Three Doors to Freedom

You Deserve Your Love

"You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection." ~ The Buddha

Frozen Yoga & McMindfulness

Insightful observations by Dr. Miles Neale on the drawbacks of the current trend toward mindfulness and yoga as mere self-help techniques. Whilst he applauds the spread of contemplative practices into the mainstream (especially for teens), Dr. Neale skillfully points out that essential "nutrients" are missing. Devoid of the rich trainings in ethics, wisdom and compassion that their respective traditions authentically embody, yoga and mindfulness become pale anaemic shadows of their real selves. Much better than nothing, but like frozen food is to fresh, the real thing is much more nourishing.

Where is the Love?

If you only have love for your own race
Then you only leave space to discriminate
And to discriminate only generates hate
And when you hate then you're bound to get irate, yeah
Madness is what you demonstrate
And that's exactly how anger works and operates
Man, you gotta have love just to set it straight
Take control of your mind and meditate
Let your soul gravitate to the love, y'all, y'all

        ~ Black Eyed Peas

The Passenger Sitting in 9E

John Block writes in "American Way":

On the Chicago-bound plane out of Los Angeles International Airport, I sit elbow to elbow with a middle-seater -- a slender Asian lady who is middle-aged like me -- playing solitaire on the computer. A book in a language that I cannot discern rests in her lap.

I try to sleep; then I try to write. I can do neither, but somehow the hours pass. I think, “At least I am in an aisle seat and am able to stretch my left leg.”