The Five Invitations: Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully

I do see that each wave is completely unique. No two waves are the same. They come into form dependent on many differing conditions, live for a while, and express a distinctive beauty before they disappear, thrown up on the beach before flowing back out to sea. Each wave is distinct, yet not separate. All are part of the same ocean. The ocean is on

Our brains are not computer hard drives. Human memory is not a simple matter of “accurate data in, accurate data out.” It is a far more complicated, subtle, and beautiful process.

SONO’S DEATH POEM Don’t just stand there with your hair turning gray, soon enough the seas will sink your little island. So while there is still the illusion of time, set out for another shore. No sense packing a bag. You won’t be able to lift it into your boat. Give away all your collections. Take only new seeds and an old stick. Send out some pra

Pain + Resistance = Suffering If we attempt to push away our pain, whether it is physical or emotional, we almost always find ourselves suffering even more. When we open to suffering, inquiring into it instead of trying to deny it, we see how we might make use of it in our lives.

Forgiveness asks us to move closer to our suffering, and, in so doing, discover a larger, more compassionate part of ourselves that can touch our wounds with kindness and understanding.

Ram Dass once said, “After many years of undergoing psychoanalysis, teaching psychology, working as a psychotherapist, taking drugs, being in India, being a yogi, having a guru, and meditating for decades, as far as I can see I haven’t gotten rid of one neurosis. Not one. The only thing that changed is that they don’t define me anymore.

Before every session, I take a moment to remember my humanity. There is no experience that this man has that I cannot share with him, no fear that I cannot understand, no suffering that I cannot care about, because I too am human. No matter how deep his wound, he does not need to be ashamed in front of me. I too am vulnerable. And because of this,

For many years, I have appreciated the teaching of the Indian guru of non-dualism Sri Nisargadatta, who famously said, “The mind creates the abyss, the heart crosses it.”

As another Zen teaching says, “The path is right beneath your feet.”