Male initiation in post-modern culture To our peril, it often seems like men have two speeds—neutral and pissed. This circumstance is consequent to the simple fact that men are no longer taught to access their emotions. The empowered, mature masculine has given way to what we might think of as a passive adolescence. [...]
8 essential aspects of relationship and self-care There is a story about a young monk who was sent down into the city from his mountain temple by his master to experience the world. Almost as soon as he arrived, he found it difficult to remain centered, and almost impossible to meditate. He would sit [...]
A Buddhist monk stops at a newsstand to purchase a newspaper. He hands the proprietor a $10 bill. After waiting a moment, he says, "May I have my change?" to which the vendor answers, "Change comes from within." For our external world to change there must first be a shift in our interior landscape. I [...]
In the realm of social psychology and psychodynamics, when we discuss chronic lateness, we typically do so in reference to passive-aggression and control. An individual who is passive-aggressive is, by definition, arrogant...and arrogance is bred, not by a sense of personal power, but, rather, through fear and insecurity. In a previous post, I mentioned a [...]
Lao Tzu said that the first step on the path to wisdom is the ability to say, "I don't know." We like to believe that we know a great many things. We understand far fewer of those things, however, than we might like to admit. Knowing a thing and owning it - truly being invested [...]
