Honoring Maya Angelou
Before Linda and I flew to North Carolina to interview Dr. Maya Angelo, Oprah advised us in a way that told us she was speaking from experience, “Don’t call her Maya unless she gives you permission.” We followed her advice, which was easy to do. She was as gracious as she was grounded. Her smile […]
LOOKING BACK ON VALENTINE’S DAY
Valentine’s Day – the day of roses, heart-shaped boxes, and cupids with arrows – is past, which is symbolic because the age of equating love with roses, heart-shaped boxes, and cupids is passing. In this age that is passing, we often mistook need for love. How could this be? Doesn’t love require signs of affection, […]
THE REAL DEAL
Authentic power is the real deal. You can’t inherit it, buy it, or win it. You also can’t lose it. You don’t need to build your body, reputation, wealth, or charisma to get it. None of that can help you when it comes to creating authentic power. Anyone can become authentically powerful. Even a rock […]
LOVE AND GRAVITY
Buckminster Fuller said, Love is metaphysical gravity. I agree. What else could it be? Without gravity you would float like an astronaut in a spacecraft. Up and down would mean nothing to you. Your slightest motion would send you tumbling head over feet or rolling controllably. If you pushed hard against a wall, you would […]
SIX THINGS YOU CAN LEARN FROM GUILT
Many people think that guilt is a natural experience. It is a familiar experience, but it is not healthy or productive. It serves no constructive purpose. How can that be? Here are six things to think about the next time you are feeling guilty: Guilt comes from fear. Your spiritual growth requires challenging fear and cultivating […]
SPECIAL OPERATIONS OF THE HEART
In the mid-eighties a young couple told a private conference of scientists, academics, sociologists, and writers that they would be working with the U.S. Army on a program involving exceptional human capabilities and were asking for advice from their colleagues. Their subjects would be two Special Forces A Detachments, or Green Berets. This couple was […]
CELEBRATING EACH OTHER
The Celebrating Gary’s 70th Birthday page that Linda created turned out to be more profound for me than I imagined it could. In the process of reading, hearing, and watching the many forms of appreciation that I received, I discovered that I appreciated the people who sent them and for the same reasons they were appreciating me! […]
TWIN MIRACLES
There are two solstices each year. These are astronomical moments when the light is greatest and the dark is least (Summer Solstice) and when the light is least and darkness is greatest (Winter Solstice). Each solstice is a domain of experience unto itself. At the Summer Solstice, all is green and growing, potential coming into being, the […]
PULLING THE ROOT OF VIOLENCE
The deaths of the children and adults who tried to protect them in the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut renewed the debate about how to prevent this kind of violence. How to prevent yet more unpredictable killings in more schools, theaters, and malls by more unpredictable suicidal murders. Some say more gun control. […]
WHY PAINFUL THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE
A responsible choice is a choice that creates consequences that you are willing to assume responsibility for. For example, you may usually shout when you become angry. Shouting in anger pushes people away, they are intimidated by you, they are cautious about sharing with you, and you become isolated. The more isolated you become, the angrier you become, […]