We’ve all had hits of intuition that felt like true guidance, but the question most often asked of me when that topic comes up is, “How can you tell whether it is true guidance, or just my own unconscious desires bubbling up?”

There are a couple of stories I’d like to share 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, of course, but there is more going on beneath the surface than we are aware of…

I have been a disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda my entire adult life, yet even given that lifelong dedication, some questions feel more present and powerful to me than previously. “What are we doing here?” is one such question.

Everyone is familiar with the notion of “affirming.” It is good and important for us to set our minds with a clear intention in the direction towards whatever goals we have. But my recent thought is that this needs to be done carefully…

I had a most interesting experience last week…

Why do we say something and immediately wish we hadn’t? We must know better, or we wouldn’t immediately regret it. My best understanding is that we live in our likes and dislikes; our personal preferences. We like to think that we are communicating with someone, but sometimes we're just expressing our own desires or frustrations.

I have been thinking a lot about “listening” this past week. We all know how important this skill is for friendships. It’s no fun to hang out with people who never pay attention to what you are saying. But how do we treat Spirit and the world around us as a friend?

I have read a number of articles about “balance” recently. Surely it is better to be balanced than imbalanced! But there is an implication in that concept that I am not sure is as helpful to us as it might be, or at least may not be addressing the more important issue.

I was with my spiritual teacher in Italy. It was an unusual delight for my wife and me to have alone time with him, and we had gone into town for a cappuccino and some errands. As we sat in the bar (that’s what they call coffee shops in Italy, mind you!), a bedraggled man appoached us…

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 felt to take a shot at answering briefly…

Yogananda said, “In this world, we are all a little bit crazy, and we don’t know it, because crazy people of the same kind mix with the same kind of crazy people. When people differently crazy come together, then they find out about their own craziness.”

There has been tension in our society that you can easily feel. What can we do? For myself, I try to focus on the fact that there are always two things going on in any situation: 1) the external circumstances, and 2) my reaction to those circumstances.