Untitled @leanintoyourlife - Tumblr Blog

The Day I Argued with a BMW and Met Myself

I was out on a bike ride on my way back to my car. It was a typical busy day on Main Street in Ann Arbor, just the kind of chaos that makes

I was out on a bike ride on my way back to my car. It was a typical busy day on Main Street in Ann Arbor, just the kind of chaos that makes you feel alive yet cautious. Always aware of traffic, I found myself in the left lane, signaling for a turn, when out of nowhere, a guy in a BMW zipped around me. Almost on instinct, I shouted “Fuck you!” Without thinking, just reacting to the moment.

To my surprise, he slammed on his brakes and jumped out of his car, ready to confront me. As we exchanged harsh words, I paused for a second, was this really how we wanted to resolve things? Here we were, two people caught up in a trivial moment amid traffic, yet so triggered by a few careless words.

I walked away bewildered, realizing how easily someone can lose control. Those two words, words he might have even muttered himself, had stirred something deep within him. What drove that reaction? Did he lack the self-reflection to see how absurd the situation was? I found myself pondering these questions, recognizing the need for awareness, both in myself and in others.

In these everyday moments, we can find profound lessons. The idea that who we are meant to be comes from daily choices, it’s a gradual unfolding as we learn to renew our minds through self-awareness and reflection. Each day is an invitation to reassess our thoughts and beliefs, which in turn shape our actions and ultimately form our character.

Consider this: Your thoughts lead to your beliefs. Your beliefs guide your actions, and those actions become your habits. Those habits mold your character and pave the way for your destiny. Every conscious choice you make to think positively, to align with your best self, is a step toward fulfilling who you were meant to be.

Don’t underestimate the significance of a single thought. Start today, shift your focus, take a moment to reflect, and notice how this simple change can ignite transformation from the inside out. This isn’t just an abstract concept; it’s a daily reality we all can achieve.

Take my experience as a cyclist, an avid rider finding peace on the road often becomes a time of introspection. Yet, I’ve noticed something unsettling. Research suggests that many people, over 75%, go through life without an inner voice guiding them. They operate on instinct, feelings, and gut reactions without the dialogue that fosters self-awareness.

This absence of self-talk might seem harmless, but it can lead to a lack of reflection and understanding. In a world where people often follow scripts dictated by external influences rather than their own inner wisdom, we risk becoming mere shadows of ourselves, reacting rather than truly living.

What does this mean for our society? It reveals why we can be easily swayed, why we don’t often question the norms or the paths laid out for us. Without that internal conversation, there’s nothing to say, “Wait a minute, is this really right?” No inner voice to challenge the status quo.

So, is the silence we see in others simply a peaceful moment, or is it a sign of a deeper sleepwalk, where people don’t lack desire but lack the tools to narrate their own stories? If this holds truth, then our understanding of what it truly means to be human, to have agency, and to engage with our ethics needs revisiting.

Yesterday I felt full of ambition, dreaming of changing the world. Today, I realize that the deeper change must begin within myself. I’d rather evolve my own journey than try to reinvent the world around me.

Finally, remember: Your intuition speaks in affirmations, while your anxiety poses questions. In every moment, lean into the gentle unfolding of purpose. Life’s lessons are often nestled in the mundane, that’s where profound growth occurs.

With curiosity and an open heart,

Gary

Amidst the chaos and uncertainty of life, I remain open to Grace and the gift of my life. If you have any questions, please email me at [email protected] or call 732-208-2836. Also, please visit my website at leanintoyourlife.net

These Directions Make No Sense!

Last Saturday, I volunteered at a men’s wellness event hosted by the Michigan Men’s Health Foundation at Ford Field in Detroit. The gatherin

Last Saturday, I volunteered at a men’s wellness event hosted by the Michigan Men’s Health Foundation at Ford Field in Detroit. The gathering was remarkable in its simplicity: everything was freely given, blood work, screenings for prostate health and diabetes, haircuts, dental and foot care. Everyone attending was provided with lunch. About 1,500 men were served. There we no pledges, no obligations, no cost, no religious requirements, just an open door to receive care.

The foundation’s mission is both simple and profound: to encourage men to engage with their health and begin conversations with their families that can ripple across generations, shaping a legacy of well-being.

My role was to register men who hadn’t signed up online. That task opened doors I didn’t expect. I met and spoke with men I might never have encountered in my daily life. I shared moments with men of color, something my life too often lacks. By the end of the day, I was tired, but deeply uplifted. My heart was full. I was profoundly moved by the grace of service, by the way simple human connection can nourish the soul.

Probably because of the “ubiquitous algorithms” embedded in social media and websites I visit, I am forwarded videos of people offering spiritual advice. Some resonate, they invite me to pause, to breathe, and to notice truths that quietly speak to the human condition. Others, however, proclaim certainty: the “truth” of life, the “answer” to what we’re missing. They offer sweeping solutions without humility or invitation, as if life can be reduced to a formula. In those messages, I feel the absence of gentleness, the absence of wonder.

I know my reflections here are only that, my perspective, not the truth. Yet I’ve noticed how often these voices circle back to themselves, to self-reference, to dissatisfaction. Too much time, perhaps, is spent searching within for what feels broken.

But there is another way. When we step outside of ourselves and offer service, without expectation, without calculation, we are lifted out of the endless spiral of self-analysis. Service doesn’t have to mean grand sacrifice. It might be a smile for the cashier, a kind word to a stranger, or a few hours volunteering. These small gestures of kindness remind us of our shared humanity, something we are in danger of forgetting in these times.

To serve is to remember: we belong to each other. And in that belonging, something sacred awakens.

With curiosity and an open heart,

Gary

Amidst the chaos and uncertainty of life, I remain open to Grace and the gift of my life.

If you have any questions, please email me at [email protected] or call 732-208-2836. Also, please visit my website at leanintoyourlife.net

#BhagavadGita, #CarlSagan, #CatalinaMountains, #Grace, #Huckelberryloop, #humankindness, #Jewish, #judaism, #leanintoyourlife, #personaltransformation, #psychedelicmedicine, #RamDass, #reformedjew, #SonoranDesert, #spiritualawakening, #spiritualdevelopment, #Tucson, #KashmirShavism, #SwamiShankarananda, #SwamiMuktananda, #ShiHengYi, #siddahyoga, #SpiritualGrowth, #Geneshpuri, #selflove, #spiritualtransformation

Finding Myself In Two Places At Once

The other day, I was on my way to an appointment, running a little late and caught in traffic. Frustrated and restless, my mind drifted to the deeper questions I’ve been wrestling with, the big, existential ones about my life’s direction and purpose. As I sat there, lost in thought, my eyes landed on the license plate of the car in front of me: “DHARMA7.” I couldn’t help but smile. In that ordinary moment, life offered me a quiet nudge, a reminder that sometimes, the question and the answer arrive together, staring at us right in the face.

I often find myself at odds with myself, two seemingly opposing forces pulling at me, both rising from the same ground of being. I am caught in a quiet struggle, living between the current of the divine and a bewildering sense of separation from life itself. I have known, often and deeply, the compelling intimacy of connection, where there is no gap, no distance, only the hum of oneness. Yet lately, more than ever, I feel the weight of the struggle. I am not resisting it. I am allowing it to find its own shape, trusting that through this fire, something deeper will emerge, a surrender, a self more fully realized. But trust does not spare me the ache. The fire still burns. And I know the divine rises precisely from this burning, from the alchemy of pressure and change.

In the quieter spaces of my life, I sometimes sit firmly in the root of being. In those moments, I become aware that everything arises from the same source, the unknowable mystery that breathes life into all things. It is the pulse behind the stars, the silent awareness in which all forms appear and dissolve. In those rare, grace-filled moments, I am not separate. There is no me and no other. I simply witness life expressing itself, person, tree, stone, breeze. All unique, all sacred, all flowing from the same immeasurable source. The illusion of separateness, what some call Maya, falls away, and I know myself as whole, lacking nothing.

And yet, so often, I find myself submerged in the thick soup of confusion, a confusion I myself create. The ceaseless whispering of the ego spinning stories that I am not enough. I should have done better. Who is judging me? What have I failed to become? I wander through the shadowed forests of my own mind, stumbling over the dark, unhealed places that breed disconnection. In that space, trust vanishes. It is the space of the small, self-protective me, the lonely me against the world.

How do I find my way from this tangled forest back to the open field of the divine? How do I live with the apparent tension between my healed and unhealed self, especially when my mind, like a skillful lawyer, builds convincing cases for whatever story it clings to?

I return, again and again, to the quiet knowing, the divine is always here. The mystery is not elsewhere. As I begin to truly accept myself, not just the luminous, awakened parts, but also the frightened, raw, self-defending parts, I settle into something steady, something like peace. As I allow all that I have been, all that I am, and all I am yet becoming, I meet myself with a radical kind of love. There is a saying in the ManKind Project: “All of you is welcome.” And this, I am learning, is the sacred work.

Out of the 100 billion human beings who have ever walked this earth, there has only ever been, and will only ever be, one me, one you. The vastness of the genetic sea makes this life, this moment, statistically improbable. And yet, here we are. The universe does not make mistakes. However imperfect life may seem, each moment is an invitation from the divine to surrender and return to the infinite embrace of the mystery itself.

I am learning to love that life persistently offers me the precise situations that challenge me to face what still needs healing, to clear the emotional rubble that obscures my wholeness. God wants all of me, not just the polished, acceptable parts. The sacred knows my heart. I am not separate. I arise from the fathomless mystery of infinite consciousness.

The cosmos, I believe, leans toward life. It leans toward love. The arc of evolution itself seems to bend in that direction. First breath in. Last breath out. Life is held within the rhythm of this sacred exchange.

Shi Heng Yi, a Shaolin monk, reminds us: “The greatest gift has already been given to you, existence. Do not let anyone or anything take that from you.”

This is the invitation: to remember, to return, to rest in the ground of being, and to live with an open heart, even amid the burning.

The mystery is calling. Will you follow it?

Despite the circumstances I might find myself in, I strive to make inclusion, compassion, understanding, and love my first response.

Amidst the chaos and uncertainty of life, I remain open to Grace and the gift of my life.

If you have any questions, please email me at [email protected] or call 732-208-2836. Also, please visit my website at leanintoyourlife.net

Is This What I really Wanted?

I have a long-time friend, a good friend who has deeply influenced my life. Though we live nearby, we rarely see each other. He’s busy. I’m

I have a long-time friend, a good friend who has deeply influenced my life. Though we live nearby, we rarely see each other. He’s busy. I’m retired. Still, he’s often on my mind.

Last Sunday, I went to a local plant nursery. It was bustling, the parking was tight, and people moved with urgency, eager to grab their plants and get in line to pay. As I eased through the packed lot, I stopped to avoid a collision. Just inches away, in the car beside me, was my friend.

We both looked up, our eyes wide, smiling in disbelief. We rolled down our windows, and for a moment, just took each other in. It was a moment of quiet recognition, familiar, meaningful, uncanny.

Some might call it a coincidence. Others a synchronicity. But I think of it as a kind of quantum entanglement. In physics, entangled particles remain mysteriously connected across any distance. I believe some human connections work the same way. They are timeless, invisible and always alive beneath the surface.

Lately, I’ve been reflecting a lot about my life and where I find myself three years into retirement. I find myself sitting with discomfort and with questions.

This is, after all, what I asked for: more space, fewer obligations, time to slow down. But getting what we ask for doesn’t always come wrapped in ease. It feels as if a thread in the fabric of my life has been pulled, unraveling routines, beliefs, even identity. What once held me together is loosening. I’m being invited to let go.

Retired now, I find myself floating between who I was and who I’m becoming. It’s unsettling, but it’s also honest. Something is shifting. I’m being asked to listen more deeply. To trust more fully.

Grace has touched my life before, often when I least expected it. I can’t summon it, but I’ve learned to recognize its presence. And lately, even in the uncertainty, I feel it near.

I’ve written about my involvement with the ManKind Project. Recently, I’ve been invited to take on a leadership role. A position that once would have lit me up. I used to want to be someone. To be seen. To be acknowledged.

But now? I feel something different. A quiet pull inward.

The desire to accomplish, to achieve, to be “somebody” is softening. In its place there is a growing urge to simply be who I am, fully, without pretense. To embrace my “Garyness,” not in striving, but in surrender.

In the Hindu tradition, there’s a stage of life called Sannyas. It is a time of spiritual deepening and release. Not a retreat from life, but a letting go of worldly attachment. A turning toward the sacred. A commitment to what matters most.

That resonates with me now.

I want to focus on what’s mine to change, and release what isn’t. To stay grounded in the things that awaken me. To live with openness, curiosity, and reverence.

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson said, “that there is so much variability in the human genome, the statistical likely hood of anyone of us arising out of that immense improbability is slim to none.” But, here I am. Here we all are. Each one of us. Out of the 100 billion people that have been alive since the dawn of our species, there has been and only will be one of me and only one of you.

What a gift. I have to assume that I am, that we are not a mistake, but a divine miracle.

We belong to something vast and intelligent. Consciousness itself.

In Hindu thought, Shiva is the boundless, formless awareness—the infinite potential of all creation. Shakti is its living expression—the energy that moves through everything. Together, they weave the universe.

And I? I am learning to trust that dance. To yield to what’s unfolding. To let the unraveling create space for something new.

This is the sacred work of now:

To show up. To listen. To let go. To remember who I truly am.

And maybe, every now and then, to meet a dear friend in a crowded parking lot and feel the universe smile.

Despite the circumstances I might find myself in, I strive to make inclusion, compassion, understanding, and love my first response.

Amidst the chaos and uncertainty of life, I remain open to Grace and the gift of my life.

If you have any questions, please email me at [email protected] or call 732-208-2836. Also, please visit my website at leanintoyourlife.net

Too Hard For Me To Figure Out

https://leanintoyourlife.net/2025/03/31/too-hard-for-me-to-figure-out/ I wake up every day and, to the best of my ability, resist looking at the news. That resistance is often overcome by a voracious need to know what is going on with the dismantling of our institutions and culture. I find myself compelled to turn my cell phone on and read what is published on the websites I follow. I am drawn to the news about our country and culture. I am deeply troubled by the direct and denigrating impact our government has on people's lives. It is deliberate and intentional. I am scared by what I hear and read.

Instead of dismantling people's lives, it would be amazing if DOGE focused on resolving the fundamental societal issues of our time: housing, income equity, poverty, and issues of race and gender equality. There are enough financial and intellectual resources available in this country to fundamentally change the lives of everyone on this planet. That is not what is being chosen. The internet and airwaves are full of people speculating on the motivation of our leaders. Self-interest seems to be the inspiration compelling the government’s actions.

In the face of apparent hopelessness, the only question that matters to me is, what can I do to make a difference? It is unacceptable for me to do nothing or acquiesce under the weight of that hopelessness. Can one person, me or you, be an agent of change? I don't know, but I am compelled to find out.

I can put my attention on being "pissed off and angry" about issues I might not be able to influence, or I can choose to put my attention and efforts on those things I can impact. The first feels self-indulgent, and the second feels empowering.

This is what I am choosing to do.

I chose not to engage in rhetoric. Rhetoric is just that. It doesn't matter its origin. It is nonproductive and serves to generate only more fear. Too many people are already contributing to a nonstop conversation, encouraging discontent and outrage. I don't want to feel angry all the time. That serves no one, especially me. There is a difference between concern, worry, and outrage. I am concerned. Concern motivates me to action. Worry and outrage are nonproductive. I chose not to engage in feeling helpless. That only fosters anger and desperation. So, how can I influence change?

I love these simple life changing words offered by a Shaolin monk, Shi Heng Yi. "It's not important that you become a good fighter in the world. It's not important that you become a good spiritual guide. It's important that you find a way to a pleasant life and in the best-case support other people so they can find the same. This is what it's about. You need to find a way to reduce the suffering of your surroundings otherwise your suffering won't stop."

I would like to share two ways that I bring meaning to my life and, in turn, ensure that I create the opportunity to improve the life of another person.

I am very active in a worldwide men's organization called Mankind Project. The MKP tagline “Healing the Planet One Man At A time.” It has been in existence for 50 years, is active in 14 countries, and has touched the lives of 50,000 men.

Being a cancer survivor, I started an organization called Heal The Within. This organization offers workshops and retreats to help men challenged with a diagnosis of cancer offering tools and insights needed to create a new way to engage their lives.

I have witnessed a man's life fundamentally change over the course of one weekend. His willingness to connect to the truth of his being has implications for all those linked to his life. My spiritual teacher has often said we are all connected to thousands of other people. One man’s journey of healing can reverberate into the world and profoundly touch his immediate family, friends, co-workers, and all the people he connects with over the course of his life. Both organizations are non-secular and have political no political affiliation.

My invitation to you is that now more so than ever, it is important to take a little time out of your day and try to make things slightly better for someone else. A simple gesture of kindness creates a powerful currency of change. Don't underestimate the power of one. In my last blog, I shared this quote: "The Cosmos leans towards the support of life and love, and the arc of time and evolution seems to prove that out." At the end of the day, I will always choose love first.

Despite the circumstances I might find myself in, I strive to make inclusion, compassion, understanding, and love my first response. Amidst the chaos and uncertainty of life, I remain open to Grace and the gift of my life. If you have any questions, please email me at [email protected] or call 732-208-2836. Also, please visit my website at leanintoyourlife.net

An Unavoidable Collision

https://leanintoyourlife.net/2025/02/18/an-unavoidable-collision/

In past blogs, I've shared that my partner and I spend our winters in Tucson mainly because of the exceptional cycling opportunities. On average, we ride around 150 miles a week, taking advantage of the diverse terrain, which includes riding through the mountains, the foothills, and a unique feature known as "The Loop."

Officially called the Chuck Huckleberry Loop, named after the county administrator who conceived it, this 137-mile network of bike and pedestrian paths encircles Tucson. On weekends, especially Sundays, the Loop gets busy.

On a recent Sunday, my partner and I set out on a 50-mile ride, using the Loop to reach the foothills. The sun was shining, the temperature was already in the mid-60s, and view of the mountains, as usual, were spectacular.

As we approached a section of the Loop, we found ourselves in a convergence of walkers and cyclists traveling in both directions. The mix of people in such close proximity quickly led to some tension. Tempers flared, harsh words were exchanged, and I'll admit, I may have contributed to the frustration. In retrospect, all that was needed was a simple expression of patience and understanding. Saying, I'm sorry could have defused the entire situation. The last thing I heard as I rode away was, "You're an asshole".

That morning, my need to be right overshadowed the beauty of the ride. I chose conflict instead of connection. Neurologically, the human nervous system has a greater capacity to process negative emotions. It is often the default. At some point in our very distant past, this reflex was a survival response. Considering our current times, this impulse tends not to be in our best interest.

Looking back on this experience, I can easily understand the extremely polarized times we live in. At that moment, we all wanted the same thing: to get by and enjoy the day. Yet we were all invested in defending "our turf", giving rise to everyone’s righteous indignation.

I found a quote from Gabor Maté, the author of The Myth of Normal, that helped me better understand what happened. The quote is as follows. "We are steeped in the normalized myth that we are, each of us, mere individuals striving to attain private goals. The more we define ourselves that way, the more estranged we become from vital aspects of who we are and what we need to be healthy."

Righteous indignation is often the fuel of conflict. It is fascinating that many people get so quickly invested in a point of view that that is not grounded in any objective truth. Our minds, like an attorney, find evidence to support whatever it is that has caught our attention. That contrived proof then becomes the foundation of an entire belief system. Which in turn takes on a life of its own. It gathers momentum, accumulating other like-minded people around that belief system and, in turn, fostering an “us against them” mentality. Tribalism is not conducive to maintaining anything other than a life walled off from a greater sense of community and belonging.

It is an understatement to say we live in polarized times. I am left asking myself what I, as an individual, can help diffuse this self-imposed tension. I don't want to get swept away in the undertow of a social current that exhausts my ability to maintain my own equilibrium. For me, it is about a change in consciousness. I need to see and experience the Divine nature of creation. It is all inclusive, it is the everything of everything. That includes two trillion galaxies in the visible universe, the mountains of Tucson, the music I love, my friends, my gorgeous granddaughters, me, you, everything. It is my experience that we are made in God's image. We are what created us. We all arise from the interstellar dust created 12 billion years ago and infused with consciousness.

It is my experience that hate and exclusion foster nothing but the same. They resolve nothing. The cosmos leans towards the support of life and love. The arc of time and evolution seems to prove that.

I Want to share two last quotes. They help me find connection in a time when there seems to be so little. "Love is the movement of innate intelligence through our earthly lives" a quote attributed to Amoda Maa.

The second quote is based on a question asked of Carl Sagen. The question was: " What does it mean to live a finite, fragile life in an infinite, eternal universe?" He answered, "We are the means by which the universe understands and explores itself."

Despite the circumstances I might find myself in, I strive to make inclusion, compassion, understanding, and love my first response.

Amidst the chaos and uncertainty of life, I remain open to Grace and the gift of my life.

If you have any questions, please email me at [email protected] or call 732-208-2836. Also, please visit my website at leanintoyourlife.net

ManKindProject #menswork #NewWarriorTrainingAdventure #cancertreatment #cancersupport #Psilocybin #cancerrecovery #cancersurvivor #spiritualgrowth #cancerremission #humankindness #compassion #Tucson #Senorandesert #CatalinaMountains #Tucson #lifeuncertainty #grace #shabbat #sabbath #Jewish #reformedjew #Vedas #Hinduism #Hindu #cycling #bikeriding #loop #Huckleberryloop #Satan, #personal growth #grace #compassion #personaltransformation #RamDass #BhagavadGita #NeilDeGrasseTyson #cycling #inflation #humanity #society #Trump #DonaldTrump #HuckleberryLoop #cyclingTucson #AmodaMaa # GaborMaté #CarlSagen

Staring Death In The Face

https://leanintoyourlife.net/2025/01/04/starring-death-in-the-face/

I love hosting dinner parties. My partner and I had several friends over for a Christmas Day meal. I was in heaven, planning, shopping, cooking, preparing, and completing all the tasks needed to feed eight people. I am nourished not only by the food, but equally by the intimate connection that these gatherings engender.

Before we all begin eating, offering a blessing is a common practice. It tends to be simple. It is a moment to acknowledge the earth for the gift of food, the hands that helped create it, and the sustenance it brings us. We also acknowledge the communion we receive from each other, sharing the connection of friendship.

At the end of the blessing, it is also common to take a moment and go around the table and share something we are grateful for. It doesn’t have to be profound or life changing. It can be a simple recognition of a momentary encounter with a stranger, a child finally cleaning their room, or just a new binge-able TV show.

This time, I felt compelled to not offer an opportunity to share any mention of gratitude. I was distressed even by the thought of doing so.

We had invited a couple we met last year and had been spending more time with. They are part of the large biking community we belong to in Tucson. We share many aspects of our lives, and it was easy to develop a friendship with them. Six months ago, the man was diagnosed with ALS.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is an unforgiving fatal disease. Death often occurs within 3 to 5 years of diagnosis. It is relentless in its aim to weaken and eventually shut down any function in the body requiring the movement of a muscle. That is almost everything. It is a mean and unkind disease. It diminishes a person’s ability to attend to the very basic needs of being alive, slowly diminishing the capacity to speak, eliminate, eat, or even breathe. This man’s symptoms are progressing quickly. You can almost see a minute-to-minute decline in his ability to move.

Sitting around a table overflowing with delicious food, how could I reconcile my gratitude for my life in the presence of this man faced with the immanence of his mortality?

I could not bring myself to ask this gathering of friends what they are grateful for. I did not want to impose my sometimes self-righteous need to show off everything I appreciate in my life. There are no platitudes that serve him, no words of encouragement that will lift him up, and no reassurance that everything will be okay. The suggestion of praying, meditating, or surrendering to the present moment all seem trite and inconsequential.

I don’t know how I would react being told that I have a degenerative illness and that my death is months away. How would I respond as I watch my body stop working, no longer able to obey my commands? Unable to move independently and reliant on someone else for my most basic needs.

I ask myself how I would cope with the reality of great loss, not the loss of a child, spouse, sibling, or financial resources but the very real and imminent loss of my life. How would I face the prospect of having minimal options on how to even engage the next moment of my existence? This is not some vague notion of something that will happen in the future. This is as real as it gets.

I am a deeply spiritual man. For the most part, my life’s journey has been defined by choices and experiences that have deepened my connection to the divine. My experience tells me that God dwells in us as us. My life has continually brought me to moments of a deepening understanding that all life arises out of the unknowable, infinite movement of consciousness.

I live in a human body. The human condition is not always easy. It is often messy and confusing. My life has not always been easy. I am often challenged to reconcile my experience of the divine with my very human existence.

The tension between my struggle of being human and my experience of the divine current inspires me to continually surrender to the unfolding gift of my life. In this surrender, I witness its beauty, grace, and love. This shift happens when the illusion of my separation from life dissolves. Only then can I rest in the essential truth of who I am and view my life’s experiences with greater gentleness and compassion.

I am ultimately not afraid of death. If faced with the unbearable knowledge of my pending fate, I hope I can surrender to the present moment and find release by falling into the wellspring of the divine mystery. My friend has his own journey, something we ultimately face alone. The best I can do is to be his friend, support him in the way he asks, be present to his feelings, and help him not feel alone. In the midst of his crisis, I hold space for the possibility, that even for a moment, this man will have an awakening experience of his divine nature and be able to surrender to the mystery that lives all things.

Amidst the chaos and uncertainty of life, I remain open to Grace and the gift of my life.

If you have any questions, please email me at [email protected] or call 732-208-2836. Also, please visit my website at leanintoyourlife.net

That’s Not What I Chose

I was gathered around a fire pit in a friend’s yard. I sat with six of my closest friends, men I deeply trust, men who know my heart and the

I was gathered around a fire pit in a friend's yard. I sat with six of my closest friends, men I deeply trust, men who know my heart and the truth of my being. I love sitting around a fire. It feels primordial, something that calls to my ancient humanity. Something done for generations provided a way to connect to one's "tribe." It is a space where sharing vulnerably about one's life, challenges, and victories comes easily. It is a space free from judgment. As the night wore on, our conversations shifted to the heart of our lives: work, family, marriage, relationships, finances, those forces that shape us by challenging us to be authentic, loving, and present.

One man shared that he was moved by what a priest shared at a funeral he recently attended. The priest said that "love seeks union." Those few simple words resonated deeply and gave voice to our collective feelings.

As conversations often do, this one shifted to the forces driving people's decisions and how those influences shift across generations, millennials, Gen X, and beyond. Each shaped by their own unique experiences. We were all curious about the general shifts that compelled a particular generation to postpone marriage, have children, and purchase a home, all life events that were familiar to us.

There is a lot of contention and debate about the impact of news on our lives. It isn't a reach to say that the news we consume influences our lives and decisions, both long and short-term. Some of that influence is not always obvious and manifests in subtle, unconscious ways, compelling us to turn in a particular direction when confronted with an important life choice. It's like an unconscious whisper that finds an expression in the conscious part of our brain.

Updates on the economy often dominate the news. Information about the stock market, interest rates, and inflation is pervasive. These issues shape political debates, economic policy, and, ultimately, the quality of our everyday lives. These metrics and the forces driving them aren't just abstract numbers; they directly and immediately impact our well-being. Far from trivial, they serve as critical indicators of the health of our society and the world. Sure, they are important. But they are not the truth.

Inflation is often talked about as if it was determined by some unpredictable force of nature. It’s not. Inflation is the byproduct of people making decisions without concern for their impact on our lives. The concept of “the object is rare, so let’s charge more” is an idea based on greed. What kind of person thinks only of themselves and not the good of humanity?

When I hear or read about these economic indicators, they're often portrayed as if they are detached, powerful entities that hold sway over our future. It's as if we must offer sacrifices to appease them, hoping they'll grant us the prosperity we depend on. It reminds me of a live animal sacrifice I witnessed in Bolivia, performed to summon the rain needed for a bountiful harvest.

Many news sources often end their segments with the most recent stock market indicators as if by reciting them, like a prayer, the spirits that inhabit them are placated for the moment.

What driving forces ultimately influence all the economic indicators? Simply, it is all of us. These "indicators" are reflective of where we are collectively as a culture and society. They are a communal zeitgeist. They are an unconscious agreement for what we choose collectively for ourselves. Ultimately, we are in control of those choices; they just need to be made consciously with knowing awareness of their implications. As a society, we have acceded our ability to decide what we need to sustain ourselves to some disembodied entities.

We don't live in isolation. There are always implications to those decisions. It's not always immediate or obvious. As a culture, we rise together, and we fall together. We all need to be deliberate about the decisions and agreements we make. Our lives are not only about ourselves or the need for corporate profit.

It is essential to our lives and to the evolving nature of our humanity to make choices not only for the benefit of ourselves but also for society. Why would we not want prosperity for everyone? There are sufficient resources today to meet everyone's basic needs. Who in their right mind would want to settle personal or societal differences with war? A mechanism for resolving perceived grievances that deliberately inflicts pain and suffering on other people. I've written about an "us and them" perspective that is all too easy to embrace when, in fact, when you injure another person, you ultimately injure yourself.

How do we each restore ourselves to a deeper sense of our own being? How do we find a way to connect to those in our community and maybe begin to realize we need to save more than just ourselves?

One of the other men sitting around the fire shared some insight about a cultural imperative embodied by the Māori, the indigenous peoples of New Zealand. It is called Whanaungatanga. Whanaungatanga institutionalizes relationships, kinship, and a sense of tribal connection. It is created through shared experiences and working together and provides people with a sense of belonging. It includes a priority to include everyone in a community. So many people live in isolation today, lacking of any connection to the community they live in or the world they inhabit. This might be a simplistic view of a very diverse and contentious world. I'd rather put my effort into improving the quality of life for everyone than on what we all subject ourselves and others in our culture to. Social media and the news need an emphasis on inclusion. I vote for the establishment of the Department of Whanaungatanga.

Amidst the chaos and uncertainty of life, I remain open to Grace and the gift of my life.

If you have any questions, please email me at [email protected] or call 732-208-2836. Also, please visit my website at leanintoyourlife.net

It's Not Free

A few weeks ago, I participated in a plant medicine ceremony. I took six grams of psilocybin, enough to be considered a heroic dose. I've written about my experience using hallucinogens in several of my blogs. It is something I've engaged in over the past fifty years, not consistently, just as needed. Over the last several years, I've taken psilocybin 2 to 3 times a year.

The plant medicine is transformative. It provides a transcendental experience, offering an invitation to experience the totality of one's being without the constant commentary of the mind. For me it is something I engage in when I feel the pressure for clarity and insight about some part of my life, an issue of personal growth calling for my attention.

It reveals information about myself not fully in my awareness that will help bring myself more fully into my life. The mushrooms provide access to an intelligence outside of myself. I am offered insights and healing that help clear away any mental and emotional debris in the way of my growth and a deepened experience of who I am.

This journey was about self-love and acceptance, revealing a part of me that I had kept hidden most of my life. A part of me that was sealed in place using shame and fear as the cement of what seemed like a place of perceived sanctuary. I find that eventually, all those things we keep hidden will create a compelling need to find expression. That act of bringing what needs examination into the light is best done with volition, consciously, with self-awareness, and not done through an unhealed, unintended and unconscious public demonstration.

How often do we, do I give a piece of who I am away to fit in? To mask up and create a personality to project a version of myself that's not completely true or authentic. What is the cost to me, to each one of us of that behavior?

How often do I diminish who I am to accommodate my discomfort of feeling "not enough" when I'm around people that I perceive are smarter or more successful than I am. Those encounters leave me feeling less then. Fear, shame, and self-judgment arise out of the shadows of who I really am. I am not willing to do that anymore. I seek self-acceptance by being authentic, vulnerable, and living my life openly.

Why do we often think we're not enough? Why do we tend to compensate for who we think we should be? I'm 71. My spiritual journey started in high school. I lived in a yoga ashram, spent time with shamans in South America, and have a relationship with a spiritual teacher for over 20 years. After decades of searching for the "meaning of life," I came to realize I needed to look no further than myself. There are almost eight billion people on this planet, all of whom are uniquely different. There are no two people alike. If we are truly made in God's image, we are already perfect. We are all perfect gifts of creation that uniquely reflect the meaning of life. I am, we are each the purpose of life. According to the universe, that must be enough.

Ultimately, it comes down to making the most informed decision about how I want to live my life. It is about the choices I make and where I choose to imbue meaning. Through that intention, I continually deepen my connection to myself and the the divine. I need to always choose love. Love for myself. Love for all that is. That doesn't mean I should stand by and let bad things happen. Yes, there is evil in the world that needs to be met with resolve. I chose to make love and acceptance my default expression.

Accountability and integrity are beacons that inform and guide me in the choices I make as I move through life. Not always perfectly, but always a direction I navigate by. To grow, mature, and access my own wisdom, I need my life reflected back to me. I need that reflection to be able to understand self-inflicted and often misconstrued perceptions of my life. I am blessed to have a community of people who will hold me accountable for being authentic in each moment, no matter how uncomfortable that might be. It is the gift of honesty, love, and compassion offered to me by those people who help me bring myself forward authentically and vulnerably. Their invitation is that all of me is welcome.

Another friend participating in the medicine ceremony, shared that he is the hero that he's been waiting for and the wise man he has been looking for. His life practice, my life practice is to listen and engage that wisdom.

One of the many things that Ram Dass has shared that resonates with me is, "that we all try so hard to get here." It's direct, to the point, and sometimes very elusive. This compels me toward the continual process of self-examination. Everything, and everyone, arises from the same ineffable movement of the creative impulse of divine consciousness. There is no judgment, just the pure expression of life.

Amidst the chaos and uncertainty of life, I remain open to Grace and the gift of my life.

If you have any questions, please email me at [email protected] or call 732-208-2836. Also, please visit my website at leanintoyourlife.net

Waiting To Find Out

It’s been almost one year since I underwent a colectomy to remove a cancerous tumor. The surgeon removed 14 inches of my colon and pronounce

It's been almost one year since I underwent a colectomy to remove a cancerous tumor. The surgeon removed 14 inches of my colon and pronounced me "cured." The initial diagnosis was stage one cancer. That diagnosis saved me from further treatment. No chemo. No radiation. I remind myself daily just how fortunate I am. Since the surgery, I have found myself in the best shape I have ever been in. I keep my weight under 175. Having always been a good eater, I felt compelled to fine-tuned my diet. I am very strategic about the supplements I take. Last winter in Tucson, I rode over 2400 miles and was able to do rides with some significant hill climbing.

The first anniversary of my surgery came with some anticipated events. I recently had a colonoscopy, and my surgeon declared that everything looked healthy and normal. Being cautious and genuinely caring for my health, she also suggested a CT scan. It kind of felt like, "Buy one, get one free."

It took three days for the CT scan to be reviewed and the results reported. At seventy years old, I am one healthy man except for two noticeable findings. The first showed degeneration in several vertebrae in my lower back. The second indicated some "nonspecific findings" in two lymph nodes in the mesenteric region of my digestive system. That means that it could be anything from insignificant to yes, the "C" word. That sparked my worry mechanism. I have to assume that most or even maybe all cancer survivors live with some degree of uncertainty about the cancer returning. I know I do.

I have no pain or discomfort in my lower back. I asked my PCP for her opinion. She answered that most people my age have disk degeneration, adding, "Welcome to the aging process." As to the second finding, my surgeon responded, "We need to find out what's going on," and scheduled a PET scan. So, I'm left waiting and feeling uncertain. I don't do well with either.

One of the first things I do after waking up in the morning is to meditate and pray. Not long. Usually 20 minutes. In some form or another, it is a practice I have cultivated for over 50 years.

My mind settles down. My breath finds its rhythm. My body releases any tension, and I am left profoundly rooted in the present moment. It is a space of clarity. I become open and available to a deep sense of being. There is no story playing out in my head, no agenda I have to attend to. There is only being and the current of the mystery that lives all things flowing through my body.

In that space of being, I can find acceptance for the unfolding of my life. An unfolding that I often have little control over. Being human is often messy and unpredictable. Aging, illness, and the uncertain nature of life can easily cause anyone to fall into hopelessness. Asking God to save me from my predicament only creates the prospect of disappointment. I find there is no rescue from my dilemma. By asking God to intervene, I am setting myself up for inevitable disappointment. Only wisdom, insight, acceptance, and grace are available in the present moment.

The face that greets me every morning as I look into the bathroom mirror has the same look of recognition it did for my entire life. There is always a brief look of amazement as I look back with deep appreciation for the gift I was given and where it has brought me. I am not ready to leave this world. I have much to accomplish. I have people I love and who love me. I find joy and celebration in each moment as I lean into my life.

I can only surrender to the unfolding of my life as it continues to reveal the truth of my being.

Amidst the chaos and uncertainty of life, I remain open to Grace and the gift of my life.

If you have any questions, please email me at [email protected] or call 732-208-2836. Also, please visit my website at leanintoyourlife.net

I Got Stuck Behind a Javelina!

A lot of my time in Tucson is viewed from the perspective I get riding my bike. One of the reasons I spend the winter in Tucson is the acces

A Case of Mistaken Identity

I am by no means religious. I was raised as a Reformed Jew in a middle-class town in New Jersey. My partner and I were invited to a Friday night Shabbat dinner at a friend's house visiting Tucson. Shabbat is the Jewish Sabbath. It was an invitation for connection and community. We are not religious and, as such, not observant Jews. I would never turn down an invitation for a good meal and an opportunity to connect with people I care about.

Before arriving at our friend's house, I had a "moment" with my partner. The volume of my impatience was dialed up and very much directed toward her. The conversation around the dinner table was animated. We all shared what we were grateful for and what concerned us. As my partner was speaking, she inadvertently waved her hand directly in front of my face several times. Already feeling pissed, her unconscious action served to piss me off yet even more. In retrospect, there were many things I could have said or done that would have let her know to please stop. Instead, I chose to push her hand away. I did that more than once. It was not a very relational thing to do. It was unkind.

Several days later, I was hiking with the same friend who had extended the invitation to dinner. We had just crested the top of a rather steep climb and paused to rest. As we caught our breath and started to chat, he shared how my impatience toward my partner impacted him. He clearly stated "that I am an impatient man." We are casual friends. He doesn't have an intimate understanding of my life or really know who I am. In the few words he shared, it felt like, in his mind, he defined the totality of who I am. It came across as a statement of absolute being. My act of impatience became his judgment of who I am. He could have asked about what was going on for me at that moment or more about my relationship with my partner. He could have chosen connection and relationship. Instead, he chose judgment.

Reflecting on that short interaction, I am left wondering how that person's judgment directed outward towards me is instead a projection of some internal unresolved conflict in his life. I am left wondering about all the judgments I cast into the world toward people I don't know. I am amazed at how easy it is for me to have a judgment about a homeless person, a prostitute, a drug addict, a gun owner, or a mother or father dealing with the stress of their lives. I carry an entire catalog of people who are not like me that I hold judgments about. I have mentioned before that there are evil people in the world from whom I need to protect myself, my family, and my friends. That is not what I am talking about. I can never know what is going on in the lives of the people I encounter as I move through my life. I am wondering how my judgments could help me better inform myself about my own life and what I need to look at and heal. The judgments I hold serve only to keep me feeling separate from humanity. I ultimately always want to deepen my own humanness.

There is a space between the story in my head and what lies outside that. I still need to attend to the details of my life. There will always be a need to "cut wood and carry water." Ultimately, I am empowered to live my life, which arises from the intersection of the clarity of the vision I hold for my life and the grace and illumination I receive from the mystery that lives all things.

Amidst the chaos and uncertainty of life, I remain open to Grace and the gift of my life.

If you have any questions, please email me at [email protected] or call 732-208-2836. Also, please visit my website at leanintoyourlife.net

I've Got Agida

I was hiking with a good friend in the foothills of the Sonoran Desert. It's our Friday morning ritual. We decided to try a new trail called the Agua Caliente Hill Trail. It's a pretty aggressive climb into the foothills of the Catalina Mountains. We meet early. Hike for three or four hours and always leave time for lunch. Sometimes, we hike in silence. Sometimes, we talk about our personal lives and what we are present to. Today, for some unknown reason, our conversation spontaneously fell into talking about the current political climate in this country and the resulting stress we were both experiencing. What should have been a relaxing hike in an amazingly beautiful place morphed into trudging up a hill of annoyance, anxiety, and uncertainty.

We hiked for about two miles before we reached the ridge of the mountain we were moving up. We stopped in a clearing surrounded by an ancient stand of Saguaro cactuses. It was starkly quiet. We were absolutely alone. We could see the entire landscape of Tucson laid out before us. Sometimes, when hiking alone, I hear echoes of the ageless voices of all the people who occupied this land. Voices of the past offering me a gift of insight and wisdom into the present moment of my life.

Sitting, resting in that clearing, my friend and I glanced toward each other and simultaneously fell quiet. It was a clarifying moment. There was nothing more we had to say. The magnificence of this moment returned us both to a deep-rooted sense of being. We fell into a profound awareness that allowed me, at that moment, to feel how all life arises from the same source. That life and everything in it, its contradictions, all the good, all the love, and all the beauty, as well as all the hatred, the ugliness, pain, and suffering, all originated from the mystery that holds our reality together.

The stress I encountered while hiking is partly fueled by people dominating social media who have an articulated strategy to resolve the dilemmas of our time. People like Jordan Peterson and Joe Rogan create a certainty of perspective. A formula for living one's life that is shared with a voice of inevitability. There is some validity in what they share. Ultimately, their message is more about who is right, who is wrong, and who is doing what to whom. There needs to be more conversation about kindness, compassion, and understanding. They offer no wisdom, just a mandate for our culture to embrace their point of view. Blame is a convenient path for deflecting the need to look at ourselves first.

I need to focus on letting go of my internal dialog that often incorrectly informs me about my state of being. I am frequently invested in whatever story my mind makes up about a given situation, even though there is not a shred of truth to base it on. I am amazed at how that story then begins to create my life. And then I am left wondering how we got to where I am.

When I see myself as separate from the world I live in, I am left feeling the need to invest in a particular point of view that puts me on the "side of being right." It would be naive of me not to recognize that there is evil in this world. I would absolutely protect myself, my family, and my friends from harm. Having said that, I always first move towards relationship, connection, and understanding.

I am; we are all ultimately a living expression of the whole. For me, a change of consciousness, not technology or some ideology, will save humanity.

I recently came across this invocation. It deeply resonated with me. It helps me to release the tension I often carry when feeling separate from my life and the world I live in. "Dedicated with love to all those who constantly seek for the one Peace between science and spirituality, Israelis and Palestinians, The East and the West, the mind and the heart, human beings and the universe."

Amidst the chaos and uncertainty of life, I remain open to Grace and the gift of my life.

If you have any questions, please email me at [email protected] or call 732-208-2836. Also, please visit my website at leanintoyourlife.net

Why Are They Always Asking For Something?

Tucson, like most cities in this country, has its share of homeless people. The police are efficient at containing them to certain parts of

Tucson, like most cities in this country, has its share of homeless people. The police are efficient at containing them to certain parts of the city. Many areas in Tucson create a naturally inviting space for a homeless person to find a relative degree of comfort. Those areas are situated in all the dry washes and riverbeds interwoven throughout the city. Riding past, the communities of loosely organized tents and makeshift shelters almost remind me of a nature encampment.

I live on the east side of Tucson. Most of the homeless tend to be located on the west side. However, certain homeless people seem to have a vested interest in certain intersections around the area where I live. They lay claim to these locations with determination and ferocity. I pass these intersections daily. They are standing at the intersection with a flimsy cardboard sign with an all too familiar request, asking for a donation.

As I pull up to the intersection, waiting in the line of cars to turn, I always ask myself if I should look at the homeless person standing just a few feet from where my car is stopped or if I should avert my eyes. Maybe it's best to ignore them and pretend they're not there. If I look and they see me, do they assume I'm giving them money? I tend always to give them a few dollars, not every time, but most times.

I am left in a quandary about the whole subject of homelessness. There doesn’t seem to be a simple answer to what appears to be a very complex issue.

What do these people want? Are they just seeking a few dollars to eat and procure a safe place to sleep? Are their needs real and legitimate, or is this an opportunity to "fake" being homeless because they are too lazy to work? That is a sentiment I often hear, but one I have a hard time believing. I can't believe this is a life people would be willing to choose. Maybe the best question is, what is the cost to me to be charitable when I can be?

As I watch the cars pass the intersection, I notice very few people bothering to glance at the person standing nearby. If by not looking, they will go away. It saddens me that this group of people, homeless people, seem to be invisible.

I am left with far more questions than I have answers. I am left asking myself, am I afraid of acknowledging their existence and, by doing so, having them end up living in my house? How do I handle the tension between my head and my heart? Is there an end to the giving and the need? How do I find compassion for that person and not "give away the store?" Perhaps, most importantly, I am left feeling that I do not want to wall off my own need to express compassion.

I would also like to consider that I might be afraid of other people's suffering, and by accepting it, I might fall into "the stew" of their lives. Will I fall in and drown? As a culture, people, and species, I would like to feel a person's suffering and acknowledge that I share in that suffering. Is it too much to ask that, as the wealthiest nation on earth, we can ensure that people have access to the basic needs of life? I hope not..

My invitation is for us as human beings to stumble together as we continue to try to understand what might be an issue that is too vast and complicated to find a quick and easy resolution for.

Amidst the chaos and uncertainty of life, I remain open to Grace and the gift of my life.

If you have any questions, please email me at [email protected] or call 732-208-2836. Also, please visit my website at leanintoyourlife.net

It's All Gobbledygook Anyway

One of my good friends recently emailed a link to a documentary he found compelling. He shared that the content deeply resonated with him. L

One of my good friends recently emailed a link to a documentary he found compelling. He shared that the content deeply resonated with him. Like most people we connect to, my friend and I have a common outlook and shared values. We engage our lives in a similar manner. That is enough for me to want to watch the movie.

The documentary is called THE 1 FIELD. It was written and produced by Tsipi Raz. The link is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7m2jsKcZa4. I started to watch the video and immediately dismissed it as "new age-ie." A genre that quickly loses my interest. Without context to my life, I often find a lot of gibberish in the content. Heeding my friend's advice, I gave it more time and watched the entire movie.

Although I found a significant amount of the movie a bit "out there," in terms of relevance, Tsipi Raz clearly articulated several important perspectives. I consider those perspectives part of my spiritual practice and work at keeping them in my awareness. I want to share just two.

The first perspective conjectures that our mind can't help but constantly interpret the input coming into our awareness. It adds a slant to the incoming information that is uniquely ours. That is what it's built for, and it does it masterfully. The question is, how reliable is that interpretation? Is there another interpretation? Is there a more accurate one? What life experiences influence how we interpret the circumstances of our lives? It is easy to assume that the thoughts, suggestions, and judgments our mind conjures are the absolute truth of our existence. Where does the truth of our being reside?

Our minds are like attorneys, always in search of evidence to prove we are right. I find letting go of the need to be right and always first trying to move toward relationship paramount to living a life of integrity. As I have often said, I want to engage my life with an open mind and a full heart.

The second thing I found compelling was what was shared about coherence, the connection between the heart and the brain.

According to Google, "The vagus nerve carries information from the heart and other internal organs to the brain. Signals from the "heart brain" redirect to the medulla, hypothalamus, thalamus, amygdala, and the cerebral cortex. Thus, the heart sends more signals to the brain than vice versa." This connection plays an important role in determining the quality of the feelings and emotions we experience. With a very complex nervous system, how do we, as human beings, maintain a state of optimum coherence? How do we stay connected to our hearts and move through life with kindness, compassion, and understanding? How do we provide a state of coherence to our entire life?

What, as individuals, can we do to bring peace, understanding, and well-being not only to our lives but to the world we move through and engage in on a daily basis? How do we lower the level of violence and restore peace around the world? I don't want to be an innocent bystander. Considering the state of affairs of the world at large, it is a challenging thing to do. Ultimately, how do we self-regulate our stress and its impact on our lives, so we don't contribute to the chaos? All great questions.

Considering the magnitude of chaos in the world, the obvious answer to practicing meditation or mindfulness seems trite. There is no single answer to bringing love and compassion into an uncertain world. I am left to continually redeem the gift of my life by finding a way of living a life of integrity.

I belong to a men’s organization called ManKind Project. The tagline for MKP is "Healing the planet one man at a time." That can easily be changed to “healing the planet one person at a time.” The license plate of my friend's truck reads the "Power of 1." I find inspiration in that in that saying.

Amidst the chaos and uncertainty of life, I remain open to Grace and the gift of my life.

If you have any questions, please email me at [email protected] or call 732-208-2836. Also, please visit my website at leanintoyourlife.net

Getting from tacos to Nazis was easier than I thought. I didn’t have to look too hard for that connection. It found me. Tucson has over 1200

It All Started With A Large Bone

One of my all-time favorite movies recently made its way onto Amazon Prime. 2001 A Space Odyssey was released on April 2, 1968. Fifty-five y

One of my all-time favorite movies recently made its way onto Amazon Prime. 2001 A Space Odyssey was released on April 2, 1968. Fifty-five years later, I still find it relevant. Having watched the movie at least 6 or 7 times, I was drawn to see it again. I was deeply moved by one of the opening scenes when a prehuman came in contact with an obelisk presented as an extra-terrestrial object. In that moment of contact, the obelisk conveyed a sense of self-awareness to the prehuman. That newly gained intelligence was manifested by picking up a large animal bone and realizing its potential advantage. An advantage that would allow him to better control his environment. This “tool” would help his tribe be more effective hunters, provide protection from wild animals, and have the ability to dominate other tribes.

We live in the 23rd century. We no longer need to hunt or protect ourselves from wild animals. The benefits of science, medicine, and food availability have an impact on the quality of our lives. Yet that impulse to dominate other “tribes” is no different today than it was for our prehuman ancestors. We as a species have evolved in so many ways, yet it would seem that impulse remains firmly intact. The only difference is there are more efficient tools of dominance and destruction.

Eckhart Tolle, a German-born spiritual teacher, and author of The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, shared that “the human race seems to have a current of insanity running through its nervous system, and as technology advances, the human ability for destruction becomes more efficient.”

The availability of all forms of media allows us to witness human evolution in real time. We witness the most brutal and barbaric behavior human beings are capable of almost as it is happening. That behavior is shrouded in political or ideological justification. At its core, it is just unbridled barbaric behavior. What could cause a person or a group of people to be willing to let go of their humanity and perpetuate that behavior? It is hard to watch as people sink into a primordial need for dominance. How is that different from our prehuman ancestors picking up a large bone and swinging it without discrimination?

I’m not unexperienced to think that we should not protect ourselves. There are many ill-intentioned people in the world. There are people willing to do evil things. But we do have a choice. A choice to come together as a species and say this behavior is no longer an option? There are enough resources in the world today so we can all get what we need.

One blog reader commented that finding any sense of peace and well-being in the world we live in is increasingly more challenging. It is a sentiment I can easily identify with.

There seem to be three primary needs at the core of who we are as human beings. Needs we all seek. A need to feel safe, a need to feel loved, and a need to be counted.

Amid this onslaught of inhumanity, how do we restore ourselves and reconnect to the divine state of being human? How do we help others connect to these three basic needs? How do we fall back into the mystery that lives all things?

At the risk of simplicity, I aspire to live an impeccable life based on my integrity and accountability. Maybe, most importantly, a life based on kindness, compassion, and understanding.

Amidst the chaos and uncertainty of life, I remain open to Grace and the gift of my life.

If you have any questions, please email me at [email protected] or call 732-208-2836. Also, please visit my website at leanintoyourlife.net

Trending Blogs

Recently Viewed Blogs

Untitled