challenging topic this week. Yogananda said, "All conditions are neutral. It is our response to conditions that determines whether they are good or bad."